Would you be interested in a social networking site that allows you to upload and share your artistic creations with the world and even offer them up for sale? Are you looking for a website that can be a private journal, a community of like-minded friends, and an opportunity to showcase your unique talents, all wrapped up in one attractive, user-friendly package? Then Esnips (www.esnips.com), may be just the site for you.
PC World (January 2007), describes Esnips as "a salad of MySpace, YouTube, Digg, and Amazon's Marketplace". The ability to do so much on one website is one of the most attractive things about Esnips, and sets it apart from other social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
The website offers a user-friendly uploader so you can easily transfer files to Esnips. Almost anything that can be expressed in digital form may be uploaded to your page. For example:
-Art
-Photography
-Audio (both voice and music)
-Video
-Webpage captures and snippets
-Documents
This data is organized into folders on your account page. You decide whether each folder is visible to the world, to a select group of friends, or is kept completely private. You may even decide to upload your creative work to the marketplace and put a price on it.
Do you want to find people who share your interests? There are six communities and dozens of sub-communities to aid in your search. Don't see a community that fits? You are free to suggest one of your own.
A really fun and interesting way to find people who share your tastes and outlook is by taking quizzes to determine your "Social DNA". These quizzes are organized into groups called, of course, "genes". It might amaze you that your closest relative' in terms of Social DNA lives half a world away!
Does all this sound like something you would like to take for a test drive?
Esnips is user-friendly and visually pleasing from the homepage forward. There is an 11-page tour that goes into some detail about what you can expect from the site. Setting up a profile is easy and you can even choose from a number of backgrounds for your page. The entire process is set out in a clear, systematic manner that anyone should find stress-free. Even the user agreement is relatively easy to read and understand. That is a rare find as anyone who has ever joined any site on the net can tell you.
A few caveats:
Although you retain ownership of the materials you submit to public areas, Esnips may use them until you remove them from the site. You are free to remove anything at any time and this automatically cancels their rights to the submission.
If you intend to use the marketplace, you might want to go over the list of prohibited items. Among the items you may not offer for sale are, "Human parts and remains". Not to worry, there is always Ebay for that.
This site is worth a look for anyone interested in socializing, networking, or just having fun. It could be especially valuable to both lovers and creators of art, photography music and video. In time, this site could give MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and all the other internet giants a run for their money. Did I forget Ebay?
IGN.com
Have you ever wanted to find a website that delivers the best in gaming news and also talks about other forms of media such as films or comic books? Shockingly enough IGN.com is a website that delivers all of those things, and more. The website itself has millions of viewers each day, and is part of a massive network of entertainment websites.
Being a massive video game network seems to be pretty easy for IGN, seeing as the formula works very well. At first glance IGN is the perfect website for entertainment news, so is it the place that everyone should have saved in their favorites or bookmarks menu? Who knows, so lets take a look at the website and its features.
Design
At first glance it seems that the design and such of IGN Is very impressive. The website is full of flash animations and advertisements from other high profile companies, and that's the only downside to the website in regards to design. Take note that the layout changes every now and then for special events or game releases similar to the way that MySpace changes.
Features
There are many features to IGN that visitors should really consider checking out. First of all the front page is littered with the latest news from the gaming, film, and even comic book industries. If visitors look beyond that they're bound to see that featured articles are all over the front page with crisp images of many things.
It seems like the main feature of the website is to cater to gamers, however there is a large amount of gaming news on the website also. All these news articles can range from being rumors to real official announcements from major gaming companies.
Every now and then IGN makes list of what they think the top video games are, or even the top cartoons. While it's easy to totally disagree with their choices, everyone should respect them for the work that they do.
It isn't easy to find connections inside the gaming industry to give out the newest video game rumors. There are sections of the website devoted to popular games, such as Pokemon, but for others visitors will need to search the website or look through the preview or review sections.
That being said, IGN also features previews and reviews for games, films, and even television shows. For video games they have release date lists, contests, screen shots and video clips that feature parts of the game.
Improvements
So does IGN seem like a place that you may want to go to for the newest entertainment news? It doesn't need many improvements, because it is in fact one of the best places on the Internet to get gaming news and reviews. IGN gets a ten out of ten for being perfect in the eyes of a gamer.
Being a massive video game network seems to be pretty easy for IGN, seeing as the formula works very well. At first glance IGN is the perfect website for entertainment news, so is it the place that everyone should have saved in their favorites or bookmarks menu? Who knows, so lets take a look at the website and its features.
