Discovery Exercise #22 Discovering Web 2.0 Awards

Several of the sites listed as Web 2.0 Awards nominees were sites we already visited as part of Learning 2.0. The ones we didn't visit but that I liked were http://www.cocktailbuilder.com/, http://www.onesentence.org/, and http://www.peertrainer.com/. Although I do not drink alcoholic beverages or allow them in my home, Cocktail Builder has an interesting idea: " Tell the Cocktail Builder what liquor and mixers you have lying around and it will tell you what cocktails you can make!" Now, if they could develop a site that does the same with food--"Tell the Menu Builder what food you have in your refrigerator, cupboards, or pantry and it will help you plan a meal"--that would be a totally awesome site.

One Sentence was also a interesting site. "One Sentence is about telling your story, briefly. Insignificant stories, everyday stories, or turning-point-in-your-life stories, boiled down to their bare essentials." Some of the entries made me laugh. Some of them made me think. Some of them made me say "What ???"

Peer Trainer also has an interesting concept--connecting people who are interested in fitness and training or finding support from users who share the same goals as you. While I don't know if I would feel comfortable "connecting" on the site, I can see the site used by people looking for motivation or support as they try to lose weight or get fit.

The one site on the list that I was surprised about was Yahoo! Answers. Slate magazine recently called it "a Librarian's Worst Nightmare" because "It encourages bad research habits, rewards people who post things that aren't true, and frequently labels factual errors as correct information. " Why would you give an award to a website that gives inaccurate information and encourages bad research habits? Sure, it ranked high in usability and social aspects, but if I had question, I would want it answered accurately. But, you can judge for yourself. Here is the link to the Slate article: http://www.slate.com/id/2179393/fr/rss/. If you find if any websites that highlight the good aspects of Yahoo! Answers, let me know. (Oh, wait! Here is an idea: ask Yahoo! Answers. It would be interesting to see what their answers are!)