Do a Google search for ‘how many websites are there’. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Considering that Google is essentially God when it comes to all things internet related (even non-internet related), you should see the following iron-clad search result indicating that there are 644,275,754 active websites on the internet.
Think about that for moment; the enormity of that number. If you knew just over 644 million people – every single one of them would have their own website. That’s just mind-boggling.
The reason I bring up that little factoid is that lately I’ve been thinking about how many of those 644 million websites I frequent. Being that I’m basically a computer geek who spends a minimum of 8-hours a day accessing a device with internet access, one would think that I hit a decent number of those sites. Well I don’t. Far from it.
Looking at the list of sites in my Bookmarks (or Favorites for those still using Internet Explorer) along with just knowing my own surfing habits, I really only hit about 10 websites with any sort of measurable frequency.
For me, Twitter tops the list. There are a lot of creative, funny people out there who deliver great content in 160-characters or less. For an instant feel on people’s opinions on anything topical, it’s the place to go. Throw in the fact that news outlets can get a story out more quickly on Twitter than just about anywhere else, just solidifies it as my top choice.
Facebook has sort of gotten back into favor for me lately though I haven’t figured out if the content has gotten better and/or if it’s just become habit again. My gut tells me it’s because the elections are over and my timeline isn’t being polluted (as much) by anti-Obama, anti-Tea Party or God-wants-us-to-have-guns rhetoric.
Google+
See the pattern here? I’m not the biggest Google+ fan, but occasionally there’s some good stuff there. It’s sort of a cross between the personal-side that Facebook offers and the no-holds-barred angle of Twitter.
Email: work and personal
This is really a no-brainer. We all have to check for messages at least 349 times a day. Right?
I get that LinkedIn might not be for everyone but for semi-serious discussions and postings that rarely get political, religious or insultful (if that’s a real word), this is the place to go. People on LinkedIn tend to be more professional – perhaps even educated – and as such, behave that way (most of the time.)
The bottom 5
The above sites are then followed by the likes of CNN, Blackhawk Zone message boards, ummm, I did say there were 10, right?
Maybe Google Analytics, WordPress or sites discussing the benefits of drinking Diet Mountain Dew?
I don’t know. That’s about it, really. Sometimes I’ll take the occasional “How 80’s are you?” quiz or check out SEO or other Google-related message boards but my web surfing is mostly limited to social media (which in and of itself is odd because some might say that I’m not very social.)
What about you? What sites do you hit often on any given day?
My go-to sites besides personal and work email are much like yours — Facebook and Twitter are up there. Pinterest. I have a freelance job writing curriculum for a company called Curriculet so I’m on their site multiple times a day. Google Drive gets a lot of action from me. Weight Watchers website gets visited a lot, too, to find recipes and to track my food. But that’s about it for the regulars.