Design
At first glance it seems that the design and such of IGN Is very impressive. The website is full of flash animations and advertisements from other high profile companies, and that's the only downside to the website in regards to design. Take note that the layout changes every now and then for special events or game releases similar to the way that MySpace changes.
Features
There are many features to IGN that visitors should really consider checking out. First of all the front page is littered with the latest news from the gaming, film, and even comic book industries. If visitors look beyond that they're bound to see that featured articles are all over the front page with crisp images of many things.
It seems like the main feature of the website is to cater to gamers, however there is a large amount of gaming news on the website also. All these news articles can range from being rumors to real official announcements from major gaming companies.
Every now and then IGN makes list of what they think the top video games are, or even the top cartoons. While it's easy to totally disagree with their choices, everyone should respect them for the work that they do.
It isn't easy to find connections inside the gaming industry to give out the newest video game rumors. There are sections of the website devoted to popular games, such as Pokemon, but for others visitors will need to search the website or look through the preview or review sections.
That being said, IGN also features previews and reviews for games, films, and even television shows. For video games they have release date lists, contests, screen shots and video clips that feature parts of the game.
Improvements
So does IGN seem like a place that you may want to go to for the newest entertainment news? It doesn't need many improvements, because it is in fact one of the best places on the Internet to get gaming news and reviews. IGN gets a ten out of ten for being perfect in the eyes of a gamer.
IMDb.com
Ever wondered about the newest films to come out of Hollywood? IMDb is a website devoted to listing virtually every aspect of these films and when they come out. On top of that they also have entire database of old films and pretty much every actor imaginable and what films they've been in.
If you're interested in checking out what IMDb believes are the top 125 films of all time, this may be the website for you. Either way it seems like IMDb is one of the largest film oriented databases in the world, so is it worth visiting and should it be on everyone's favorites or bookmarks list?
Design
In regards to design and layout features, IMDb doesn't look all that professional but it seems to work for them. Overall the website looks very plain and could use some colorful backgrounds or something to make it more appealing to visitors. However since this website is the largest database for actors and films, people pretty much have no choice but to visit it.
Features
There aren't many features present on IMDb, but there actually are mountains of information on the website. First of all, visitors can click on the Now Playing section to see what films are in theaters at the moment, and of course visitors can expect to see clips of the film and even pictures of the actors from the film.
In the next section called Movies and TV News, visitors can expect the newest from the entertainment industry. It doesn't just stick to films and movies however, as current events seem to find their way onto the news postings also.
The other sections of IMDb are fairly easy to describe, for example the DVD and Blu-Ray section of the website lists and describes new video releases and details them very well. The writers of the website aren't that bad either, so be sure to check out this website for information on new movie releases.
In addition to those features, IMDb also has its own Youtube or Veoh style video service where full episodes of several television shows are posted for free. Also, visitors can expect to see a pretty good television guide list of everything that's on right now on the most popular channels.
Improvements
With all of these great informal pages devoted to Hollywood films, is IMDb worth visiting over and over again? Simply enough, yes it is, because they truly do post the newest in entertainment news for free, so pretty much everyone should check them out.
Is there any room for improvement? Not really, but it would be nice to see some more features on the website. Nevertheless, IMDb gets a seven out of ten, for being slightly above average.
If you're interested in checking out what IMDb believes are the top 125 films of all time, this may be the website for you. Either way it seems like IMDb is one of the largest film oriented databases in the world, so is it worth visiting and should it be on everyone's favorites or bookmarks list?
Design
In regards to design and layout features, IMDb doesn't look all that professional but it seems to work for them. Overall the website looks very plain and could use some colorful backgrounds or something to make it more appealing to visitors. However since this website is the largest database for actors and films, people pretty much have no choice but to visit it.
Features
There aren't many features present on IMDb, but there actually are mountains of information on the website. First of all, visitors can click on the Now Playing section to see what films are in theaters at the moment, and of course visitors can expect to see clips of the film and even pictures of the actors from the film.
In the next section called Movies and TV News, visitors can expect the newest from the entertainment industry. It doesn't just stick to films and movies however, as current events seem to find their way onto the news postings also.
The other sections of IMDb are fairly easy to describe, for example the DVD and Blu-Ray section of the website lists and describes new video releases and details them very well. The writers of the website aren't that bad either, so be sure to check out this website for information on new movie releases.
In addition to those features, IMDb also has its own Youtube or Veoh style video service where full episodes of several television shows are posted for free. Also, visitors can expect to see a pretty good television guide list of everything that's on right now on the most popular channels.
