Zeus of the ‘NetReviews of the Coolest Sites on the Net

You might have already heard about this site but I thought I’d share it with those who might not have (or for those who have and weren’t sure what it was all about).  Foursquare is for use on mobile devices (specifically smart phones like the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Palm, etc.) but can also be used via text message for those users on non-smart phones within the U.S.  After downloading the Foursquare app onto your phone (completely free) you can begin to ‘check-in’ at different locations.  The check-in process is based on your location (using GPS) and is pretty simple; all you need to do is select your correct location from the list.  If for some reason the business/location is not listed you can add it and then check-in.  You can also leave a short message, 140 characters or less, describing your experience.  Sounds interesting.

The question is why would anyone use this?  To address this issue, Foursquare has created a game style format with points and badges where you can login in at the end of each month and see your stats.  The ultimate goal behind this is to become “mayor” of a certain business location (your local Starbucks for example) which is achieved by checking in at a particular location more times than any other fellow Foursquarer.  Once you are mayor of that location you unlock the mayor’s badge and in some instances can receive a discount off of purchases ($1 off purchases at Starbucks) simply for being mayor of that location.

I think there’s a lot of potential in this new geo check-in arena but Foursquare is dealing with quite a few competitors at the moment and some pretty formidable ones at that (Yelp).  It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds over the next 6-12 months.  What do you think, would you use a service like this?

Me too!  But since we all know that’s not possible (at least not without a flux capacitor) let’s talk about a site that will get you as close as possible to time travel.  In existence since the very early days of the internet (1995) Archive.org has archived nearly every website, audio, live music, text, and moving image that has been posted online in the last fifteen years.  Most users of this site however take advantage of the coolest feature called the “Wayback Machine” (with a top speed of 88 mph… OK I’ll stop).  With over 150 billion pages currently in its archive the Wayback Machine has the most extensive collection of webpages on the internet today.

It works like this: users go to the site and type in the URL of a website (let’s use Yahoo as our example) and then click ‘Take Me Back’.  It then takes you to a search results page that has the years, number of pages, as well as links with exact dates of went a snapshot was taken.  For example the earliest snapshot of Yahoo.com was on October 17, 1996 and links to this snapshot. This can be done for most websites in existence (with a few exceptions).

So just thought I’d share this neat tool that can be used for research or for those of us with a curious streak.  Whichever reason you decide to use it, I’m sure you’ll find it to be a valuable resource! (I’m sure Doc Brown would have agreed…alright I lied!).

Have you ever wanted to show someone a funny or cool scene from a movie but couldn’t find it on YouTube?  Or Google?  Well this site’s got you covered.  Currently still in beta, Movieclips.com has over 12,000 clips (from 6 major Hollywood studios) that range from “Dirty Harry” to “When Harry Met Sally” and everything in between.  With HD quality videos and a similar layout to both Hulu and Vevo, this site has got what it takes.

With the standard social media elements integrated into the site (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) this site has got all of the bases covered there too.  So after you find that scene you’ve been looking for you can share it with all of your friends.

While technically the title of this post is misleading, this self-described video “taste engine” is pretty cool.  Jinni is a movie, TV, and short video search engine power by The Movie Genome.  The search capabilities are weighted more on semantics than on an algorithm (traditional search engine) that use mood, plot, genres, time period, place, audience, and praise to tag and categorize movies in a way that no other site has done before.  This allows for exploring movies in a way that’s beyond the traditional keyword search, a way that lets people choose/filter based on specific criteria, which is something no website has able to do until now.

Keeping in mind that Jinni is actually a video discovery portal and not an online video website (like Hulu for example) one of the features I really like is the social media involvement they have integrated nicely throughout.  Since this sites purpose is to help its users more easily find movies and TV shows they will like, I think this social aspect is important.  For example on the Back to the Future page they are pulling rating information from IMDb, linking to a Twitter search for the movie, as well as the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page.  In addition the ‘Watch it’ link will take you to a page that has links to the various ways you can watch/rent/buy the movie, which includes deep links to the movie’s specific page on Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon.

So what do you think, does Jinni have a place in the competitive online video world?

If you’re like me when you need a greeting card you probably head to your local bargain retail/drug store to pick one out.  You probably spend a good 10-15 minutes looking through the small selection of extremely cheesy cards, each one worse than the last.  Defeated, you finally pick the least lame card of the bunch.  Luckily now there’s a new alternative: enGreet.com.  To me this site is pure genius.  Users can order anywhere from 1 greeting card ($1.99 for blank, $2.99 for custom) up to 1,000 and with a wide selection to choose from, you’re sure to find one you like.

