Webware100

Site: hi5.com
Category: Social & Publishing

Hi5 is a popular social network, and one of the most trafficked sites on the Web. Like other popular social networks, users have profiles where they can post photos and tidbits of information, as well as keep track of what friends are up to. The service also has an application platform that lets third-party developers build Web apps that users can add to their Hi5 dashboard and profile pages.

Hi5 was one of the first social networks to have its own virtual currency. Users can purchase these "Hi5 coins" with real money, then use them inside of the service for various premium items. Other social networks began to offer this later on, including Facebook.

Hi5 continues to be one of the most popular social networks with more than 60 million active users, with a reported 80 percent of those coming from outside of the U.S.

Site: Bebo.com
Category: Social & Publishing

Bebo is a popular social network based out of San Francisco. Users can create their own profiles, and in typical social networking style, list favorite bands, pictures, and activities to share with friends on the service. Like competitor MySpace, Bebo is music-centric, and provides bands with ways to share their music using band profile pages.

What may be more interesting than the service itself is its history. Bebo was the top Google search query for all of 2006, according to the search engine's yearly zeitgeist. It's also the top-visited Web site in all of Ireland. In early 2008, it was snatched up by AOL for a staggering $850 million.

(Credit: CNET)

Site: GaiaOnline.com
Category: Social & Publishing

Gaia Online is a large, forum-based social network. Users can create their own avatars, then earn virtual money by playing games and interacting with the virtual world. Gaia also includes its own video hosting service, and a marketplace driven by a micro economy among its members. The natural appeal of the site is due both to community and the built-in rewards system for participation.

Gaia Online was founded in 2003, and has more than 100,000 micro-transactions happening on its site every day. In addition to the games, Gaia Online also has active forums that have been host to more than a billion member posts.

(Credit: CNET)

Site: Stardoll.com
Category: Social &Publishing

Stardoll is a Web-based version of dress-up dolls. Users have a wide variety of real-life celebrities and pop culture icons to choose from. Each doll can be dressed up in various pieces of clothing and shared with others.

Stardoll users get their own profiles to house their doll collections and become friends with others who enjoy similar dolls. They can also maintain a blog and photo gallery. It's a mishmash of social networking and an arts-and-crafts fair.

The service is free, however users can create their own doll avatar known as a MeDoll and outfit it with a variety of clothing items that can be purchased using the site's virtual currency called "StarDollars."

(Credit: CNET)

Site: WordPress.com / WordPress.org
Category: Social & Publishing

WordPress is a free blogging platform available to everyone. WordPress has two components, one is a free, Web-based blog-hosting service called WordPress.com. The other is WordPress.org, which provides users with software to run a more feature-rich version of the blogging tool on their own servers.

Both services offer a very easy way to blog, with administrative options to work collaboratively on one or several blogs using the same log-in. Bloggers can write their posts in a WYSIWYG editor, or switch over to a code view on the fly.

The service is best known for its community-created themes and plug-ins. A blog owner running WordPress on his or her own server can download these and deploy changes to the blog site instantly. WordPress.com users are limited to a smaller selection of these themes and features that come from the plug-ins, although many trickle down to WordPress.com, and can also be purchased as premium features.

(Credit: CNET)

Site: Meebo.com
Category: Social & Publishing

Meebo is a multi-network instant-message service that runs in your browser window. It emulates the look and feel of similar software services, yet requires no download or installation. You can also "pop out" your chat windows and buddy list, just in case you want to escape the confines of your browser.

In 2007, Meebo launched an application platform, letting developers create applications and services that tie into Meebo's chat architecture. The service also offers "Rooms," which makes it easy for users to share media and Web sites.

Beyond the browser, Meebo can be found on mobile devices. There's a mobile-friendly version of its site, as well as a standalone app for Android phones. The company is also set to launch an application for iPhone users that will let them connect to multiple chat clients, and IM from their phones.

(Credit: CNET)

Site: Facebook.com
Category: Social & Publishing

Facebook is a popular social-networking service. Originally offered to college students, it later opened up its doors to anyone with an e-mail address.

Facebook gives users a place to make and explore personal profiles and interact with friends. While offerings were initially limited to a comment board called "The Wall" and a personal picture, the site now has several in-house services like user chat, photo hosting, interest groups, status messages, link sharing, and the news feed.

Facebook's biggest move, however, was introducing a development platform that lets developers make their own applications for Facebook. These applications can run the gamut, from single-use widgets to full-blown Web sites that can be accessed and integrated into a Facebook user's data. Users can add as many applications as they want, then integrate and rearrange them on their profile page.

(Credit: CNET)

Site: MySpace.com
Category: Social & Publishing

MySpace.com is one of the most well-recognized social networks in the world. It's also one of the most trafficked on the Internet. The service originally started as a social network for music enthusiasts and as a place where bands could promote their upcoming concerts or albums, and has since moved on to being a place for those same artists to sell their tracks.

The main draw of the service is its user profiles, which can be completely customizable by editing some code in the settings. Because of this capability, many sites and services have sprung up, offering various add-ons that require no coding knowledge for the end user. Users can communicate with one another via an integrated e-mail platform, as well as a standalone instant-messaging application.

Since launching with profiles, MySpace has added blogs, a photo- and video-hosting service, a way to add music tracks to your personal page, and a platform for third-party developers to create applications that tie into users' data feeds.

(Credit: CNET)

Site: Drupal.org
Category: Social & Publishing

Drupal is a powerful publishing and content management system. Users can add all sorts of content to Web pages through a system of modules. The software itself is free and open-source; users need simply pick out which site elements they want, and then put them together.

Drupal has been used on several popular and professional sites. One of the most notable is The Onion, the satirical news publication, as well as MTV's Web site in the United Kingdom. In its latest iteration, version 6, it has added support for drag and drop, OpenID log-ins, and an editor that can be tuned to suit both left- and right-viewing cultures.

(Credit: CNET)