Improvements
With all of these great informal pages devoted to Hollywood films, is IMDb worth visiting over and over again? Simply enough, yes it is, because they truly do post the newest in entertainment news for free, so pretty much everyone should check them out.
Is there any room for improvement? Not really, but it would be nice to see some more features on the website. Nevertheless, IMDb gets a seven out of ten, for being slightly above average.
Rotten Tomatoes.com
If you are the type who rely on movie reviews before watching the actual movie, then I think you will love "Rotten Tomatoes. If you're perceptive, you'll be able to deduce that the website's name is derived from the act of pelting rotten tomatoes to the worst performers on stage.
That's exactly how things get rated in this fantastic website, through tomatoes. When you see a movie get a fresh rating, then it garnered a lot of rave reviews. Seeing a green rotten splat beside a movie's name, on the other hand, means that it got all kinds of flak from the critics. Rotten Tomatoes actually compiles many reviews from the top critics in the industry into one site, and then gives the visitor an idea through the Tomatometer (read: a cumulative average) on how the movie fared.
I find the interface in Rotten Tomatoes rather cluttered but innovative. Cluttered, in the sense that there are a lot of information provided but it's just too dizzying to even know where to begin. The innovation factor balances it though. Some of the things within this website (which I will tackle later) are quite interesting. When visiting Rotten Tomatoes for the first time, you may become overwhelmed but also a little bit amazed. Frankly, the work they put into making this website is nothing short of phenomenal. Not just a film aficionado but being an amateur webpage developer myself, this kind of precision and care the site administrator provides is very appealing to me.
In each movie page, there are snippets of movie reviews for you to peruse. You also have the option to read only the fresh reviews or the rotten reviews. Sometimes, a movie will have polarizing reviews and it's a bit confusing to read a favorable review side-by-side with a scathing review. Well, in my case, I just tick the Fresh option to sift through the pleasant reviews first. In the end, it all comes down to preference, and the thing is, Rotten Tomatoes is adaptive to what the user deems helpful.
In forming opinions regarding movies, one must also know the details of the movies as well. Rotten Tomatoes, just like the more popular IMDB, also provides many sources for information like ticket reservations, show schedules, posters, and whatnot. Sometimes, they snag an interview with the stars of the movie as well and that in itself is pretty much will give you a clue on what these stars are like. As you can see, there really is something for everybody here.
It's great to see that Rotten Tomatoes also gives the visitors a voice through the RT community. Yes, you as the user can share your own thoughts and perceptions as well. And these aren't just inane comments about another person's review, you get the opportunity to write a review of your own. So if you have that knack to write a great movie review, then it's best that you visit Rotten Tomatoes to share your own two cents.
Before you sit back and relax to watch that movie, it's always a good thing to check out Rotten Tomatoes first. Of course, if you're the kind who hates getting spoiled, then you can just look at the Tomatometer to see the general consensus. After all, you wouldn't want to waste your hard earned money to watch a "rotten" movie, right?
That's exactly how things get rated in this fantastic website, through tomatoes. When you see a movie get a fresh rating, then it garnered a lot of rave reviews. Seeing a green rotten splat beside a movie's name, on the other hand, means that it got all kinds of flak from the critics. Rotten Tomatoes actually compiles many reviews from the top critics in the industry into one site, and then gives the visitor an idea through the Tomatometer (read: a cumulative average) on how the movie fared.
I find the interface in Rotten Tomatoes rather cluttered but innovative. Cluttered, in the sense that there are a lot of information provided but it's just too dizzying to even know where to begin. The innovation factor balances it though. Some of the things within this website (which I will tackle later) are quite interesting. When visiting Rotten Tomatoes for the first time, you may become overwhelmed but also a little bit amazed. Frankly, the work they put into making this website is nothing short of phenomenal. Not just a film aficionado but being an amateur webpage developer myself, this kind of precision and care the site administrator provides is very appealing to me.
In each movie page, there are snippets of movie reviews for you to peruse. You also have the option to read only the fresh reviews or the rotten reviews. Sometimes, a movie will have polarizing reviews and it's a bit confusing to read a favorable review side-by-side with a scathing review. Well, in my case, I just tick the Fresh option to sift through the pleasant reviews first. In the end, it all comes down to preference, and the thing is, Rotten Tomatoes is adaptive to what the user deems helpful.
In forming opinions regarding movies, one must also know the details of the movies as well. Rotten Tomatoes, just like the more popular IMDB, also provides many sources for information like ticket reservations, show schedules, posters, and whatnot. Sometimes, they snag an interview with the stars of the movie as well and that in itself is pretty much will give you a clue on what these stars are like. As you can see, there really is something for everybody here.
