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

Going back to the early days of the web, and even still today, a popular place to ask questions and get answers were and still are forums.  Simple, straightforward, and usually niche specific, forums allow users to post questions and get answers.  But that’s pretty much it.  Not to mention the issue of SPAM.  Luckily there are a couple of sites out there that are trying to revitalize the world of Q&A  (see my previous post on Quora).  Recently I came across a new site in this niche called Namesake that looks very promising.  Namesake initially caught my attention because, number one I think they selected a great name and number two the design, usability, look and feel, and colors used on their site look very professional and work really well.

This site is still in its early stages so there’s not a ton of questions and answers or conversations yet, but I’m sure that will change as it begins to catch on with more and more people.  I think this site has a ton of potential and I’m excited to see what the future holds in store for them.  I recommend joining and checking the site out for yourself…and then come back and leave a comment and let us know what you think!

With the economy slowly chugging along it may not seem like the best time to buy a house, but it actually is (at least for those who are in the financial position to do so).  However because of the large number of houses on the market, many potential buyers are quickly realizing that finding the right house is a very time consuming process.  That’s where Redfin.com can help out.  This site helps to make gathering important information about a particular house easier.  Redfin also offers brokerage services, which is something that none of their competitors can say.

Launched in February 2006, Redfin provides quite a bit of data as well as maps, of houses located within the geographic areas they currently serve (which includes most major metropolitan areas in the U.S.).  This data includes basic information like square footage, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc., but also things like how much you can expect to pay in property taxes.

If you’re looking to do some research for that next (or first) house you might want to pay a visit to Redfin.  They just might have the information you’re looking for!

I’ve blogged about many websites since I started this blog back in August of 2008 but I have to say, this site is the only one that’s ever given me goosebumps.  I don’t know what it is about the site, maybe it’s the fact that the seemingly far-fetched futuristic sci-fi movies from the not too distant past seemed to be coming true before my eyes.  I know that probably seems overly dramatic, but after you check out the site I think you’ll understand my initial reaction.

The site is called Qwiki (pronounced quick-ee) which I think is catchy, memorable, and very apropos.  Essentially the site is a Wiki (similar to Wikipedia) but instead of having to read a lengthy scholarly article, Qwiki provides an experience that is similar to watching a video, but better.  Qwiki provides an engaging experience, that I think will revolutionize the way we consume information.

To begin using Qwiki simply type in a query that you wish to learn more about, and hit enter.  A female sounding computer generated voice will quickly begin speaking, and describing in detail whatever it is that you queried.  So for example if you type in “Apple Inc” Qwiki will quickly load the information and begin showing you a montage of relevant pictures, accompanied by the female voice, and the text of what is being spoken so you can following along if you’d like (I’m guessing this was also done for the hearing impaired).

I’ll tell you what; words don’t do the Qwiki experience justice.  You’ve got to see and experience it for yourself.  It’s such a great site that I was waiting for them to enter into their Beta but couldn’t wait any longer to share with you guys.  So even though the site is currently still in Alpha, you should submit your email address to join because trust me, it’s totally worth it.

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.