Where Do You Hang?
Everyone has their favorite haunts on the Web. Some are places that you pop into every now and then, to make a quick purchase or check up on news.
Others are more special. They’re the places where you’re a regular, where everyone knows your name (or at least your avatar). And even if no one has any idea who the heck you are, you still feel a sense of community and an intense emotional link to the company hosting the site.
Here’s a few sites that keep me coming back.
- Amazon.com
Yeah, it’s an obvious no-brainer. One of my favorite features about Amazon is the robust league of user comments about everything from the latest Gwen Stefani CD to KitchenAid mixers. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been swayed to buy (or steered away from buying) after reading through dozens of opinions about a product. Sure, there are plenty that read like they were written by the PR team of a publishing house. But wade through those and you find lots of real folks, sharing real opinions.
- TVGuide.com
Like many folks, I no longer regularly buy a print TV Guide. With an interactive program guide on digital cable, there’s no need. What I do have a need for are episode reviews posted often within the hour after one of my favorite shows ends. Couple that with oodles of blogs by professional and amateur TV critics, gossip columns and features from the print edition, and I’m hooked. Get the Brits to stop posting spoilers about “Doctor Who” in the comments section, and I’ll be in heaven.
- Face2Face
This blog (blog.meetingsnet.com/face2face/) is hosted by our sister unit of magazines, The Meetings Group. Sue Pelletier, editor of Association Meetings, blogs on just about anything you can imagine a meetings industry professional would care about in a light, breezy way — travel costs, hotel rooms, air travel and more. She keeps it entertaining with random “just for fun” posts that give this professional page a lot of personality.
- NeilGaiman.com
I’ve written about this author’s site before, but it’s worth mentioning again. Gaiman is one of my favorite authors. Look him up on Amazon (how’s that for cross-column promotion?) if you’re not familiar with his work — his grocery lists are probably more entertaining than 99% of what’s out there. But even better than that is his journal, which he updates from all corners of the globe as he travels for his literary and film industry work. Even if he’s not traveling, he entertains with stories of his children, his garden, his cats or whatever else catches his fancy. And interspersed throughout are mentions of recent and upcoming projects, giving readers an easily swallowable (and welcome) dose of self-promotion.
All these sites achieve one important purpose: They make me feel connected to something I care about, and build the brand of each entity. So who’s in your neighborhood? Let me know at [email protected].
