IS there anything more enticing than a gaggle of colleagues gathered round someone’s computer, laughing in collective hysteria at an internet joy?
The other day, it was found that someone in the newsroom bore a remarkable resemblance to one of the terrorists listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted web page and the office rushed towards the desk like a pack of vultures.
After loudly questioning the real purpose of said colleague’s Dubai holiday last year and receiving the expected terse response, everyone slowly drifted back to their own computers and to the important business of producing the newspaper.
The eagle-eyed writer who spotted the doppelgänger had been innocently researching a story but with companies and schools in Jersey and the UK banning certain websites to ensure productivity, how much does the internet help, and how much does it hinder?
Distractions abound on the world wide web and short of completely removing internet usage for workers, companies have their hands tied. Banning the familiar suspects such as Facebook, Hotmail and YouTube may help ensure that more work is spent concentrating on the task at hand, but with the expanding web, there is always a new site just waiting to be discovered.
Also, depending on the nature of your work, certain blacklisted sites may be important to your job. For example, the social networking site Facebook has been the subject of a few stories this year and journalists have needed access to research public opinion and comments in various groups. Banning a site that links lots of people and can be a good communication tool is not as simple as it sounds.
Also, the most vigilant IT team in the world would be unable to keep up with the ever-changing web. The internet is ridiculously vast. Billions of pages of uncensored opinion, pictures and trivia zip across the invisible connections of computers and to block everything considered a ‘distraction’ at work would be an impossible task.
To be viewed by millions, successful websites rely on word of mouth and people sharing their favourite finds. Whereas people would once recommend books, TV programmes and films, they now direct friends towards websites that they enjoy.
But StumbleUpon has changed the rules by removing the middle man. Once installed on your computer, a new button appears in the toolbar which invites you to ‘stumble’. One click and the search engine takes you to a webpage earmarked by one of its five and a half million other members that matches the interests that you ticked when registering. In other words, it filters the entire web and randomly throws up pages that other people have said that you will like.
For example, if you have ticked comedy, games and photography as three of your interests, clicking ‘stumble’ will take you to a page that someone else has flagged up for one of those categories. It may be a page of the best one-liners from American comedians, an online version of Tetris or a breathtaking collection of nature pictures. And if you don’t like it, click again. No searching, just an endless revolving of pages that someone else has taken the trouble to find and recommend.
It is the kind of website that is installed at home with the user thinking that it will never catch on. Four hours later, as they click ‘stumble’ for the hundredth time, they are cursing the loyal friend who had afflicted me with this devilishly addictive idea by forwarding the link to the site.
It becomes relentless. ‘One more click’ you promise yourself, tongue lolling out the side of your mouth at 3 am, sure that the next page will satisfy your need to be entertained. It’s like fast food internet. Each page thrown up by StumbleUpon is great for about five minutes until the interest wanes but all that is needed is another click of the mouse to find the next surprise and instead of wading through the estimated 30 billion web pages available, the best bits have already been picked out.
With whole websites devoted to the minutiae of subjects like the changing haircuts of David Beckham or the maturing process of a wedge in real time (www.cheddarvision.tv), there is no end to the bizarre, quirky and the fabulously mundane.
Real surfers seek the perfect wave, internet surfers seek the perfect page.
With over five and a half million users, StumbleUpon is a certified success and was duly bought out by eBay in 2007 for $75 million. This system of surfing the net was always bound to catch on. The quick, almost disposable, nature of entertainment that it offers appeals to the impatient society of today and this may be one seemingly faddy website that, like YouTube, actually permanently changes the way the people use the internet.
Work time-wasters
• Stumbleupon.com
The ultimate way to streamline your browsing. Requires minimum effort, with just one click bringing up a new web page that will undoubtedly make workers delay finishing that report.
• Facebook.com
Already a classic, this social networking site has become popular with people of all ages, with its basic format and simplicity at the root of its widespread usage.
• Newsnow.co.uk
A slightly more serious site, Newsnow filters the day’s events in a handy one-page format, allowing the viewer to be up-to-date with everything from football transfers to the Zimbabwean election.
• Drawapig.desktopcreatures.com
As the domain name suggests, you simply have to draw a pig. Find out what your picture says about your personality.
• Asos.com
The definitive fashion site for women. Asos is a haven for the fairer sex with its comprehensive collection of fashion trends and enough offers to keep users trawling for hours.
• Bored.com
The ultimate website for those struggling to stay awake at work. Fritter away the afternoon exploring the many pages designed to prevent you from doing anything resembling work.
• birdcheck.co.uk/whackthepenguin.htm
Ping the penguin. Endless hours of pointlessness using a yeti to hit a penguin as far as possible.
