Wondering what is “hot” on the web? Sure there are numerous ways to find new content on the internet, but none may be as easy as this. The next time you decide to blow off your to do list in favor of mindlessly surfing the web for something interesting, try this fun and easy little science project for finding new, exciting, and topical content on the web.
Now you are probably familiar with Google Suggest. This is the service from google that figures out what you are typing in a search for as you type. It is designed as a shortcut to your destination. It is exceptionally good at figuring out what you are looking for once you type in 5 to 10 characters. It is a nice, time saver / spell checker that can be very useful in aiding search. But what if you don’t know the destination? What if the destination is some abstract notion like “something cool.” How do you find such content?
Easy. In fact it is as easy as one keystroke. Go to Google (make sure google suggest is enabled). Pick one letter. Type it in the search box. Stop. Look. See what comes up. This will be a listing of hottest content on google based on that letter. For example B currently yields: Best Buy, Bank of America, Bed Bath & Beyond, Barnes & Noble, BBC, Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Barack Obama, bbc news. This list changes all the time. Not interested in any of these? 25 more letters to go. It won’t take too many until you see the name of that policy you caught a blurb about on NPR, or that singer someone told you to check out, or the newest web 2.0 tool that will change your life forever. It really is quite amazing.
Certainly there are other ways to find cool content on the web, but perhaps none quite so simple as this. One keystroke, multiple results. Who know what path that may lead you down, and what treasure may exist at the other end of that journey. Happy surfing.
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