Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with websites

Sources for long-form non-fiction, essay, cultural crit on web

asher — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:55:13 -0800

I'm looking for websites that post longer pieces (3000 words+) on topics like science, culture, personal essay (not so much regular long-form journalism). These could be magazines like seed or nautil.us or online only. Recommendations?

Websites with lots of pictures, photographs, etc

Ideal Impulse — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:00:28 -0800

I'm a student of Speech Language Pathology with a child client this quarter I'm doing a lot of picture description tasks with. I'm looking for websites/blogs/tumblrs/pinterest boards/etc with lots of pictures of varying complexity and familiarity. I've been using a lot of google image searches but would prefer caches of pictures that I could just scroll through: looking for pictures of people doing things, scenes, actions, animals, etc. Drawings or photographs. Can be normal everyday things like grocery shopping, or less common things as well.

I'm particularly looking for pictures that show a normal scene with one weird detail (like, playing baseball. . . in space! or something) but am mostly just looking for libraries of images.

Thanks in advance!

I can't stand the heat, should I get out of the kitchen?

socksister — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:02:56 -0800

Is the weight of expectation and pace of change making my web career untenable? I started working for a 'new media' agency in 1999. Since then I've mostly worked in web publishing and content management. I've seen a lot of systems come and go. I'm now a team leader for a content/production team and I'm getting to serious burnout.

My biggest problem is that 'web publishing' is now such a broad remit it's impossible to keep up with everything I'm expected to understand on behalf of my organisation. I'm heavily involved in strategic and operational activities around technical development, specification, functional and UX requirements and testing, intricacies of search and analytics, optimisation, data management, CMS and server architecture, UGC and community management, CRM integration, social media, privacy, video and audio production and streaming, standard editorial, content strategy and maintenance, e-communications, cross-sell, extranet-type network and DMS platforms and online application and payment actions - oh and I'm supposed to be on top of all the crowd-based alternatives for anything that may be proposed internally. As well as actually running the high-profile, fast-moving, high-traffic site my team is actually responsible for.

I can't cope with trying to keep up. Every week I'm drawn into a lengthy series of questions/decisions about problems with features or services that I'm expected to understand and have an opinion on and I'm about ready to scream. My immediate boss, whilst lovely and supportive, is from old school press and has no background in digital platforms but there is a huge appetite in our org for 'modernity' and my team is expected to enable it all. As the 'friendly' face of web we're also the de facto translators between PMs, BAs, business owners and the IT team. It's completely exhausting.

My original motivator for working in web was about shaping the message and I'm still interested in that, but I'm bogged down in endless requirements, policy-making, standards development and governance - and it's all impossible to keep hold of because the technology moves so fast. I feel I'm constantly trying to hold up against a Tsunami of 'services' that promise amazing things but result in unworkable systems with processes that I'm expected to understand and fix - because I 'know web'.

I did think maybe it's just my current place so I've been applying for other, similar jobs and even had a couple of offers but when it came down to it they just looked like more of the same and I couldn't face going ahead. I used to love having a broad view but now I think I'm fundamentally unsuited to the pace and breadth of it and I need to look at other options before the cracks start to show.

So my question is: is this the reality for being a front end web manager? Are there non-developer specialisms with fewer expectations, and if so how do I reposition myself for those roles without heading for obsolescence as systems inevitably move on?

Oh, The Places You'll Go....Online.

Michele in California — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 10:21:10 -0800

I am wondering what place based websites other people use. What do you use? Why and how do you use it? What is good or bad about it? I like BestPlaces.net but I am less crazy about city-data.com. In a way this seems counter intuitive because City Data has photos, charts, etc. It seems like it would be the more information dense site. Yet I don't feel like it is as helpful.

I use Google Maps a lot but I find it frustrating and frequently inaccurate in a way which seems especially problematic on foot, probably more so than if you are driving around. I also frequently go to websites of favorite stores or eateries to find a local place to shop or eat or look up store hours. Sometimes those are equally crazymaking for my purposes.

