I hate Top 10 list but love top 5 list. Why, its simple, I like to keep things short and sweet. Before I continue let me explain what I mean by Innovative Web Sites. I don't me technically innovative or sites that create a new paradigm. I am talking about site whose ideas were so simple and executed so elegantly that you bang your head on your desk and say to your self "Why didn't I think of THAT!!" I also choose websites that either contained a amazing amount of content (no .4) or combined different element to make a new idea (No .2) With our further delay My Top 5 Innovative websites of 2007 in reverse order
5. Digg.com
Why it Made the List: A prime example of what a .net 2.0 community application should be. Digg works off the the simple premise of letting the community decide what other should see. Digg is simple, see a interesting post and vote for it for others to see. If they like it, it causes a domino effect until it reaches the wholly grail of the front page. Digg is a equal oppurtunity community as even smaller sites might get great exposure(it has been know to shut down a server or two). Digg is community ran and what 2.0 is and should be.
What it can improve on: The site would benefit by being able to customize you home page by filtering content and creating you own channels. Also the communtiy uses can be brutal.
4. GameRankings.com
Why it made the List: In the old days (2005) in order to find if a game was good we would log into our favorite gaming website(s)/magazine and read the review, or we would ask our friends if a game they had played or heard about was any good. Problem was that we soon found out that people, as well as websites, had very different ideas of what they considered good. We also found out there is a lot bias out there *cough* GameSpot *cough* that is sometimes driven by advertising, and different personal taste. Along comes GameRankings.com and it changes everything. No longer does one have to ask around or check out different website to see if a game is worth spending $50 dollars of their hard earn cash on. GameRankings consolidates all reviews from all major reputable websites and gives it a score based on a average of all those rankings. It also goes one step further and even includes order games and games systems. (Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time for the N64 is still the number one ranked game of all time at the time of this post) For the amount of content that the website contains alone gives this site a spot on this list.
What it can improve on: The interface is starting to show its age, and the search capabilities could be a little more specif but all in all a great site
3. RedFin.com
Why it made the List: The real estate market is suppose to be dead. RedFin.com is doing everything it can to keep it alive. As a person who has developed Real Estate software, I have never seen a more intuitive, user friendly, and data intensive site as RedFin.com. Not only can you search most of the country, you can even see a map of all surrounding houses for sale, check out the MLS(Multiple listing service) listing, see the appraised price via Zillow.com, observe the surrounding neighborhood in a overhead view via Microsoft Earth and check out the community statistics. The wealth of information is staggering. This is what Web 2.0 was suppose to be. A collaboration of different ideas all serving a single purpose. Redfin.com does that almost better then any other site I have seen.
What it can improve on: The site is a little slow and requires a very high speed connection. The interface is a little cluttered and the user can be bombarded with too much information(not always a bad thing when looking for a house).
2. Fark.com
Why it made the List: Ah Fark the great time waster. The "I have 10 minutes at work with nothing to do" kind of site. Submit a interesting link and the staff at fark will determine if it is worthy and label it with a category like "Obvious' ,"Interesting" and "Florida". The stories are diverse, interesting and sometimes warrant a head shaking or a laugh. Fark is always worth a daily look and fills those 15 minutes at work or at home when you need a metal break or have some time to kill
What it can improve on: The filtered content remove most of (not all) of the junk that usually clogs these websites. Also some would say that the site is too filtered as all of the submitted content must be approved before it will be posted.
1. Woot.com
Why it made the List: Woot.com is the kind of site that makes you want to bang your head on your desk over and over again asking yourself "Why didn't I think of that?". The idea is simple: For every day, one and only one product will be sold. The site will occasionally deviate from the one-product-per-day model for a “Woot-Off”, where a succession of products are available for a period of unannounced length, usually 24-72 hours( can anyone say "Bag O' Crap) Add in hilarious descriptions and blurbs of the product for sale, Woot.com is the kind of site that makes you visit it daily just to see what deals are available. Finally to sweeten the deal everything is $5 dollars to ship.
What it can improve on: Not sell out. The idea is great, the Woot off are cool, the community is bargain price driven overall a great site.
Any comment of feedback (be nice) is encouraged.
The O