Oh the Places You'll Go! (On the Internet) #1

I’m not quite sure what the Chief wants me to write. We were kind of given free reign when it came to writing our blogs. Since my blog is about the internet, I have a problem with coming up with topics. It isn’t the issue of there not being enough topics…it’s an issue of where does one start.

It’s the internet! All matter of beasties live in it, and sometimes you just don’t want to click the links it gives you, for fear of ending up somewhere like the scarier corners of 4chan. (No, I am not going to hyperlink it. I take no responsibility if you google it either. You’ve had fair warning.)

So I had this brilliant idea of doing a series where I share some websites I find interesting in some shape or form. They aren’t all newsworthy, but they are all worthy of a look. This article’s title is parodied from a Dr. Seuss book in case you were wondering.

So here are five places that I think you should go on the internet this week:

Tumblr

This is a rapidly growing social networking/blogging site that allows you to rehash (“reblog”) other people’s post in a way that isn’t annoying and doesn’t remind you too much of a chain letter. It runs on hipsters, animated gifs, various fandoms (including but not limited to Doctor Who, all 90’s cartoons, Harry Potter, Glee and Supernatural), and internet memes. Responses to posts are generally in the form of animated gifs—if the reaction/emotion exists, there’s a gif for it. It has a tendency to be NSFW (not safe for work), but it really depends on what blogs you subscribe to.

If an interest exists, you can probably find a blog dedicated to it by adding “hellyeah” or “f—yeah” before the topic in the URL. The hyphens are obviously for politeness’ sake and I hope you know what that word actually is. An example of this would be “hellyeahtangled.tumblr.com” which is a fanblog about Disney’s Tangled. It’s also a thriving place for social justice blogs like My Culture is Not a Trend and Critical Feminist Corgi. Fair warning, this is a site that you’ll waste a lot of time on.

Cracked

I can’t express my love for this site in mere words. At first glance, it’s a humor site. At second glance, it’s satire. At third glance, you realize that the writers are the best and most hilarious researchers on the internet! They also write their articles in easily digestible lists—like “17 Images That Will Ruin Your Childhood.” By fourth glance, you realized it’s already three in the morning and you’ve spent all night reading articles like these:

Yes, I know that makes more than five places, but come on. Don’t those titles just poke at your curiosity? Another site that you’ll spend way too much time on.

The Quiet Place

I found this on Tumblr. I recommend everyone go to this site right now. It’s hard to explain what it is, but this site will give you a moment of peace. Trust me, it’s worth clicking. You won’t spend a lot of time on this site, but you’ll feel better afterward.

Cute Overload

Another site I go to to make myself feel better. It’s a blog that is just a bunch of photos and videos of cute animals. Kittens, puppies, hedgehogs, just all around cute things. Guaranteed to make a grown man go “awwww! that’s adorable!”

One Word

As a writer, I find this site to be a great daily exercise. You click “Go” and then a single word appears as a prompt. Then you free write for 60 seconds. You can include the word or write the first thing that pops into your head about the word—the whole point is to not think and just write. For example, one day’s prompt was “sudden” and this is what I wrote:

There was a sudden noise upstairs. He sighed, shutting his book and picking up his baseball bat. The attic troll was back.

I have no idea why I wrote that, but it certainly seemed like an interesting start to something. There’s a community attached to the site, so you can have friends, make groups, and all that, but that’s just the bells and whistles to this marvelous little tool to keep your imagination up and running.

Well, that is all the links I have for today. I might make this a regular thing, since I did brazenly tack a “#1” in my headline. Any thoughts, lovely readers? Also, don’t hesitate to email me at mustangdailywebeditor@gmail.com with any ideas you have or drop line in the comment area.

October 6, 2011