A Handful of Great Undiscovered Websites

PC Magazine, the "independent guide to technology" (as its website claims) recently announced the Top 100 Undiscovered Websites. These sites are described by the experts at PC as "the top new or under-the-radar sites of 2007. You may not know many of the sites on this list, but you should." To access these sites (as well as PC's Top 100 Classic Websites), click here.

While I do not have time to review all of these sites, I would like to recommend a few.

1) http://www.videojug.com/: This site offers video footage on a wide variety of "how-to-do-it-yourself" topics. The tone of these videos ranges from serious (e.g. what should I wear to my job interview video) or comical (e.g. the how to be lazy in the office & get away with it video). This site has particularly strong videos related to minor car care, family and parenting issues, & cooking.

2) http://mediastorm.org/: This site features stories similar to those seen or heard on MPBN, PBS, or NPR which are told through video, audio, photography, and personal essays. One particularly compelling story is New York Reacts, a short film which catalogs the feelings of New Yorkers on September 13th, 2001.

3) http://community.livejournal.com/act_i_vate/: Act-I-Vate is, according to its website, "a laboratory for an exclusive cabal of cartoonists plugging in and giving you free serialized graphic novels as we create them ... because the very future of the medium demands it." If you are a fan of graphic novels or of art, this site will have something for you.

4) http://www.librivox.org/: LibriVox provides free audiobooks of works from the public domain. As I type this, I'm listening to a recording of Mark Twain's Roughing It. The current LibriVox catalog has 864 readings. Another interesting aspect of LibriVox is that the site offers users the opportunity to record chapters of books in the public domain & post their recording on the website. I'm not much a fan of my own voice on recordings, but this may be for you.

5) http://www.roadsideamerica.com/: PC Magazine describes this site as "your definitive resource for the kooky, nichey, and downright bizarre landmarks that help make this huge country so unique. Use this site to plan your next roadtrip and getting from here to there will be more interesting than your average game of 'I Spy'." The site is pretty amusing. What other site could you go to find out where the Kool-Aid Museaum is (Hastings, Nebraska)? For that matter, what other site would help you to know that there even is a Kool-Aid Museum?

So, those are just a few of the sites you may be interested in checking out.

Feel free to post any comments with your thoughts about these or any recommendations for other "undiscovered" websites.

You may also email me directly with any thoughts about this posting or other posts at playne@bpl.lib.me.us.