14th of July 2000
Let's talk about portals and forums for the web development community. The sites below feature and highlight work done by the ever-expanding cadre of independent web producers. You won't find hard-sell or guerilla marketing. Instead, educational, enthusiastic, peer evaluation and recommendation is the order of the day. Exchange of ideas, tips and techniques, and informal dialog help you discover "the hidden web."
Let's begin with Astounding Websites,
a creation of Glenn Davis and a handful
of other well-known web personalities. Glenn was founder and creator of the original
Cool Site of the Day and Project Cool (along with Teresa Martin). Moving his talents
to the U.S. east coast also means starting another web property. Astounding Websites
is an interactive forum that allows anyone and everyone to submit description and
review of quality work from top designers, writers, and programmers for peer perusal.
One goal is simply to make us more aware of what we have not yet found. Discussions
are cordial and lively, and you are sure to discover just what you've been looking
for. Brand new, and effective.
WebbieWorld is a self-registering portal of
quality web sites with a twist. It is also an awards system. Exceptional "Hot Picks"
are selected by WebbieWorld's creator Mark
Connell, and "People's Picks" are chosen by you and me. Whenever a visitor
clicks on the WebbieWorld vote banner, like the one above, a tally is made. One
vote per person, per day. This allows quality web sites to percolate to the top of
the WebbieWorld listings and adds exposure to your favorite sites. Says Mark,
"We also provide interviews and features that help web builders learn about different
facets of the web. WebbieWorld is basically an ever changing site that lets people learn
about the web and a place to find interesting sites."
Created by
Joe Jenett, the
CoolSTOP Portal is an original amalgam of
web interaction. Joe has developed a myriad of methods to communicate with the web
community. Starting with his highly prestigious daily selection Best of the Cool sites,
participants can engage themselves in ColorSpeak, the Links Arena, YooNoHoo, iNSPiRATiONS,
and his latest additon to the jenett webthings properties,
net.weblogs.com. Joe told me, "My personal work on
the web is a reaction to what the web has become and a mission to promote and renew a
spirit of the web that has to do with people and creativity and personal expression."
Those three wonderful sites can keep you busy for a number of days on your quest for web excellence. If you still can't get enough, here are a few other forums and discussion groups I highly recommend for web designer interaction. Oh, and of course, don't ever forget our very own Internet Brothers Community. Do you know of others? Let me know.
net.weblogs.com
...an experiment in freeform discourse