Members of our nominating committee explain why they chose Catsinsinks.com – or rather the idea that there’s a site out there like it for every interest imaginable — to be among their personal “7 Wonders of the Internet.”
Joel Snyder: Catsinsinks.com: I think that this is a particular wonder because it’s a use of technology so far different than what it was originally intended. If, for example, you were to ask any Web person 10 years ago “do you think that there will ever be a Web site with nothing more than pictures of cats in sinks,” the answer would have to have been “No, are you kidding?” Everything else, from porn to Google to e-commerce could have been reasonably foreseen with a bit of luck. But catsinsinks.com? No.
Bill Davies: This is not a tangible part of the Internet, but has to be one of the most wondrous results of its use. Anyone with an Internet connection and a cell phone with a camera can now reach a larger audience than most network TV stations. Through the Internet, a schoolboy in England, a shopkeeper in India, a business tycoon in Hong Kong and a scientist in the U.S. can all interact on an equal basis and in fact sometimes do. The Internet means that it is not so important who, what or where you are as what can you contribute to the dialogue. Even totalitarian regimes are finding it impossible to block these dialogues.
George Grenley: Wikipedia. Not perfect, but neither were the Pyramids. (One collapsed, you’ll recall.) Wikipedia is an excellent and usually reliable – and FREE – source of basic info on everything. Need a reference on medieval Bulgaria? Wikipedia has it.
Open news media. Call ’em news-blogs or whatever, the ease with which citizens can now check on the MSM and correct its errors is a big deal. We are moving toward a world where there are truly zillions of media outfits, where everyone has a printing press, etc. Most importantly, we are breaking down the false distinction that a journalist is somehow distinct from a citizen. (Sorry, Paul!)
John Gallant: Not sure how to put this, but the real wonder of the Web is how enthusiasts and lovers of virtually anything can collect and showcase so much wonderful information and knowledge. For example, I love classic horror. Consider these two sites alone – Classic Horror Short Stories and Horror Masters. People have lovingly crafted these sites and done a huge amount of work to make available material that would be virtually lost to you – hard to find stories, authors, out of print material. That’s incredible to me. To me, either one of those sites is more amazing than YouTube. Every dope wants his picture on TV. But who is willing to put together a site like one of those with no hope of major reward or recognition? It’s true love.
NYTimes.com: the work of the world’s best journalists for free. You can learn everything about virtually anything in the world with a click.
IMDB.com. Settles all arguments.
Tim Greene: IMDB – This Web site is emblematic of excellent Web sites on other topics. It has an enormous amount of data on movies and actors that enriches the enjoyment of movies (by answering such questions as “Where have I seen her before?”) and settles arguments about movies.
Greg Martin: Online IT knowledge bases. Some of us were talking last week about how we solved issues before there was an Internet to query. Having access to Microsoft’s KB database alone must be worth millions of saved man-hours in tech support, and trial and error testing. How companies like Oracle get away without offering it for free is beyond me.
Alan Portman: Ok, I will say it; Cyberporn. Easily the most profitable of all Internet businesses, cyberporn has changed America. The ability for anyone to view the erotic images of their choice in the privacy of their own home is now a $500 million a year business. The porn industry has always been at the forefront of technological change. Porn availability on VHS allowed VHS to overshadow the superior technology, Beta. Vivid entertainment has chosen HD-DVD for their content, anybody want to be who wins the HD-DVD/Blue ray duel? Adult content is moving to mobile devices. Look for “mobile phone porn” to be a $50 million dollar industry in the next five years (see Electronic Business, July 2006)
I think there is a Business Week (about three years old) article on Danni Ashe that postulates that if danni.com went public it would be three times bigger than Amazon. “Adult programming” is Charter Communications biggest profit center. Consider, Charter pays the same for Playboy and HBO, one is $5 a month, one $15. Actually, cable TV porn statistics are the current way defense attorneys define “community standards” in obscenity cases. If 5% of a given metropolitan area watch porn, isn’t that a better judge of the community standard than the opinions of 12 people in the jury pool? It has proven extremely effective.
Don’t forget to quote Justice Stewart. “…I know it when I see it.”
Liam Noonan: CMS – Content management systems suddenly the local GAA club and tell the world what’s happening without knowing a single line of HTML; look a local village where I live https://www.upperchurch.ie/.
John Gog: Blogging software – Not blogs, because the vast majority are dross and not nearly so influential as people would like to make out. No, it’s the software that makes blogs possible that is remarkable. Because of the ease of creation and setting up interactivity, blogs can focus on content rather than setup. There are genuinely excellent blogs out there (I’m a Dick Destiny fan myself), well worth searching for; the junk can be ignored easily enough.
Bob Brown: Blogosphere: Making bigger names bigger and unknowns known worldwide.
Derek Rainwater: Wikipedia (It is amazing that something so open can be so comprehensive and valuable.) … MP3s and podcasting (More free or commercial content available than anyone could possibly need or want.)
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