Useful Web Tools and Services (Web 2.0)

The web is changing quickly. Really quickly. Only recently, a diverse range of stable user-friendly free web tools and services came online. Many of these tools and services allow for social collaboration on a mass scale unlike anything seen previously in human history. Others allow the individual to store a lifetime's worth of information online, thus making it accessible from any internet connected computer to anyone, anytool and anyservice the individual gives access. Some people call this phenomenon 'Web 2.0'.

Below are ten web tools and services (in no particular order) I find really useful:

1. StumbleUpon: Start truly power surfing the web using this simple browser toolbar (IE and Firefox) in collaboration with a worldwide online community of fellow surfers.
   Wanna see how StumbleUpon works?


2. del.icio.us: Start keeping all of your bookmarks online. This way, they're much easier to manage and accessible from any computer. A vast community of bookmarkers gives del.icio.us a powerful collaborative aspect, allowing you to monitor what's popular. Another great tool for power surfers.
   Wanna see what people recently bookmarked with del.icio.us?


3. Writely: Create, store and share documents all online. Google bought Writely not too long ago but opened registration to the public just a few days ago. This is a great place to keep and work with important documents. (Tip: to upload up to 10 documents at once, email them to Writely as attachments!)
   Wanna take a tour of Writely?


4. flickr: Stop crowding your hard drive and upload all your photos and all future photos to flickr - an online photo storage and sharing community. You get 20MB of online storage free per month.
   Wanna explore interesting photos on flickr?


5. Snipshot: This online photo editing tool saves me a lot of time. When I just want to save an image with only minor alterations, Snipshot is a much better choice than Photoshop. Why? I don't need to leave my browser.
   Wanna give the Snipshot bookmarklet a try?


6. meebo: Log into all of the major instant messaging services (AIM, Yahoo, MSN, GTalk, etc.) simultaneously and from one browser window. All of your chat buddies from each service are unified onto one list. And with meebo you can now uninstall all of those individual chat clients from your computer!
   Wanna see who's using meebo?


7. popurls: This is the queen of Web 2.0 aggregators. (Who the king is I dunno.) On its one page you will find the current top links from each of several ... wait for it .... popular urls. And its simple slick presentation makes it very useful indeed.


8. Stickam: It calls itself an all in one multimedia communication tool. It is. Upload your personal photos, audio and video. Hook up your webcam. Embed the Stickam player in your blog. Voila. Your broadcasting.
   Wanna see who's live via Stickam right now?


9. Wayfaring: Create personalized maps and share them. Favorite cafes. Travelog. Celebrity sightings. Map them all.
   Wanna see what others are mapping on Wayfaring?


10. Rollyo: Roll your own search engines. Really. Create a customized search roll for each of your interests or use those created by others.
    Wanna see some search rolls created by celebrities on Rollyo?

There are many others. Any recommendations?