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

If you’re like most people then I’m sure you’ve browsed through online classified sites, such as Craigslist or Backpage, looking for a good deal on one thing or another.  But I’m sure a lot of people out there have the same worry I do.  Can I trust the people selling this stuff?  Are they being honest when they say it’s only been “slight used” (I know they’re probably not but still…).  And on the flip side, I’m sure sellers are thinking, can I trust these people who want to come look at whatever it is I’m selling?  Unlike Ebay where there usually isn’t a physical exchange of the product, with Craigslist there usually is.  This can be a scary and sometimes dangerous thing.  So what can be done to help make these types of online classified sites safer?

Enter ListSafer.com.  Seeking to make these marketplaces safer, ListSafer has created a platform where both buyers and sellers can create profiles where they can upload photos, as well as post ratings and reviews on the other users that they buy from as well as sell to.  I think this is an interesting concept that could start to catch on pretty quickly, especially for those people who use Craigslist or Backpage frequently.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all if ListSafer badges started popping up on these and other online classified sites in the near future.

Alice.com Shopping Just Got Easier

I don’t know about you but shopping for things like toothpaste, trash bags, and laundry detergent isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.  In fact I don’t think it’s anybody’s idea of a good time.  Luckily now the tedious task of shopping for life’s little necessities just got easier.  Alice.com (still in beta) is a website devoted to selling smaller ticket items, like shampoo, toilet paper and contact lens solution.

If you’re like me the first thing you were probably thinking was, the shipping cost is going to make it just as expensive as if I went to the store and bought it.  But Alice has got you covered.  Shipping to your door is completely free!  So what are you waiting for, get your shop on!

This site definitely fits the category of a cool website. Now it doesn’t hurt either that I’m a big trance/house/dance fan (which is what the two default videos and playlists are set to). However this site, called Ibizaah! (a fitting name) would still be cool even without those default settings just because of its simplicity. The sites creator Miguel Hernandez said he created the site because he “was annoyed at having to switch between windows when trying to keep the music going at a party.” Problem solved.

Ibizaah not only plays trance and house music but using the ‘Search Videos…’ will play any music video on YouTube. So say you wanted a Pop music mix you could have Beyonce and Shakira’s ‘Beautiful Liar’ on the left and Britney Spears ‘Toxic’ on the right playing simultaneously. How cool is that.

Did I forget to mention this site is free? Yeah it’s completely free to use. So next time you’re throwing a party at your pad, impress your friends and be your own deejay!

Just wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know that you can follow me on both Twitter and Facebook to receive updates of all my latest posts.  If you follow or friend me you will also get tweets and updates with links to cool websites I come across that don’t make it onto the blog, but are still cool or interesting and that I think are worth passing along!

If you would like to suggest a site that you have come across or that you started and run yourself, feel free to email me at admin@zeusofthenet.com or send me a tweet @ZeusoftheNet.  Look forward to the suggestions!

With the proliferation of social networking sites on the Internet these days, I figured why not blog about a site that’s helping to add to that proliferation.  I actually heard about Ning.com a while ago, but was just recently reminded about them again so I decided I would go ahead and share the site with you.  Basically Ning is a cool site let’s you create as well as join new social networks.  You can join any social network that either your friends or fellow Ningers have created, and they work in a very similar manner to Facebook or MySpace.  The main difference is that you only have to create one profile and you can either join other social networks or can start your own with the profile you created.  It’s pretty simple to join, you just have to give your name and email, then a password for your login and that’s it.

There are many ways this site could be used, from personal to professional, for businesses, and pretty much everything in between.  Currently there are social networks for Rottweiler lovers, Shakira fans, and of course Women’s Tackle Football.  So check out Ning and yours could be next!

Full length documentary films have been around just as long as movies themselves have, but it wasn’t until more recently that they started to enjoy some of the same attention that mainstreams movies have enjoyed all along.  This of course changed with several documentaries such as Super Size Me, Bowling for Columbine, and An Inconvenient Truth.  For people out there who enjoy watching documentaries, Topdocumentaryfilms.com is a really cool site that lets you search for and watch over 695 documentaries.  The full length documentaries are embedded from various video sites (such as Google Video, YouTube, etc) and can be viewed on the site itself, or for better viewing, videos can be viewed on full screen mode as well.

