WebSketch is a Web service that helped average people to build a better Web site. From the live examples that can be found through the WebSketch’s Featureds Web page, you’ll surprise of some sites that how average people could build a Web site with a minimum Web design skills, but the outcome would possibly be edged out some sites that built by the skilled Web designers and engineers.

All the Web sites built by using WebSketch’s editor seem to be followed tightly the principles of WebSketch, i.e. Users are attempted to complete the user goals that were specific to the purpose of each type of site with the best Web design practices, with the features rendered by WebSketch. Since WebSketch users can add photos, videos, slides, and movies to their own Web sites, most sites that presented to the world are visual-enabled sites. It is due to the convenient of the drag-n-drop feature and user-friendly integration with Flickr, YouTube, RockYou, slide and hulu. And thus, users can complete the Web sites occupied by beautiful photos, movies, slides, etc in minutes, without having to understand deeply about any stitch of code.

Some said Web sites are big and getting bigger everyday. It is true since most of the sites are offering a lot of functions nowadays, some even programmed a lot of code in the back-end. It is becoming a norm that in order to develop a Web site, one will need to have more than a set of editor. Not only that, third-party plugin might be a necessary tool in some circumstances. However, with WebSketch, users will only need a computer, as well as a Web browser, and they can start to build on it. The content of the site can be started to formulate with the help of WebSketch editor, and hence no third-party software, or any plugin be needed in this case. Moreover, WebSketch did not offered any template to be served as a site’s background, as a result it would not sacrifice users’ creativity.

WebSketch’s editor is a very good WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) set of editor that based on JavaScript. At first glance, it seems very complicated for their target-market users, i.e. non-technical people to use it since the background layout is in grid format. Also, there are many objects and widgets in the asset bin you’ll need to learn in order to use it properly, albeit that the learning curve is short. After you understanding the objects such as text, image, page header can be moved around the editor, you probably would started to enjoy it. In addition, any object or widget can be adjusted accordingly in the “Properties” dialog box itself. To start import the pictures, videos, movies, or slides from Flickr, YouTube, RockYou, slide and hulu, you simply need to type in your username of the Web services concerned, WebSketch will start searching all of your data, and from the search results appeared, you’ll have the option to select which one you prefer and drag-n-drop the picture, video, movie, or slide to the editor.

Although users might reveled in the rich features offered by WebSketch. Users need to understand the sites they created are carried with the long Web address as any Web address of a Web site is solely to be determined by WebSketch. In this case, you are not allowed to develop any sub-domain. However, since this WebSketch service is offered without any charge, it might be a Web site creator that most suitably for the hobbyists.

All the Web sites created using this WebSketch can be shared across the Web. Meanwhile, WebSketch also offered the site privacy setting to the registered users. A user can set the choices of her site as follows: Only I can view, Only friends can view, or Anyone can view in her own privacy settings.

In overall, WebSketch tend to serve as a social network among a group of friends that love to create personal Web sites. You can invite, search, add or remove friends in this WebSketch. As a result, any friend within your friends list create a new site, you will know it in the first place and more likely be the first one to enjoy the site experience.

I love programming very much. It’s rare in my country of birth because I did not own a computer science degree and yet a guy who isn’t think that programming is too hard. Maybe I should use the word “scripting” instead of programming because it will makes the word “scripting” sounds like an art and less imposing as well.

For those people who think scripting (programming) are too hard, or they’ve been bogged down when writing large scripts, Stack Overflow offered a fun way for one to look at this art. On the main page, Stack Overflow introduced itself as a collaboratively edited question and answer site for programmers - regardless of platform or language. And users will find most of the questions and answers related to scripting (programming), albeit that some questions are originally tend to be fun such as “What is the worst code you’ve ever written,” “When did you know it was time to leave your job,” “What is your funniest end user story,” etc. as perceived in my first glance.

Currently, there are 17,790 questions posted on the site, at the time of my writing. Most of them are related to the use of programming languages, and all questions are properly organized with the number of votes, answers, and views. Besides, all the essential content are classified logically so that when users are searching the questions based on newest, hot, week, month, or tags, they can select the tabs and questions will be appeared accordingly. Moreover, users are encouraged to sign-up for an account because this will allows them to edit anything, this include questions that posted to the site, in addition to collect karma, in the form of receiving badges.

In overall, Stack Overflow is a scripting (programming) Q&A Web site, however, this site has performed best at its most important job by providing valuable content with the user goals of wikis, blogs, forums, and Digg/Reddit.