On the one hand, the Internet has been a godsend for figuring out where things are. On the other, I have repeatedly run into situations where the World Wide Web swears blah does not exist and then I trip across it around the corner or, alternately, it swears that yadda does exist but it doesn't really.

I am wondering how other people use the Internet for getting place based information. Are there some really good sites out there and I just did not get the memo? Are there sites you read with just lovely information about certain locals? Are there tricks I just don't know for using the Internet effectively as a wayfinding tool? Do you know of, say, official city sites that are great in some way?

Beam me up Scotty/Mefites!

Looking for free Kindle books

lea724 — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:32:35 -0800

Which websites list Kindle-compatible books which are free for a limited time? I recently learned about Bookbub, where you sign up for free and everyday, they send you a list of Amazon books which have been discounted or are free for a limited time. I did some google searching and came across Ereader News Today as well as Pixel of Ink, both of which do the same thing as Bookbub.

What other sites am I missing?

I'm not looking for books which are out of copyright and therefore are free all the time. I'm specifically looking for books which are discounted to free for a limited time.

I've gone to Amazon's website and been able to muddle through to where they list their freebie Kindle books, but most of them are so obscure or on topics I have zero interest in, it wasn't helpful to me. These websites send out the links to books which people might actually have an interest in.

I also want to be able to subscribe via e-mail or (less ideal) through an RSS feed instead of having to check back on the site every day.

Thanks in advance!

What are your most badass web-based reference resources?

Blasdelb — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 03:16:18 -0800

What are the best obsessively cataloged reference websites from your field? I mean the kinds of places you can go to when things are being reported on in a confusing way, or just seems off and worth checking, where you can cut through the bullshit and easily find either original source material or otherwise solid answers to technical questions. Google Scholar is an obvious first step for scientific research, but I'm looking more for things like:

Clinicaltrials.gov where you can see all of the trials involving human volunteers that have been reported to the NIH or FDA, which is most all of them.
or this list of all of the ingredients in all of the vaccines currently approved for use
or the Index to Creationist Claims

Bonus points for either consisting of or linking to original source material, obsessive comprehensiveness, and useful search functions.

Love is a Hot Tub (apparently...)

vivid postcard — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:26:08 -0800

I may be, literally, the worst person in the world when it comes to finding and booking hotel rooms and vacation rentals. Can you help me figure out how to better my search processes, what sites and search terms I should be using, or how I can better understand the U.S. hospitality industry? Oh my god, this is actually pretty funny, but I do need help. Here's the deal: every time it is my responsibility to find and book a hotel room for my partner and me, I inevitably end up choosing a place that is the kind of seedy sex hotel you might see as a gritty-ironic setting in some indie movie scene. I want to stop doing this.

Background Info (skip if bored):
When finding a hotel room or condo rental in our state, my beloved has a real knack for finding places that are comfortable, relaxing, and romantic, but that won't leave us wondering whether we caught something from the bedding after we leave. This is due to his familiarity with places here, or his ability to get good recommendations from friends, but even he is at a bit of loss of how to look for places in cities we have zero connections to.

Whenever I look for hotel rooms, though, we end up finding ourselves in places that make for great stories later, but that aren't at all what I was aiming for when I made the reservation. Best example: I once booked us a room with a jetted tub in it, because that was sort of the thing in that tiny resort town. I knew it might be kind of kitschy, but I was absolutely not expecting that we would be staying in a place where not only could you rent a room in half-day increments (great for local mayors looking to secretly schtup their secretary!), but the rooms came complete with a toilet. In the room itself. With no walls or doors. The toilet was just hanging out, exposed, in the middle of the room, right next to the romantic jetted tub!

Paradoxically, that hotel was also a family hotel, so not only were we serenaded at night by mayoral moans, but we were awakened every morning to the screeching sounds of delighted children who were cavorting around the grounds...

