del.icio.us
Sometimes I get the distinct feeling that there are vast levels of interactivity to the internet that I have yet to tap. Creating a MySpace profile was one step I took to remedy that feeling, and I now see the simple genius behind social networking. As social animals, sites like this capitalize on a basic human instinct. They provide immediate gratification for one of our most basic drives, much like pornography, which does the same albeit for a different instinct.
I peered into yet another level of social networking the other day by starting my own page on del.icio.us. It’s interesting to see how popular your favorite sites are and to browse those others have found. I was very gratified to follow this trail of common interest to find some real gems at the end.
Part of me can’t help but wonder if social surfing like this will completely replace conventional web surfing. After all, why stumble blindly around the internet looking for interesting sites when you let other people with common interests guide you to them? Like similar phenomena, it’s so simple and intuitive, and yet so new, that you can’t help but wonder why nobody thought of it sooner. At any rate, it’s yet another wonderful way to promote your website. I’ll be looking forward to seeing how much I can get out of it.