MakeUseOf.com is a good website if you enjoy discovering new things, websites and uses for objects that you may have otherwise discounted as obsolete. So I though I’d give it a go and let you all know what I thought. There’s no thrills, no frills. But isn’t it about time a website came along that just cave you practical information rather than a big song and dance?
The first post I seen demonstrated software that allows you to organize, edit and back up photos you take on your multiple digital cameras. It gave the pros, the cons along with a helpful narrative style that I found appealing. Further posts specified thing like Three Tips to Translate Languages and Make Use Of Guides that are free! (Nice touch)
The layout is basic and easy to navigate but I think they could ad a little more in that department. Its very forgettable but at least there is a little ‘hurrah’ in there. I also have to give them credit for developing a mobile version. It may not exactly be ground breaking but on a long train journey you’ll be glad to learn how to hit a golf ball properly – well, you get the idea!
Overall, it’s a good website but lacking in anything memorable. It has its uses but couldn’t a quick Google search fix problems? I suppose MakeUseOf gives you cool tips and solutions to problems you never noticed. 7/10
Chris Brogan has put together a great list of the top 50 online applications and sites to consider. The list is very indepth and there are really some great tools that everyone should try out.
50 Online Applications and Sites to Consider
Blogging
- Blogger – free blogging and hosting.
- Movable Type – paid software, needs host.
- TypePad – paid blogging and hosting.
- WordPress.com – free blogging and hosting.
- WordPress.org – free blog software, needs host.
- Tumblr – free blogging and hosting.
Microblogging
- BrightKite – microblogging, mobile, location.
- FriendFeed – microblogging/ aggregator.
- Identi.ca – open source microblogging.
- Jaiku – microblogging, mobile too.
- Posterous – microblogging, and/or sends to other sites.
- Pownce – microblogging and file sharing.
- Plurk – microblogging and threaded conversations.
- Seesmic – video microblogging.
- Twitter – microblogging and mobile.
- Utterz – microblogging, mobile, video.
Social Bookmarking
- Delicious – bookmarking.
- Ma.gnolia – enhanced bookmarking.
- Sphinn – bookmarking/voting.
- StumbleUpon – bookmarking and browsing.
Social News Sites
- Digg – social news.
- Mixx – social news.
- Reddit – social news.
Social Networks
- Facebook – general networking.
- Flickr – photo and video sharing.
- Last.fm – music sharing.
- LibraryThing – book lovers.
- LinkedIn – professional social networking.
- MySpace – general networking.
- Ning – white label social network.
- Pandora – music sharing.
- Yelp – rating restaurants and businesses.
Miscellaneous and Useful
- Twitter Search (formerly Summize) – search for what matters to YOU.
- Picnik – free online photo editing. Good for avatar pic touchups.
- Evernote – online and desktop note syncing/storage.
- Upcoming.org – event sharing site (great for finding cool conferences).
- Netvibes – web start page (has Ginger social features now, too).
- Twingly – blog search.
- Compete – web ranking analysis.
- AideRSS – rates your blog posts.
- Skitch – screen capture tool (mac).
Video Platforms
- Blip.tv – video hosting, sharing.
- Google Video – video hosting, sharing.
- Viddler – video hosting, sharing.
- Vimeo – video hosting, sharing.
- YouTube – video hosting, sharing.
- Mogulus – live video platform.
- uStream.tv – live video platform.
- BlogTV – live video platform.
- ooVoo – live video chat.