If you know the name of the documentary you want to watch you can easily find it by typing it into the search bar in the upper right hand side.  You will then be taken to a results page where the first result will take you to the page where you can then view the full length video.  If you don’t have a particular documentary in mind you also have the option of choosing from any one of the over 20 different categories listed along the right hand side.  If you would like a more narrowed down list, just to the left of ‘Documentary Categories’ is ‘Most Commented Docs’.  This lists the documentaries on the site that have received the most comments from other users.

I really enjoy watching documentaries, so if you enjoy documentaries films as much as I do then you should definitely pay a visit to Topdocumentaryfilms.com.

Launched in February 2008 this site is the latest in a line of niche social networking websites.  However unlike the hundreds and hundreds of other social sites that have fallen by the wayside, this one appears to have what it takes.  BrightFuse is a self-proclaimed “talent community” that aims to “give professionals a tool with which they could network and interact easily with other professionals”.  The site is completely free to use, anyone can create a personalized professional profile to connect, interact, and network with fellow industry peers and other professionals from around the globe.

With more and more research and fact finding being done online by those decision makers in HR departments all over the world, it is becoming necessary to maintain and control your personal online presence.  BrightFuse enables its users to create a professional webpage (similar to LinkedIn) where their work history can be showcased in a very presentable way, basically amounting to an online resume.  With the way the economy is going, this is one social site that you won’t want to pass on because who knows if and when that pink slip will come.  Take advantage and become a part of this growing community as it continues to expand throughout the recession and beyond.

If you love watching animals doing funny or silly things, or crazy tricks, this YouTube-esque site is the place to go.  Showing only pet videos, PetTube has something for all of the pet lovers of the world.  The site is pretty self-explanatory with the various categories running along the top.  Some of the Sub Categories include ‘Most Recent’, ‘Most Viewed’, and ‘Top Rated’.  This site is unique compared to the many other video sites out there on the web in that they host all of the videos themselves (just like YouTube).  So since people love their pets I thought this would be a nice niche site to share where you can not only watch funny videos but can let your own little scruffy indulge in his fifteen minutes too.

When you think of online auction sites pretty much just one comes to mind: Ebay.  Well that might be about to change.  Founded in January 2007, Bonanzle is rapidly becoming a plausible alternative to Ebay and it’s big business ways.  If you’re a seller who’s tired of the seven pages you have to go through just to select a category for something you want to sell on Ebay, then you might want to check out Bonanzle’s quick and easy listing process.  No more high selling fees and poor customer service.

More interactive and user friendly, Bonanzle is poised to pounce on the thousands of disgruntled Ebay users (both sellers and buyers) and convert them to become one of the growing number of Fellow Bonanzlers.  So if you’re in the market to buy or sell, you might want to pay a visit to Bonanzle and see for yourself if they’ve got what it takes to tango with the 800-pound gorilla that is Ebay.

With the economy getting worse and worse as the months go by, it seems like everyone is now watching every dollar they spend and for good reason. With rent being the largest monthly cost most people incur, I thought this rent calculator site would be of particular interest to those out there that are looking to rent an apartment sometime in the near future.

Rentometer is very basic and easy to use.  First enter in whether you are a tenant or landlord, then enter in your address, followed by how much the monthly rent is currently, and lastly how many bedrooms the apartment has.  You will then be taken to the results page that displays a meter (that looks similar to a speedometer) that gives you a quick visual as to whether the rent is reasonable or overpriced.  At the top of the page it will also tell you what percentage of apartment listings are either priced higher or lower in the surrounding area.  And finally on the bottom right hand side there is a Google Maps mashup that displays other apartments in the area.

This site is a great quick reference tool that can be used by anyone out there that is in the market for an apartment and wants to know what the average rent cost in a particular area is and if they’re getting a good deal.  After all every dollar counts during these tough economic times.