This month the web is 15 years old.
The Observer has compiled a list of the 15 most influencial websites to date – the article includes brief descriptions and histories for each one:
- eBay
- Wikipedia
- Napster
- You Tube
- Blogger
- Friends Reunited
- Drudge Report
- My Space
- Amazon
- Slashdot
- salon.com
- craigslist
- Yahoo
- easyJet
What do you think of the list? Some of the places mentioned I’d never heard of before.
Do you think any of them have been overrated? Any glaring omissions?
casa azahar 
H2G2?
:whistle:
LikeLike
Some of those certainly changed my world, a little, for the better. eBay and Amazon make shopping more convenient, Craigslist is the best classified I’ve ever used, etc.
Friends Reunited actually creeps me out. If I’ve fallen out of touch with someone, it’s for a reason! 😉
And I’d agree with Teuchter that, at least for me, h2g2 has been really influential. I’ve met some fan-tas-tic people there.
LikeLike
I’d have thought Fotki or something like that – a photo-hosting site – would have rated a mention.
LikeLike
Wow, hadn’t thought of that one, Ivan. But I think you’re right. More people want to be able to post photos online than, say, videos.
LikeLike
I thought it was a damned dull article…but then, yes, it caught the main ones. There was some synchronicity because I’d only recently read about craigslist (mind you…it was in The Grauniad, so doubtless a little cross-fertilisation there.)
Missing:
– imdb
– flickr (seems to be bigger than fotki)
– snopes
– isohunt/ torrentz/ piratebay…still bringing illegal music and pornography to the masses.
– redhotladyboys (oops…have I ‘shared too much’?)
btw…there was another Grauniad article about girlwithaonetrackmind.blogspot.com . Check it out! 🙂
I did find the few schoolmates who I wanted to stay in touch with via friendsreunited…but if anyone knows the wherabouts of Simon ‘Reg’ Fildes, do let me know. (Mind you…he always was MIA, even back then).
LikeLike
Snopes! That was the one I couldn’t remember the name of. (To hell with the rules of grammar and syntax.)
LikeLike
There is a limited number of verbs formed out of website names:
To google
To imdb
To snopes
Any more?
LikeLike
Amazon and Ebay have changed the way I shop. Before those sites emerged, I was very leery of shopping on line due to security issues. Now I think nothing of going to web sites all over the place and buying everything from electrolyte powders to organic free trade coffee.
And when I was little girl the personal computer hadn’t even been invented.
LikeLike
The first time I used a computer was in 73, when I worked for a health insurance company and processed claims. Pretty much every job since then has been computerized. I even used to have an account on Arpa-net, the precursor to the WWW in the early 80s.
The sites that I find most useful may not be what everyone else uses. For instance, I never go to eBay. On the other hand, I *love* craigslist; I’ve gotten jobs off there, and I use it to “price” areas I might move to, when I retire. Google — who doesn’t? Amazon is the best place to look up any book ever written, I think. Snopes is good, especially with all the “alerts” floating around. And I’m on a couple of Yahoo-groups. Rarely, I will go to Wikipedia; most often is H2G2. For now,anyway.
LikeLike
I sure ‘google’ a lot, and I’m happy that I’m able to do so. It’s kind of funny that it’s turned into a verb.
I also ‘Skype’ (as a verb).
I don’t eBay or Amazon as a verb, though.
LikeLike
From today’s Grauniad…
The New 100 Most Useful Sites
LikeLike