Being in the Internet business, I obviously use the Internet. A LOT. This means I use my share of web-based applications and websites. What I have done is listed out the ten that I use practically on a daily basis.
I gave my list of top Windows applications. I then gave my list of the top Mac OS X freebies. There are not as many web-based ones simply because I don’t use all the ones that are out there. These 10 listed are the ones I use almost daily.
Aweber
Aweber is an email marketing service and is the company we use to manage mailing lists. Not only is their software extremely powerful, but they have an awesome email delivery rate and a zero-tolerance policy against spam.
Flickr
Flickr is, as far as I’m concerned, the best online photo gallery and sharing site out there. It integrates with everything, has great social media components to it, and has a very clean interface.
Google Analytics
This one is for webmasters. Google’s very own (and popular) web statistics package. There isn’t another similar option out there without a price tag that I’ve found.
Google Calendar
Great for keeping track of your schedule as well as things you have to get done. I especially use Calendar for the email reminder and SMS reminder capability.
Google Docs
Like most of you, I have a boatload of documents on my local computer. When, more and more, I am starting to store documents online and work on them in my browser. I like the fact that I can work on the document from anywhere without having to sync the file. And the sharing capabilities are second to none.
Google Gmail
Sure, there are alternatives like Hotmail and Yahoo. But, I prefer Gmail. The interface is snappy. The labels, for me, are preferable to folders. You can access it from anywhere, including in your own POP3 or IMAP client. And it’s free. What more do you need?
Google Reader
[Sigh] Yes another Google app. What can I say – they’re good. For any blogger, an RSS reader is important. And nothing compares to Google Reader in terms of convenience. I like the fact that I can share items easily, view shared items from others in my network, and even view my feeds from the phone.
Pandora
Pandora is simply awesome. Stream your choice of music to your computer all day for free. You set up your own music stations based on your preferences. I use Pandora quite often when I’m working. I love it.
TubeMogul
We use TubeMogul regularly in order to upload our videos for PCMech. The site will take your video and simultaneously upload it to several different video websites. Extremely handy. It also provides metrics on viewership of your videos across these sites.
Twitter is about the best thing to happen to social media ever. It is super popular and, due to the API, integrates with so many things, including many local Adobe AIR based applications like TweetDeck and Twirl.
So, What About You?
Which web applications do you use on a daily basis? (or at least pretty often). Please share in the comments below.
David Risley is the founder of PCMech.com. He is the brains, the thinker, the writer, the nerd.
I agree about Google being awesome.
I use wordpress.com, & also photobucket.com.
Google this… google that… google something else… twitter this… twitter that… and then via email we get facebook this… facebook that… Get my point? its like theres a stuck record somewhere, bit of an unhelpful list really.
No, I don’t get your point. Unless your point is that you can’t make a useful comment and that you are still living in the ice age of computers.
Besides, did you notice the word “Dave’s” in the title? This is MY list and I asked for people to post their own. Why don’t you try that instead of…well, whatever it is you call that comment you made.
David-1. Jase-0.
Game on!
for me I would add twitter, brightkite, and friendfeed to the list…oh also last.fm and the hype machine for music.
Why do you need to “add Twitter” when Twitter is already on the list??
I tried Pandora But apparently we are not allowed access to it in Australia. Last.fm and my tastes dont line up too well.
Dave,I love the list you gave.The only thing I use differant is Bloglines instead of Google Reader,only because of an article I read from Rich,and I love Bloglines.
When you say Last.fm and your tastes don’t line up, do you mean you taste in music or taste in apps ? I feel Last.fm has an almost unlimited selection of music covering most genre.
lAST.FM
Entered “Piano” and all I got back was avant-garde Style.
No Classics, no popular, no jazz.!
Okay… I’ll expose my ignorance here, but how is the security on the Google Docs, Calendar and other functions. E-mail is one thing… but some of my major documents (like my budget, work files and anything with a SSN or other personal information) could be very exploitable.
Do you limit your on-line presence at all for security or privacy means… or are the protections from Google and other things you discuss really that good.
I’m in a unique career field where security is a major issue… so I’m typically a little paranoid on this stuff.