In this 21st century, sending a greeting card online probably is the most convenient, easy and yet economical way to wish someone. However, the online greeting cards, so-called ecards are often characterized by boring, if not, one must pay $1.99 or above for an ecard or join the membership for as low as $13.00 per year to as high as $29.99 in order to access the premium ecards, or customize the ecards as well as obtain the flexibility to send and print an unlimited number of it. Perhaps users could sent the ecards at no charge, but they’ll find out the ecards they sent are alike, since many are using the same background image. Also, the free ecards they sent are advertisement-inserted, if not, the link of the ecards are full of ads from the top to the sidebar.

Fortunately, there is an ecard service which launched in the beginning of this month called POSTCARD.FM that tend to provide a totally different ecard user experience. POSTCARD.FM has an easy-to-understand interface, you just need to upload your own favorite photographic image plus a MP3 song (maximum 20MB), and enter the recipient’s email address, then it is done. The sending process is depend on the loading speed of your browser as well as the Internet connection. In some cases, some ecards uploading processes could be terminated half way (I experienced it myself), or it may require up to a few minutes for finishing the process. On behalf of the recipients, they’ll receive the ecards in the URL link format in their emails. By opening the link one will know the sender’s email address, as well as the external link to Amazon pertaining to the audio song inserted to the ecard.

I always believe that ecards will actually never go out of fashion, as long as those providers could provide a way for the end-users to choose, upload and send.

UMapper is one of the Web-based applications that I’ve been tracking since it was first inception in this year. Proclaimed as first-of-its-kind of visual, universal, Web-based map authoring application, users will find it mostly useful when they want to create their Flash maps that could be embedded onto their blogs, or social networking accounts. Though UMapper still in Alpha stage, it is open its registration to the public, and if you want to test it yourself even you do not want to open an account, you’re allowed to do so, with the exception that you cannot save your map for future references.

This site use the Internet language that I believed it’s very easy to understand. You either can create your own map or explore some other maps that were created by other users. Upon you decided to create your own map, just fill-up the title and description, you’re ready to go. By default, UMapper will put its users to choose Microsoft Virtual Earth as the default map provider, but you’ve the option to use Google Earth or OpenStreet. In addition, UMapper has combined a so-called “Map Wiki” feature that help users to complete their user goals if their original purpose of building this UMapper map is a jointly effort map. If you choose the “Map Wiki” enabled in one of your maps, that particular map can be edited by anyone in the UMapper community.

UMapper also use the icons and symbols that are easy to understand. You can display the geo-data on your map by using the tools such as map controls, zoom in or zoom out, objects such as add markers, add line or polygon. etc. Moreover, you are allowed to create as many maps as you like and share them across the Web, make it accessible to the public online as a public map or private map. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the capability of exporting which allowed users to export their maps to ActionScript or KML file.

In evaluating the usefulness of UMapper, I’ve created a map called “Emirates Stadium: the home of Arsenal Football Club.” I could place a marker to the actual location that I perceived, and customize it with color, font size, as well as HTML description (if any). Most recently, UMapper also released a new version of the embed movie with new marker clustering functionality.

For registered users, they’ve the advantage of comment on various users’ maps, create maps that are shareable across multiple social networking platforms by using the gigya widget network.

Currently, UMapper’s business model is based on Google AdSense.

There are many Firefox add-ons that one can be imagined. In matter of fact, I don’t want to install anymore add-ons on my beloved Firefox browser impulsively. Instead, I want to install those that I think I will need them. Today I found a reason to install Pluribo, a Firefox add-on that provides Amazon product user reviews instantly when you need it.

The story is this, a friend of mine urge me to help him to buy an interesting psychology product entitled, “Learn Dowsing 2-DVD Set.” Prior to this, he was not managed to bid a similar product successfully at eBay, and that’s why now he turn to Amazon Web page. He want me to check whether or not the user reviews of this Learn Dowsing is good, can help him succeed in his psychology classes he attended now, as well as the shipment issues. Clearly, install an add-on such as Pluribo should help us achieving our aims.

Visiting the Pluribo home page will find many great tools about this particular software. You’re giving a great video clip, “how Pluribo works in Firefox,” and upon you successfully installed this add-on, you’ll aware that anytime you visit an Amazon product page, Pluribo will use its back-end artificial intelligence technology to help you automatically summarize user reviews. The summarized user reviews will appeared as a one or few sentences in the below of the product page.

With respect to the Learn Dowsing DVD, albeit that Pluribo couldn’t calculate a summary at the time of my writing, but in an untamed, massively scaled Web environment, learn about the user reviews before you make up your mind to buy a product is always a wise decision to have. We’re not only want the more careful sellers, but also the buyers in this Web environment. And we definitely want an add-on that will scan the user reviews more thoroughly for us.