The Situation:
Usually, I search for hotel rooms using a combination of sites like Tripadvisor, Venere, Travelocity, etcetera. I'll sometimes look at the tourism board or chamber of commerce sites associated with whatever town we'll be visiting.

It has dawned on me, though, that by using the "romantic" or "getaway" filters on those websites, I am not finding romantic hotels. I am finding respectable sex hotels for parents (and politicians).

This is not what I want! I need help figuring out how to find the type of place I am really looking for. Because, apparently, I lack these skills. I could never be a travel agent.

The features that come to my mind, and that I look for, when I am searching for accommodations:
- Rooms or condos that are comfortable, maybe have some nice feature like a fireplace or good interior design, but they don't need to have that many amenities (like huge TVs, or a masseuse who will come to your room, or turndown service, etc.)
- Seclusion: We often like rooms that have a patio or balcony. Or maybe nice grounds where you can sit out, have a cup of coffee, enjoy the sun, but not be around all the people.
- An interesting natural (or urban) setting: our favorite place has enormous sliding doors that open up to a balcony with a gorgeous view of a mountain valley. We spent all our time on the balcony, enjoying each other and the natural prettiness. Or: I once stayed at a hotel that was built in the 30s. It had no majestic view, but it had lovely grounds. You could have coffee in interior courtyards. There were small gardens you could stroll through. It wasn't formally landscaped, but it was pretty, and interesting. Or: we've also stayed in more rustic mountain cabins/rooms that were fantastic because there were lots of walking paths and streams and areas that you could just wander around and poke at bugs and stuff. I've never been there, but the Post Ranch Inn, which I've seen mentioned on askmefi, looks like a higher end, more luxurious version of what I like - a place that is set in a beautiful area, and that is arranged to take advantage of its natural setting.
- Like someone's house: honestly, we prefer having a kitchen and cooking for ourselves over room service or eating out every night. We like staying at places that are just like staying in another home; it's romantic to putter about and relax, and to do some cooking with local flavors, you know?

Features that I dislike, but inevitably end up booking:
- Hot tubs, jetted tubs. In the room. On balconies. In the bathroom. So, so unnecessary. Sometimes it's nice to stay in a place with a nice soaking tub, or maybe one of those large, walk-in showers, but the whole gigantic whirlpool scene confuses me. And kind of creeps me out.
- Rooms made up to look romantic: Roses everywhere. Romantic, generic landscapes on the wall. Lattice. Seriously, you know you've made a terrible, terrible mistake when you walk into a room decorated with white lattice and flowers.
- Services: I don't need a spa. I don't need a massage. I don't need room service. I don't need someone to bring us bottles of champagne. I don't need anyone to come up to the room to provide a service (massage, manicure, etc), unless it's to bring up extra towels or something. I don't even need room cleaning every day. A cafe on the grounds might be convenient for morning coffee, but is actually not necessary.
- Families: I'm sorry. I support your life decision, and I think it's great when you see happy families actually having a fun time together on vacation, but for some reason, I keep booking "romantic" getaways that are also heavily oriented towards entertaining children. Please don't hate me, but children aren't relaxing.

The Questions:
1. What search terms, sites, strategies, or resources should I be using to find the types of accommodations I am looking for, and avoid the ones I usually end up snagging?
2. Sometimes, it just seems easier to look for condo or house vacation rentals, but where on earth can you find reputable renting resources or listings? VRBO seems limited, expensive, and sometimes sketchy, and I have never been able to book a place through airbnb. Do people have empty condos or farmhouses that you can rent for a couple of days? A couple of weeks? A couple of months? How can I find these people, when they are not in my state?

