Time magazine (October 23, 2006), on the heels of the $1.65 billion buyout of YouTube.com by Google, identified the web sites they felt stood a good chance of being the next big things. Here’s their list although if you want to know why Time thinks their the NEXT BIG THING you’ll have to buy the mag or hit their site.
Farecast.com – trends airline ticket prices to advise you whether or not to buy that ticket home to Grandma’s for X-mas now or if you should wait. Kayak.com has something similar (and simpler). Don’t know if it’s theirs’ or they’re licensing it. Turns out that I should have bought my daughter’s X-mas ticket 2 months ago. Oh well!
Zillow.com – I think this site is cool. Enter your address and it will not only map it but overlay what it believes to be the current market price for not only your place but all of your neighbors as well. Don’t know if it’s accurate or not but nice to know that – at least according to Zillow – I’m not upside down on my mortgage … yet!
Yelp.com – here’s another great idea that I actually thought of and never did anything about. Yelp makes it easy for local folks to write reviews on local businesses. Seems to do a good job with restaurants but my search for orthodontists (my son needs one, ouch) while turning up several yielded none with reviews. Once these guys hit critical mass — and they’ve built enough viral sharing features into the site to make this a real possibility — they might really have something.
30Boxes.com – a web calendar for Generation Y is the focus of 30Boxes. Live life transparently. Invite your buddies to tie their calendars to yours so you always know who actually has a life while you’re home voting for tonight’s Dancing with the Stars contestants. hokey
Other Cool Sites:
- pinger.com – send voice mail from your cell to email…
- doostang.com – use who knows who you know to reach that next rung on your career ladder
- 37signals.com – project collaboration
- pandora.com – instant radio station
- blurb.com – create a book from multiple media streams