It's great to see that Rotten Tomatoes also gives the visitors a voice through the RT community. Yes, you as the user can share your own thoughts and perceptions as well. And these aren't just inane comments about another person's review, you get the opportunity to write a review of your own. So if you have that knack to write a great movie review, then it's best that you visit Rotten Tomatoes to share your own two cents.
Before you sit back and relax to watch that movie, it's always a good thing to check out Rotten Tomatoes first. Of course, if you're the kind who hates getting spoiled, then you can just look at the Tomatometer to see the general consensus. After all, you wouldn't want to waste your hard earned money to watch a "rotten" movie, right?
Helium.com
Helium is a website where writers can write articles, make friends and also make money for all the work. It is a great site to show case your work to publishers and enter writing contests.
Most Helium writers are part-time writers who like writing have a hobby. If you don't like writing and just want to make money then you won't be able to use Helium to its fullest potential. There are lots of resources on Helium to help writers which separates this site from other writing sites.
At Helium there are different channels. Each channel has sub-channels. These channels contain different topics such as creative writing, entertainment, health, science, etc. You can write to any of these articles.
To give you recognition for your work helium pays upfront payments and also gives writing stars and creative writing badges. Writing stars are achieved after writing a number of articles. Five writing stars is the maximum number of stars a writer can achieve. You also have a writing percentage, which is based on where your articles are ranked. More information about this can be found on the main Helium page.
At Helium there is a Marketplace, writing contests and the general channels. In the marketplace you have to write articles to specific titles for publishers. Then the publisher will decide to purchase one of the articles. Some articles can be sold for over $100 a piece! If you are a talented writer you can make a full-time living by using Helium Marketplace. There are guidelines for each article written to the Marketplace.
The writing contests are fun contests where the contest is dedicated to a specific topic. There are titles under the topic and if you write under those titles you will automatically be entered into the contest. Contest winners can also make good money. The rankings in contests are based on where your articles are ranked.
There are also upfront payments. For each writing star you get, the payment you get for each article increases. Some channels are not eligible for upfront payments. Make sure you write to the appropriate channels to get upfront payments. The maximum payment you can get is $2.50 for one article if you have five writing stars.
There is also a rating and empty title bonus. If you achieve 5 rating stars, you will get $3 bonus and if you write to a title no one else has written to, you can make an extra $1 for writing to it.
This is your introduction to Helium.com. To find out more visit the main page and join Helium!
Most Helium writers are part-time writers who like writing have a hobby. If you don't like writing and just want to make money then you won't be able to use Helium to its fullest potential. There are lots of resources on Helium to help writers which separates this site from other writing sites.
At Helium there are different channels. Each channel has sub-channels. These channels contain different topics such as creative writing, entertainment, health, science, etc. You can write to any of these articles.
To give you recognition for your work helium pays upfront payments and also gives writing stars and creative writing badges. Writing stars are achieved after writing a number of articles. Five writing stars is the maximum number of stars a writer can achieve. You also have a writing percentage, which is based on where your articles are ranked. More information about this can be found on the main Helium page.
At Helium there is a Marketplace, writing contests and the general channels. In the marketplace you have to write articles to specific titles for publishers. Then the publisher will decide to purchase one of the articles. Some articles can be sold for over $100 a piece! If you are a talented writer you can make a full-time living by using Helium Marketplace. There are guidelines for each article written to the Marketplace.
The writing contests are fun contests where the contest is dedicated to a specific topic. There are titles under the topic and if you write under those titles you will automatically be entered into the contest. Contest winners can also make good money. The rankings in contests are based on where your articles are ranked.
There are also upfront payments. For each writing star you get, the payment you get for each article increases. Some channels are not eligible for upfront payments. Make sure you write to the appropriate channels to get upfront payments. The maximum payment you can get is $2.50 for one article if you have five writing stars.
There is also a rating and empty title bonus. If you achieve 5 rating stars, you will get $3 bonus and if you write to a title no one else has written to, you can make an extra $1 for writing to it.
This is your introduction to Helium.com. To find out more visit the main page and join Helium!
Devianart.com
DeviantArt is a well known, popular artist's community which has been running since 2000. The website is designed to help anyone who enjoys art, regardless of their ability, to post up their work for criticism and to take part in art related activities. There are hundreds of thousands of members on the site who regularly visit it and view its pages.
