Each to their own - thats my excuse (Top Ten Websites)

Member Name: whitby

Product:	Top Ten Websites
Date:	26/01/02 (176 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great hobby, Meet new friends, rewarding

Disadvantages: expensive, time consuming

OK OK no amateur psychology please.

What I love about reading other peoples top ten websites lists is working out what sort of person they are.

Unfortunately I'm probably going to look a bit dull with my list.

But never mind here goes a list of what tickles my fancy:


1) www.ciao.com (sorry to put this as number one dooyoo'rs -but I am new)

Ciao provides shoppers / service users with lots of individual consumer opinions filled with information to help people making purchasing decisions. The opinions on the site are those of real consumers who are rewarded for sharing their experiences.

Ciao was the first consumer opinion site that I joined and gives me hours of pleasure. The site boasts of 2.6 million product reviews by consumers who test products and services that affect normal everyday lives.

It goes without saying that I spend most of my time on this site. My family often ask me why and I must admit that the community spirit (despite recent goings on) is just fantastic. Regular writers coach, motivate and praise each other in order to improve the standard of writing.

I can't wait to read the opinions of the wide range of characters we have here. The site enables me to have email alerts so that I don't miss my favourite writers work and I can compliment the extra special people by adding them to my Circle of Trust.

This is my favourite purely because of the sense of belonging it gives me together with the hours of giggles and tears reading peoples views.


2) www.theblackvault.com

Anthrax, Cloning, UFOs, Terrorism, FBI (X) Files and Spies - all topics that thrill me. I have no personal experience of any of these matters but I can't help but get drawn to the subject matter. This site was the subject of a Sky One documentary last year and ever since I have been hooked to the tales that are told over its pages.

The Black Vault is
run by 20-year-old John Greenewald Junior and started out as his own personal documentation of government records about subjects such as UFO's and general X-file type subjects.

Apparently there are 88895 pieces of information on the site and many are papers released by the US government with sections 'blacked out' for reasons such as national security.

Registration to the site doesn't cost anything and allows me access to the subject message boards and entitles me to opt for the daily news update.

As I've discovered this site in the last few months I am nowhere near reading all of the information that is available. At the moment I am visiting quite regularly just to satisfy my curiosity and this is why the site is my second favourite.


3) www.siberianhuskyclub.com

Being a lover of the breed, I love nothing better than sharing best practices and horror stories with other Husky owners. This site is very professional in comparison to other dog sites and so far has proven to be the best site I have found to help me with bringing up Tzar and Merlin (pictures in profile - plug plug).

Topics covered include a background on the breed together with their good and bad points. There is information about the breed standard, breeders and club events.

I particularly like checking in to the site and reading the message board as often there are potential Husky owners posting questions, and sometimes unfortunately, there may be a cry for help from an existing Husky owner.

Bearing in mind the nature of the breed - in the last week Merlin has killed a rat and they both terrorised a fox in the back garden to such an extent that we had to call the RSPCA - this is a very useful tool to people connected with the 'Sled Dog'.


4) www.dooyoo.com

Is it cheating to separate Ciao and Dooyoo?

The principle as you all know is the same as Ciao mentioned in poi
nt one above, with slight variations on certain aspects. I swore blind that I would stay loyal to Ciao after recent changes, however temptation got the better of me and I now visit Dooyoo a couple of times a week.

I became active on Dooyoo after writing for Ciao and must admit that I am struggling here a little as I find it harder to build relationships with other users.

I am gradually getting used to the daily email from Dooyoo which tells me who has replied to any comments I have left and I rely heavily on this to have 'conversations'.

One thing I do like is the 'Crown' system whereby fellow writers can nominate your extra special opinions for extra reward. So far I have won three crowns and this is extra recognition over and above what Ciao has to offer.


5) www.mypoints.co.uk

Mypoints is a free to register internet reward programme, which is very similar to Beenz. Upon registration members tick boxes that advise the company of their interests and hobbies. MyPoints then sends targeted HTML marketing emails to its members inviting them to undertake certain tasks.

Since joining I have received on average two emails a week inviting me to visit websites in exchange for 5 or 10 MyPoints. If I choose to take up the websites special offer than I can sometimes receive up to 500 MyPoints. These points are then redeemable for gift vouchers, entertainment tickets or charity donations.

