Every year there are a dozen new words or phrases used to describe recent trends on the Internet, and sometimes the definitions bump up against each other. There is social networking, social bookmarking, and social news, and it is sometimes hard to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. This is especially difficult since websites tend to mix and match different ideas.
The difference between a "web mashup" and a "distributed portal" is small, but it is distinct. Both pull information from other websites, but a web mashup differs from a distributed portal in that it creates something new from the information.
Distributed Portals Go in the Direction of the Data
In my article on distributed portals, I use a restaurant guide as an example. A distributed portal would take the restaurant guides from multiple cities and pull them all into one site. It is still giving the same basic information found in the restaurant guides. It has simply aggregated them.
Web Mashups Go Their Own Way
A web mashup attempts creates something new out of the information. Using our restaurant guide example, a mashup might combine it with a website that displays maps and create a map with little pins in it marking the restaurants. When the user hovers the mouse over one of these pins, the mashup might pop up the review of the restaurant.
In that way, the web mashup creates something new and distinct.