I like websites like this that fill a need that traditional brick and mortar stores simply can’t.  Since everyone has to buy greeting cards for all of the various occasions throughout the year, I think this was a great idea for a website.  What do you think, would you give enGreet a shot?

As more and more TV shows, movies, and original content become available online, it’s going to be increasing harder to find the programming you’re looking for.  Which is why I think in 2-3 years time (when the majority of LCD TVs become internet capable) Clicker.com is going to be huge.  They are positioning themselves to be the directory/search engine for all online video programming.  So as people start watching online programming on their internet capable TVs (possible even in 3D), they are going to want to be able to quickly find what it is that they want to watch (directory).  And if they’re not sure exactly the program but say want to watch something funny, they are going to want to be shown a list of relevant options (search engine).  This is the future need that Clicker is already addressing, today.

Judging from the management team (the CEO is former Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone) and its VC backing, this site has the potential to become a huge online brand and resource.  Personally I think online programming (movies, TV shows, user generated content, as well as original programming) is going expand and grow exponentially in the coming years.  But make no mistake; the reach of the internet into every aspect of our lives is an inevitable evolution that will bring about opportunity for an unprecedented shift in power, from the few to the many.  The game is changing from the old-school push model, to the 21st century pull model, where people engage in and watch whatever they want, whenever they want.  Clicker has aligned themselves to make that transition easier.  Evolution.  It’s a beautiful thing.

I know I’m a little behind on blogging about this site, but I thought I would still share it for those who might not have heard yet.  Launched last month on Dec. 8th Vevo.com is a website that’s dedicated entirely to music videos.  So instead of having to search through hundreds or even thousands of duplicate videos on YouTube, with Vevo there is only one result for each music video from that particular artist.

I definitely like the look of the website, and also the fact that there is only one result per video per artist.  The search filter features are nice as well, and make finding a particular video very easy.  All in all I think this site is going to carve out a pretty nice little niche for itself.  So after checking out this site the next time you want to watch a music video which site would you go to, YouTube or Vevo?

Hope everyone had a happy New Years!  I have a feeling 2010 is going to be a good year.  But of course many things, mainly the economy, still has a ways to go.  And unfortunately whenever the economy goes south, crime rates usually increases as a result, and 2009 was no different.  So if you’ve ever wondered what crimes (and how many) have occurred in your city or neighborhood, you may want to check out this cool site.  The site is called CrimeMapping and according to them their goal is to “provide the public with valuable information about recent crime activity in their neighborhood.”  Seems simple enough, but it’s actually quite an ambitious task.

Using a GIS platform to display the crimes on a map, the site right now has information from roughly 100 cities mapped out (the map itself is pretty cool) from all across the U.S.  They use easy to decipher symbols for each of the various crime categories, like Arson, Burglary, Vandalism, etc., so you can quickly tell what crimes were committed at a particular location.  The overall look and feel of the website is really sleek and the navigation and map itself is very intuitive, which I like a lot.  I think CrimeMapping has the potential to be a very powerful resource for the public.  So what do you guys think, would you use this site?

This self-described “computational knowledge engine” can give detailed information on any number of (objective) queries, and can do so just as quickly as any search engine out there today.  The difference is however that instead of ten blue links, users receive the information, or answer, they were looking for.  This sites name, WolframAlpha.com, may be obscure but I believe in the next decade it will be anything but.

The potential uses for this type of technology are limitless.  I think this site and its technology is the first step towards the ultimate goal of ambient findability.  Forty years from now when we look back at the early days of the information age and technology boom, I think that WolframAlpha will be on the short list of important technological advances that changed the course of history.

I’ve used this site several times myself and it’s been a nice little money saver.  Now to some RetailMeNot.com may seem slightly on the unethical side, but hey you have to figure that the big online retail stores take websites like this into account.  At least that’s how I rationalize it.  (Actually for those who need a clear conscience, it appears that they will remove the coupon and discount codes if the retailer requests it.)  However judging from the sites popularity, I’m guessing the people who have been using it so far shared my sentiments.

The site is very easy to use and navigate.  Just type in the URL of the site you are looking to make a purchase on and it will take you to that page with the list of all the coupon codes.  It’s that simple.  So next time you want to save some money pay a visit to RetailMeNot.