In my experience mypoints are very prompt in updating member accounts and on the few times that I have needed help from customer services, I have always had a prompt and efficient reply.

At the moment I have 2609 points, which will get me a £20 Dixons or Marks and Spencers voucher. I have been collecting since November 2000.

This may seem like low reward, but I am quite happy, as all I have to do is click on a few email links every week and then surf around the site displayed.


>6) http://www.cbs.com/daytime/bb

Now this one I know I shouldn't admit to.

Due to the irregular work pattern that I've been following for the last year and a half, I watched a lot of daytime TV. Mid morning featured a half hour showing of The Bold and The Beautiful (I know, I know - Cardboard scenery and wooden acting!) Anyway the show was axed when Home and Away returned to our screens and subsequently a lot of storylines would have been left unanswered. Sooo.......

I now follow the weekly archives of the story from this site. To begin with I thought I would just close the stories I was following, but as they faded out new ones began and now I am a closet B&B follower! Do I have no shame?

The site also has behind the scenes reviews and let's us peep into the 'stars' mailbags! There is a chat room for fans to discuss topical issues but I promise I do not use this (yet).


7) www.autosport.co.uk

I already subscribe to the monthly F1 Racing magazine and having read that I tend to find the Autosport magazine a waste of money.

The web site though is a different story, especially with the facility to have daily news emails sent to me.

This enables me to keep up to date with all the BTCC and F1 news and the emails provide direct links to pages of the web site if I wish to explore any stories in more detail.

In addition to my two favourite sports the site also covers Cart, Rally, Formula 3000, DTM, NASCAR, Formula 3 and Sportscar racing.

I have found this particularly useful during the closed season and it has allowed me to keep up to date with everything that is happening behind the scenes.

The site also has an online shop that sells team merchandise and other memorabilia.


8) www.natwest.com

Now that I no longer work in a NatWest branch I have found it really hard keeping track of my finances, as I can't check my balances
daily. This is where NatWest Online Banking has really helped and one or twice a week I will log into this site using my log in and pin code to check balances and pay bills.

The site also has a branch locater facility, which has been invaluable to me in my present job. I have to travel to branches all over the country and often use the site to check the address and telephone numbers before setting off.

I particularly like the fact that I can control all of my accounts (current, savings, loan and credit card) using the one facility.

For non-staff users the site also provides a wealth of information on products and services available. More and more transactions are being accommodated through online banking as well - will we need branches soon?


9) http://groups.yahoo.com/

Every time I turn on the computer I also check for daily digest emails from my Yahoo Groups. These emails consist of a maximum of 25 postings from the message boards of my yahoo groups.

I must admit that I am a bit of a lurker when it comes to these things but I am slowly building confidence. Nonetheless I love reading all of the discussion threads and hearing other peoples views.

The groups are all run by moderators, some are a free for all where anyone can join in, other require your membership to be approved. Once into the group the activities are mostly the same such as message boards, chat rooms, file sharing and photos.

I am a member of eight Yahoo groups so far. Three of these are to do with opinion writing, two are for the obsolete silverclicks collectors (internet reward scheme), one is a referral site then I have a local radio station (LBC) and Surveysdownunder - as recommended by dear Trampus (from Ciao).

The reason that I like these groups is because it gives members of different 'clubs' an opportunity to speak up and share ideas - or slag each other off as often the case may be! All in all it
's riveting stuff.


10) www.bobthebuilder.org

I have to include this as my niece Connie and I spend hours going through all of Bob's activities. We get to sing along to the theme tune and then play a variety of games which all relate to the cartoon series.

The web site is available in nine different languages.

The games we play come under the following categories:

* Help Bob tidy his toolbox
* Fit radiators in Wendy's House
* Clear up after Pilchard causes mayhem around the house
* Help Mr Dixon with his deliveries

This site is very colourful and has great sound effects. Connie is thrilled to bits when she gets to play with it - and to be honest I don't mind it either!




~ ~ ~ Conclusion ~ ~ ~
You probably think that I am a F1 freak who has had a close encounter and now craves daytime TV and cartoons, if I don't get my fix then I set my dogs loose or alternatively log on to one of my many Internet distractions to resolve my madness!!!


Not a bad life really..............is it?

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