I am looking for advice for domestic accommodations in the U.S., only. Strategies for international bookings could be a whole other question, surely. Also, I recognize that I would probably have a much easier time finding what I want if I were willing to fork out at least $500 a night. I'm realistic and know I can't find what I want in dirt-cheap hotels, but the budget we're talking usually falls into the $150-$250 range (adjusted for length of stay and location. I know we might not find what we want in NYC or San Francisco, but a lot of our travels revolve around mid-size cities, largish towns, or off-season, outdoorsy recreation places. Essentially, generally cheaper areas, not the major coastal cities).

And I am keeping this deliberately open, and not specific to any city/state, because this is a recurring issue, and because I need some underlying strategy that can I use regardless of our destination, as this is a recurring issue, no matter where we go.

Top 5 and Why

cjorgensen — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:31:38 -0800

What are your top 5 websites and why? Excluding metafilter (of course). I am looking to expand my must visit sites. I feel like I am in an internet rut. I want new sites to check out. I'm not going to exclude anything here. If you like it enough to consider it one of your top 5 picks I want to know (even if the content isn't updated daily) and be sure to say why.

I tend to visit tech and writer sites, but would like new places to visit. Not looking for the one off cool post, but quality sites you visit often.

Thanks in advance!

How do I make my dream website a reality?

madonna of the unloved — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:01:37 -0800

So I have this idea for a website, whoop de doo. I was really excited about it, but the prospect of execution is already wearing on me, and I haven't even done anything! Where do I start? Basically, I want to make a website where people can post videos (with my moderation) and also pay a fee to view them. (No, it's not porn.)

My experience with programming is limited to earning a C+ in my C++ class in high school. Do I need to hire someone with programming skills to do this or is this something I can learn on my own? I took an HTML class ages ago, which I remember not being nearly as bad as my programming course, but could something like this even be accomplished through HTML?

I've toyed with the idea of taking a programming course at a local community college, but I'd really prefer not to be on campus, so online classes seem more appealing. Particularly free ones.

I'm just lost about this, so if anyone has any ideas or has made something like this before, I'd really love the input.

Thanks!

Internet Goodness

MechEng — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:16:53 -0800

Besides Metafilter and reddit, what are some of the more popular news sites that university students are using these days? (sites you check almost every day)

Wayback Machine isn't far enough

bryghtrose — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:31:12 -0800

How to find a cached version of Mitt Romney's campaign website? I'm a librarian and I'm helping students in a political science class. They're supposed to look at Romney and Obama's websites and compare them. Obama's is still up, but Romney's only shows a landing page.

The wayback machine does have cached versions of mittromeny.com, but they only have up to 2011- nothing from the past year. The Google cache is of the current placeholder site- which serves as a redirect to Romney's Facebook page.

Are there other places to go to look for a sites's cache? Or a place with lots of screencaps of Romeny's website?

Thanks!

Money from Nothing?

zenpop — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 12:38:56 -0800

Ideas, theories, facts, about how online sites are making money when I no longer see banner advertising or Google ad links -- old stand-by methods from five years ago seem to have evaporated? This is more of a general question really.

I'm curious as to your ideas, impressions or theories or, if you're an 'expert': explanations as to how money is being generated online. I don't mean like Amazon.com, etc. but sites that are hugely popular but display next to nothing re ads.

How does, say, a site like Boing Boing, make enough money to pay a staff and bandwidth costs, or sites like Salon, Gawker -- I see ads there but is that really generating enough cash flow to keep a writing staff going, pay rent, bandwidth, artists, editors, etc.?

How do I help my fine artist friend?

biddeford — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 07:04:50 -0800

I'd really like to help support my neighbor, a fine artist, in her search for commissions, management and new students. Unfortunately, outside of just helping her navigate networking sites online, I have no idea where to start. Specifics after the jump. My neighbor has been a good friend to my family during some tough times. She's a painter and sculptor who has taught and had work displayed at some prestigious galleries here in the US and abroad over the years, but over the last decade her commissions have dwindled as her output has increased. She has stacks and stacks of beautiful new work, and she's rapidly running out of room to store them all. She's had occasional interest from collectors (who were already aware of her), and she certainly has plenty of very high quality paintings to show, but I don't think she's had proper management in years and without somebody advocating for her I don't think she'll get the kind of exposure she needs to start selling consistently again. Because I do graphic work and know a lot of commercial artists, she thought I'd be able to get her some gallery 'ins' or some contacts, but it just hasn't been working out. She's sort of a classical expressionist, not a really great fit for the few people I know who buy art here.

