I’m checking out Time’s list of 50 best websites of 2008 and I don’t get it. Sure, these are all nice sites, but I fail to find any criteria upon which this list is based.
A quick skim through the list reveals very different types of sites and services. Hulu is there, which means that the list isn’t global, since Hulu doesn’t work outside of the US. TinyURL isn’t really a destination site which you’re going to visit often; it’s a service you’re going to use through a bookmarklet. I’m glad that PixelGirl Presents, a long-time favorite of mine, got a mention, but that site hasn’t changed in years; why is 2008 the year when PixelGirl Presents deserves to be in the top 50?
In short, the list is a totally random assortment of interesting websites. Which is not that bad in itself, but I think that Time should try harder to establish some criteria for lists such as this, if it wants to stay more relevant than the next “I’m gonna make a big list, hit Digg, and go away rich” blog.
Yep, real reliable stuff. =)
I hope they didn’t forget to add their own site to the list.
Just look at the amazing way they present the list of links to the 50 websites.
Not as a dusty old normal list of clickable links, but as a menu in a real live flash web 2.0 application.
Forget about any pesky allowances for opening those 50 links by dragging, or shift + clicking, or left clicking to open in a new window/tab etc.
I didn’t have the time to check out the *whole* list, but ill bet there are some pretty great shiny MySpace profiles in there, and of course web 2.0 superuser mashup sites with every individual line of text displayed in their own little iframe with both horizontal and vertical scrollbars.
The web 2.0 sure has come a long way since those primitive days when you had to look at text or click on links without having anything at all from Adobe installed.
But I digress…
Its just linkbait…Time Magazine’s staff are generalists, they aren’t in the position to create such a list and be taken seriously
They are covering it because its trendy to do that sort of ‘top lists’ thing.
I’ve just seen the list a while ago and I must say that, it’s totally like a collection of websites which offer various services. It’s not a chart of the best/popular websites on the internet.
I definitely agree with you. Time should provide a better list some time.