Six Sites I Log Into Daily

AIf you're like me, you are on the Internet quite a bit. When I was using Firefox as my Internet browser, I liked that I could save my session so that the next time I opened Firefox, the same pages would display from the previous session.

Unfortunately, that feature does not exist (yet) in Google Chrome. However, Chrome does allow you to enter in the urls that you want to use when you first open Chrome. It's not a substitute for the save session feature, but it's a work around that I can accept.

Image courtesy of Cheth Studios

So I currently have six websites that I begin with daily.

1. Twitter: It's become my lifeline. I have five twitter accounts that I manage and that's a bit much to keep up with. I often use Social Oomph to schedule tweets and I use TweetDeck too. Tweetdeck has recently upped their game and I like some of the new features. All that to say, that I'm still married to the Twitter web interface and I like to see the Top Tweets too.

2. Facebook: Well, yeah, you know that FB would be on the list. Living abroad, FB is my connection to my friends w/out having to talk to them. I'd love to talk to them, but the seven hour time difference is a bit of a problem sometimes. So FB is a good bridge between the time zones.

3. AUC Mail: I need to remain in touch w/what is going on at work. Though currently I have my vacation message on: "Final grades have been submitted and I am away from the office until August, 2010" or something like that.

4. Gmail: My Gmail has mostly become my primary email account. I still use Hotmail and Yahoo, but I like the Gmail interface and options like adding labels.

5. Delicious: I like Delicious because I can see what my network is bookmarking and what stories I may have missed. Sometimes I'll check to see what's popular and recent, but mostly I'm just adding my own bookmarks and checking my networks bookmarks.

6. Yahoo!: My yahoo account has become my account for subscriptions. So it tends to fill up and not really with emails that I make the time to read. I usually scan for important emails. Oh, and I take a glance at the top stories on the Yahoo! home page too.

So Long 2008 :: Happy New Year

A few weeks ago, I posted a list of the Best of 2008 which included links to various websites and blogs. The topics ranged from music, movies and books.

So I received a request from Lori Johnson over at Lori's Old School Mix asking me to list my personal best of 2008. Wow, what a challenge. I ingest such a wide range of media that I can barely recall what I consumed this past Monday. But I am certainly up for a challenge, right?

Needless to say, my list is short, but here goes:

Best book that I read:

• "Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (surprisingly I did not review this one ... and I did not see the movie ... duh). The book was vividly written w/lots of mystery and excitement on nearly every page.
  

Best movie that I saw:

• "Waitress" (thanks to a recommendation from my sister; Andrienne Shelly is genius ... oh, and I did not write a review on this one either ... another duh). This one is funny, romantic and Andy Griffith is quite endearing. Love this movie.
  

Best Television Comedy - and remember that I don't have cable:

• "30 Rock" Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, the ensemble cast and the guests are hilarious on so many levels.
  

Best artists and cds - you are not surprised that it is all hip hop ... :

• Illa J :: "Yancey Boys"
• Roots Manuva :: "Slime & Reason"
• The Knux :: "Remind Me in 3 Days"
• The Roots :: "Rising Down"
• Black Milk :: "Tronic"
• The Mighty Underdogs :: "Droppin Science Fiction"

Best website:

• Alltop.com: I love this aggregator site w/lots of topics to choose from,
  

Best Social Media platform:

• Twitter ... I love twittering - using 140 characters to communicate and all of the Twitter tools.
  
• Utterli ... I like being able to post pics, video, text and audio all from my cell phone. This should come in handy when I attend the Inauguration in a few weeks.
  

So long to 2008 and a great big hug for 2009 (and a smooch too)! Happy New Year!

The Best of 2008 Lists

I love lists. I know, you'd never know because I don't post many of them.

But it's that time of year when lists are being compiled. Lots of lists, covering a variety of topics. I thought I'd save you the hassle and create a one-stop-shop for some of The Best of 2008 Lists.

Books:

• From Amazon - The Best Books of 2008

Music:

• From Last.fm - The Best of 2008
• From Jason Toney - The Best Songs of 2008
• From NPR - Top 11 Debut Albums of 2008
• From Rolling Stone - Singles of the Year 2008
  

Music Videos:

• From Pitchfork - Top 40 Videos of 2008
  

Films:

• From Roger Ebert.com - The Best Films of 2008
  
• From the New York Post - The Best Films of 2008

Websites:

• From Time - 50 Best Websites 2008

Do you know of any 2008 lists? Pass the info along. I'd love to see what I am missing.

For All Doc Lovers

Check out the webbie SnagFilms.com where you can watch lots and lots of documentaries. Like "Super Size Me". Ha. The site is still in beta, but I hope to see it grow in the upcoming months. What I've learned - from an article in USA today - is that you can not submit your own doc(s). Don't know why, but that is how it is for now. Just sharing the love.

Something New

I saw this brief commercial on TV the other day. It caught my eye because of the simplicity: simple, non-intrusive music, a moving landscape and a few typewritten words.


There are about eight of the commercials on the webbie. I am not pushing a product, but the product's marketing is certainly on the cool side.