Top Social Media Web Apps of 2009
Social Networking Sites
This has been a watershed year for social media web apps both in terms of the flow of new apps on the web and the upgrading of leading apps as they have become mainstream with users. Many new homepages, such as Newscred have been launched to aggregate content for users. User generated content, like the Twine is much more the vogue as is the concept of community on social media apps like ZooLoo. Another major growth area in the cloud is online storage with a growth in sites like Drop Box Below is a summary of my choice of top apps from the many of the categories on the Nanofiend site. Not all sections are featured as they lack a critical app in that area.
Top news app: iCurrent
iCurrent is a new app that is easy to set up with a newsy feel and gives relevant news that brings a fresh look at what is happening.
Recommended: Netvibes. Refreshed in 2009 with the Wasabi edition this app proved the most easy to set up and to use proving the leader in its field. A wide range of widgets made it attractive for finding relevant information and news and with the option of additional pages it is easy to customise.
Top Bookmarking app: Twine
Twine is a flawed user generated bookmarking site that tends to overwhelming and cluttered with rubbish but still provides lots of interesting nuggets to keep me tuned in.
Recommended: Delicious. The most ubiquitous bookmarking site on earth most suited to maintaining your online list accessible anyway.
Top Social Networking site: Brazen Careerist
Whilst Facebook is taking over the Earth there are plenty other more specialised sites out there that have much to offer. Brazen Careerist is a quality site full of interesting content.
Recommended: Gizapage. It may be a silly name but the site is entirely practical in how it brings together all your social media sites together as tabs on one page.
Top Social Media for Information: Feedly
Feedly is a great home page for organising your favourite sites into a feed of information.
Recommended: Brizzly. Brizzly is the new kid on the block competing with Feedly for features is Brizzly.
Top Tasks app: Toodledo
Toodledo has proven to be my tasks app of choice for its ease of use and range of features. It’s not easy on the eye but makes up for it with its functionality.
Recommended: Vitalist is a complete Getting Things Done app.
Top Books app: Shelfari
Shelfari is a highly competitive category with Goodreads and Librarything proving worthy sites but Shelfari did it for me as the top app for booklovers. It has not just the traction but also has an accessible navigation.
Recommended: LibraryThing is a strong competitor with a more serious database feel to it.
Top Movies app: Flixster
Flixster is the leading movie app but lacks a serious competitor until recently when Rotten tomatoes became more user interactivce. Flixster has many annoying features not least its games which I am constantly invited to play. In this sense it is not that dissimilar to Facebook, and not a particularly serious movie fan site. But its scale and ubiquity make it hard to touch.
Top Storage app: Drop Box
Drop Box is by far and away the most renowned storage app complete with its iPhone app. For me A Drive is my number one choice as a free app. Slightly fiddly in operation it still does what it says on the tin and with plenty space.