She's also older, and very resistant to new technology. My partner & I (and several of her other friends) have been helping her get an online presence; she's on Facebook, LinkedIn and some other sites, and she has an okay (not great) portfolio website. She's having some high def video slideshows made, and she's got a book (maybe two?) that she's written, explaining her teaching philosophy and her methods. I think she could self publish these, and work them into her wider self promotion. But I'm terrible at self-promotion myself and I'm dealing with an entirely different sort of market. I think she needs gallery introductions, but which galleries? How would she go about finding a good fit for her work? Should she even be looking in this city (LA) or should she checking out other regions?

Sorry this question is so vague, but I'm at a loss here. Any artists out there with insight into this high-falutin' fine art world? Thanks in advance!

Gamification of Dissertations!

absquatulate — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:27:06 -0800

I am in a cohort of a few PhD fellows who, at the time we could really use each other for support, find ourselves scattered to various corners of New England. How can we motivate each other when we don't see each other on a regular basis? An email went out from one of my colleagues confessing that she was having a hard time sitting down to write the damn thing. Two of the three of us have finished studies and are at the analysis/writing stage, *I*, on the other hand, will be completing my study this fall while writing my introductory chapters in parallel with my study. Since we're all at slightly different points, we could really use some support to guide each other along. We figured that by seeing what the others are doing, we can motivate, support, and help each other solve problems as they come up as well as use some good old-fashioned GUILT to motivate each other.

She had initially suggested a Google Doc, and although I suppose that would work for recording what we're doing, it's not a lot of FUN, now is it? I immediately thought of the various fitness websites that do this relatively well: Daily Mile, Map My Ride, &c. But I can't find one that allows you to put in your own goals and has a suitably fun "social" aspect to it. So, is there a similar type website or app that one can put in goals/deadlines/progress/milestones/daily word or page counts, we can each update as they are accomplished, and then notifications go out to members of the group so that we can all share in our collective successes?

Group equivalents of Storify?

Bwithh — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:14:26 -0800

Is there an online service or site out there which operates like a collaborative or group version of Storify? Storify is a tool which lets you collect and curate bits of social media and online content into your own "story" piece. But it only seems to let story creation be controlled and accessed by one account per story.

Are there similar tools out there which are designed with group and collaborative use in mind?
thanks very much for any help!

Help me remember this website!

Xere — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 18:54:25 -0800

Long shot question: I am trying to remember a news/interesting stuff website. The content has pictures, linked essays, sometimes both. The essays are along the lines of Longform.org. The design is yellow and black ... of this, I am sure. The "about" states that it is curated by one woman, please donate. I think the logo has a brain in it, but don't let that throw you off.

Searching for a unique retro website design.

ropeladder — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 12:11:05 -0800

FauxRetroFilter: Help me remember an entirely ASCII dynamic website. Years ago on the internet I came across a personal homepage that had been constructed entirely of monospaced text. The content was generated dynamically and the layout was similar to a typical blog (I think). I thought it was brilliant at the time and have wished for years that I could find it again, but I have no recollection of what was on the site or how I initially came across it.

Just to be clear: the site consisted entirely of text, but it was laid out mimicking a more graphical format. I'm assuming it did this through lots of behind-the-scenes string manipulation.

If you know of anything that fits this definition at all--it wasn't the site itself but the concept that was so cool--I'd love to see it. Google is failing me (and the original site may be long gone).

Resources about eating disorders?

