The leaves have fallen off the trees. The frost has rendered our windshields useless. And in a couple of days, most of us will be sitting around a table, pondering the things in this world that make life worth living. (Or, you know, stuffing our faces with turkey and fighting with the in-laws.) That’s right, it’s Thanksgiving time. So for this week’s State of the Web, I’ve put together a list of all thing Internet-related things for which I’m thankful, for better or worse.
- Google search: Still the best way to settle any debate
- Reddit: It’s called the “front page of the Internet” for a reason
- Skype: Putting long distance rates in their place (i.e. the grave)
- Tumblr and all its GIFs: Because GIFs are back
- Hacker News: The best way to keep tabs on those rascally Silicon Valley types
- Techmeme: If you want to know why tech blogs write about all the same stuff, this is why
- Twitter: Sometimes annoying, never boring, vital during a natural disaster
- Chartbeat: Nothing is more addicting than watching people flood to your website in real-time
- Electronic Frontier Foundation: Because nobody helps keep the Web free with as much fiestiness
- Google Maps Street View Collections: I will never travel everywhere I want to go, and this makes that less painful
- Chilling Effects: It keeps tabs on government attempts to stifle online free speech, something my smart friends say is important
- This Is Now: Actually, real-time Instagram uploads might be more addicting than Chartbeat’s analytics
- NYTimes.com interactive graphics: Because The Gray Lady knows how to make infographics that aren’t worthless
- Library of Congress Thomas legislation search: It’s old and ugly looking, but it’s the best way to find out what the heck Congress is up to
- WhoIs: Sometimes you just need to figure out which idiot made that website you hate
- Google Transparency Report: It makes me feel like Google isn’t an impenetrable juggernaut feeding on our private data, at least a little
- PrivacyFix browser plugin: Not only does it block ad trackers, it tells you how much you’re worth to Google and Facebook
- The Week’s ‘Only in America’ flipbook: Because ‘Murica!
- The Onion: Duh
- Tor: Your every online move is being watched (without Tor)
- Netflix Watch Instantly: The only way to not have cable (without losing your mind)
- This thing: Seriously, check it out
- Wikipedia: Sure, it might sometimes be inaccurate – but who cares, really?
- The Pirate Bay: Not because of the free (illegal) movies, but because the fact that it’s still up and running is punk rock
- IMDB: Until movies are no longer a thing, IMDB will be the place to find out about them
- Dear Blank Please Blank: I have no idea what this is, but Caleb told me to include it
- The Atlantic’s In Focus photo-blog: Stories told in big, beautiful photos, just as it should be
- Vimeo: Because its clean look kicks the crap out of YouTube
- Quora: For when Google leaves you hangin’
- @YourAnonNews: The only Twitter feed you need to know what in tarnation Anonymous is up to
- Audible: Because reading while driving is really dangerous
- Wi-Fi: Cords needs to die
- XKCD: Do I have to explain?
- What If?: The infinitely curious Randall Munroe at his finest
- Pandora: No other service makes being too lazy to make playlists a good personal quality
- DuckDuckGo: Search without all the Big Brother tracking makes me feel in control
- HBO Go: “Game of Thrones” anywhere – need I say more?
- Hide My Ass VPN: Sometimes you just need a little privacy (or to watch “Downton Abbey” before it hits the U.S.)
- Space.com: The fact that we can leave this planet still blows my mind
- Peer-to-peer online sports broadcasts: Because watching soccer in the U.S. is hard
- Imgur: Every other image hosting service is too hard after Imgur
- Craigslist: Used dirt bikes just aren’t going to sell themselves (to me)
- Online bill pay: Who has time for mail?
- Overheard in New York: Six years later, it’s still funny
- TOS-DR: Because terms of service need to be summarized
- Louis CK’s website: Louis CK is the bald bastard who figured out how to sell entertainment media to Web users the right way
- This other thing: Almost as awesome as the last thing
- Amazon: Deep in my soul I know it’s evil, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t have good customer service
- Arts & Letters Daily: The best way to make people think you’re smart
- Free porn: Because we’d all be lying if that wasn’t on here
Have something on the Web that you’re thankful for? Don’t keep it a secret! Let us all enjoy it in the comments. Remember: We wouldn’t have Thanksgiving without “giving” (or the pointless slaughter of countless Native Americans). Happy holidays!