Joining deviantArt is simple and can be done by anyone who has an email address to confirm that they have joined. Users sometimes create multiple accounts for different things such as one for their main art, one for stock photos and one which may be a club or fan page. Someone who has joined deviantArt is mostly referred to as a deviant and can submit work into one of the many different art categories by choosing to submit a deviation. Each user page has a journal, shows recent and featured deviations, any favourites the artist has, devious information on the deviant, people who watch the deviant and any comments that have been made on the deviant's homepage.
There are two main types of users, unsubscribed and subscribed. Unsubscribed members have limited features, cannot edit their pages as much and will have less superior browsing facilities as well as restrictions on how they can sell prints on the website. Subscribed users can edit their journals to look different using CSS, which is a type of scripting language, can browse more easily and look back further in the deviantArt archives, and have access to a lot more features for their own page.
Deviation is the name for the work submitted by an artist on the site. This process has been made a lot simpler over the years and now the category system has been streamlined to help you find out the best place for your work. You upload artwork from your computer and can write comments about your work, define whether it is for a mature audience or not, and select a few other features such as whether other users can display your art in their deviantArt journals etc.
Each deviation can receive comments from other members detailing whether they like the piece or not and what could be improved about it. It is hard to get constructive criticism sometimes unless you specifically ask for it, but when it is given it can help you to improve your art style a lot more.
Deviants can favourite a piece of work that they especially like and this is stored in a favourite's folder on their main page. Each deviant will have a statistics page telling them how many people added their work to their favourites and how many page views they have had.
You can sell prints of your artwork through the site regardless of whether you are a subscribed or unsubscribed member. This is handy for people trying to sell their work online as their work is more likely to find buyers on the site.
Some deviants take commissions and will detail the information in a journal. It is always a good idea to check with the deviant about what their prices are, what they will draw and how long it will take to do. It varies between artists.
There are also fan clubs and general clubs set up across the site for various games, cartoons and hobbies etc which are free to join and run club competitions and such on a regular basis.
Overall, deviantArt is a really friendly art community and is easy to understand. The people there are really nice and helpful to newcomers. There can be some drama over art theft and nasty comments, but this doesn't happen too often and is usually sorted out swiftly by the admin teams if you contact them about any issues. The site is fun and the feeling of belonging to a bustling community is great. A good site for anyone interested in improving their art and seeing what others can do.
Joining deviantArt is simple and can be done by anyone who has an email address to confirm that they have joined. Users sometimes create multiple accounts for different things such as one for their main art, one for stock photos and one which may be a club or fan page. Someone who has joined deviantArt is mostly referred to as a deviant and can submit work into one of the many different art categories by choosing to submit a deviation. Each user page has a journal, shows recent and featured deviations, any favourites the artist has, devious information on the deviant, people who watch the deviant and any comments that have been made on the deviant's homepage.
There are two main types of users, unsubscribed and subscribed. Unsubscribed members have limited features, cannot edit their pages as much and will have less superior browsing facilities as well as restrictions on how they can sell prints on the website. Subscribed users can edit their journals to look different using CSS, which is a type of scripting language, can browse more easily and look back further in the deviantArt archives, and have access to a lot more features for their own page.
Deviation is the name for the work submitted by an artist on the site. This process has been made a lot simpler over the years and now the category system has been streamlined to help you find out the best place for your work. You upload artwork from your computer and can write comments about your work, define whether it is for a mature audience or not, and select a few other features such as whether other users can display your art in their deviantArt journals etc.
Each deviation can receive comments from other members detailing whether they like the piece or not and what could be improved about it. It is hard to get constructive criticism sometimes unless you specifically ask for it, but when it is given it can help you to improve your art style a lot more.
Deviants can favourite a piece of work that they especially like and this is stored in a favourite's folder on their main page. Each deviant will have a statistics page telling them how many people added their work to their favourites and how many page views they have had.
You can sell prints of your artwork through the site regardless of whether you are a subscribed or unsubscribed member. This is handy for people trying to sell their work online as their work is more likely to find buyers on the site.
Some deviants take commissions and will detail the information in a journal. It is always a good idea to check with the deviant about what their prices are, what they will draw and how long it will take to do. It varies between artists.
There are also fan clubs and general clubs set up across the site for various games, cartoons and hobbies etc which are free to join and run club competitions and such on a regular basis.
Overall, deviantArt is a really friendly art community and is easy to understand. The people there are really nice and helpful to newcomers. There can be some drama over art theft and nasty comments, but this doesn't happen too often and is usually sorted out swiftly by the admin teams if you contact them about any issues. The site is fun and the feeling of belonging to a bustling community is great. A good site for anyone interested in improving their art and seeing what others can do.
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