Ginesthoi — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:31:30 -0800

Seeking recommendations on books/websites about all aspects of eating disorders. Looking for recommendations from mental health professionals or persons who have dealt with ED personally or with a family member. What resources did you find to be most helpful? Any sources of information to avoid?

Reading english websites in russian to practice russian

mnemonic — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 21:07:42 -0800

Is it a good idea to practice russian by reading english websites translated into russian via google translate? Or would the flaws in the translation be too much? I'd be reading all the sites I normally visit, including MeFi, Reddit, WSJ, random news sites and some forums. I was thinking that even though the translation may be error-prone or awkward, just having the exposure to that much vocabulary would be beneficial.

Looking for cool stuff online for my four year olds.

zarq — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 19:21:30 -0800

I'm looking for websites that have cool, educational, entertaining and kid-safe stuff I can share with my two 4 year olds, perhaps similar to the kids should see this, and/or sites that suggest neat projects and how-to's my wife and I can work on with them to open their eyes to the wonders of the world around them. All suggestions welcome!

what websites/apps for tracking the nutrition of my actual diet?

5Q7 — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 09:58:35 -0800

Nutrition website/app filter: I want to track the nutritional values of what I actually eat in relation to accepted norms of good health. I've used this website: http://www.myfoodrecord.com/mainnat.html, which sorta does what I want, but I'm left feeling there's probably something better out there these days. I tend to fall into habits with my food choices, which is fine except when I end up leaving out some important vitamin/nutrient, etc., then feel the effects over time without realizing the specific cause, so I'd like to track these patterns and compare them to different, accepted definitions of a "good diet."

As I mentioned, the website I linked above kinda does this, but the food choices listed in step #1 are somewhat limited and, more importantly, the nutritional recommendations under step #3 seem more vague than they could be. There must be something better, right?

FWIW, I'm not as concerned with the calorie counting/weight loss angle, which seems to be the focus for a lot of site/apps, and I'd prefer something really simple, uncluttered, and user friendly. I've only looked at websites thus far, but I guess there would be app options as well, since I have an iPhone and MacBook Pro (previous app questions focussed on Android).

What website shows the "view from a room?"

jacobw — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 09:58:44 -0800

Where can I find "view from the room" photos of hotels, office space, or apartments/condos for sale or rent? I have a vague recollection of once searching for condos and coming across a website that focused on showing the view from the condo windows. I was able to see the difference between the 4th floor and 10th floor of a building because they both had photos.

I may have been searching for hotels or even been on a commercial real estate site which is why I've worded the question that way, but I think it was condos.

Planning mobile versions of websites

steinsaltz — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:25:49 -0800

Been asked to come up with a sketch of a proposed mobile version of a Wordpress website. Any good resources for this? On a low budget, I'd like to come up with a simple "responsive" adaptation of this small business's site. The plan is for it to have reasonably cool features for adjusting to different screen widths. But not too generic.

I'm used to coming up with plans for desktop sites so I'm in new territory and wonder if there are any good templates or other handy guidelines out there for this. I have heard of "media queries" but have not had a chance to get familiar with them yet. Any help much appreciated.

longform for fiction

aesacus — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:12:36 -0800

Longform.org for fiction? Is there a website like longform.org for short stories and novellas? Hopefully of the same amazing quality as longform.org. (If not, somebody should make it.)

Examples of blogs and websites who are great at visual storytelling?

petah — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:09:09 -0800

I'm looking for blogs/websites that are great at visual storytelling, regardless of topic or content. (Similar to The Bold Italic) I love the aesthetic of The Bold Italic (example story: http://thebolditalic.com/chrisatwood/stories/1864-locals-only) and would love for some more inspiration similar to this. Any sort of blogs that tell stories or report news in a visual manner like this, or even not like this but in an unconventional manner.

I sort of see it as a magazine, but online. (WIRED magazine has great layouts on print, but their web presences isn't as aesthetically pleasing.)

Any examples would be much appreciated! Doesn't matter what industry, tech, sports, whatever.