The Good Web Site Guide 2001

This book works on the premise that most people – once the first enthusiasm has worn off – don’t particularly enjoy surfing, because it’s expensive, slow, they don’t know what to look for, haven’t got the time or simply have no recommended starting point. The book is effectively a list with a few words saying why it’s recommended. It will have an introduction (in the manner of Hardens Restaurant Guide) which will give a controversial summation of the state of the net for that year. It assumes basic knowledge and will not contain information on how to use the net. The sites will be general but chosen for their skill in linking with other more specific sites. For example it will recommend a general football site where you can move to specific teams. It will be easy to use in an A-Z of net subjects. Yahoo, BBC, WHS and other major ‘hub’ sites will have a page of their own The ‘best’ will be judged in terms of content, ease of use, value for money and service. The book will also have cross-referenced index and will include around 500 sites in the first issue. The layout will be ‘customer intuitive’: easily readable typeface, (interestingly one of the biggest home users of the net are retired people); be accessible, i.e. cheap and not too long; and will not attempt to be too ‘clever’ or include wacky or weird sites. In the first issue we will ask for readers to recommend sites – we will set up a site to log these – and we will use these recommendations to amend and adapt subsequent year’s guides – published annually.