Hot Web Applications to Watch

Preston Gralla has just listed 25 web sites to watch. Many of these fall into the categories of web 2.0 mashups, mapping, portals, search engines, social media and more.

Over at Webware, Rafe Needleman has announced the Webware 100 winners. This list consists of 100 web 2.0 applications, all of which were voted on by nearly 500,000 visitors. Surprisingly - or maybe not, since they were voted on and are thus familiar apps - I know many more of this bigger list (having written about them or used them) than those in Preston Gralla’s list. The latter list has informed me of several web 2.0 apps I didn’t know about.

My current favorite mashup app is Yahoo Pipes, which I’ve written about at Tubetorial and at Search Engine Journal, amongst other places. It lets you take multiple web feeds, manipulate the information, then produce a custom result feed. The tool, in my opinion, is grossly underrated, but it is a bit quirky because it’s still in beta mode. It has much value as a custom search and content analysis tool.

Microsoft’s Popfly has the same sort of drag and drop builder essence as Pipes. Popfly, however, requires installation of Microsoft Silverlight streaming software, which is similar to Flash, and it lets you build real apps, some that function in 3D. Pipes only produces new RSS feeds, not application.

Both applications are an example of an exciting trend in web-based software. They are part of a wave that are ushering in powerful generation of applications that non-programmers can use.