GlobalGrind.com launches beta

And they’ve received more funding too, according to Techcrunch. No invite necessary.

I’ve written about GlobalGrind.com before, and I’m quite interested to see whether and how a niche-audience start page can be successful, particularly in the face of stiff competition from established players (Google, Yahoo) and upstarts (Pageflakes, Netvibes).

GlobalGrind.com seems like it’s closely modeled after Netvibes, with the ability to browse video content and RSS feeds. In my browser (Firefox 2.0.0.7 on a MacBook Pro), however, GlobalGrind looks and feels a lot clunkier. Maybe it’s the lime and black color scheme, and whizzing bits. I do admire the technical aspects of the site — I know and therefore respect what goes into coding such a thing — but I’m not convinced it’s a good user experience.

What’s your take? Do you think GlobalGrind will be a hit? Do you use personalized start pages? How can GlobalGrind (or Netvibes or Pageflakes, etc.) move beyond the start page, differentiate themselves, and turn a profit?