Editor’s note: This post is part of an ongoing series published every Monday that examines the top 100 tech tools in a given category. Follow @DailyTekk on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss a week!
I don’t know about you, but I’m constantly running into so many cool websites I want to remember or recommend to people but I don’t always have time to make a note of them, add them to Evernote, bookmark them in Delicious, etc. So this is a good example of a post I created as a personal (and completely unscientific) resource that other people will probably benefit from as well. Some of these sites are pretty new while others have been around for a while now, but they are all awesome right now in 2012.
Also read: Over 100 Incredible Infographic Tools and Resources (Categorized)
So whether you are looking for a way to catch up on the latest Internet trends, want to find some exciting new content to load into your favorite news aggregating app or are just bored and need to waste some time online, this list represents hours of potential discovery. Depending on your level of Internet usage, you may already know about a few of these sites but chances are you’ll find plenty of new favorites here (unless your name is Guy Kawasaki or Robert Scoble, that is). Don’t forget to check the miscellaneous category at the end of the post where I stuck some of the overflow sites or sites that were’t as easy to classify–some of the best links are hiding in there.
Cool Curators
- The Five - For those who lean on their right brain.
- Twisted Sifter - The best of the visual web.
- Cool Hunting - Art, design, culture and technology.
- Holy Kaw (Guy Kawasaki) – Former chief evangelist of Apple.
- Get Addicted To - Daily mix of creative culture.
- The Cool Hunter - Roaming the planet searching for cool.
- My Modern Met - Connecting over creativity.
- The Burning House - Photos of cherished belongings.
- Dear Photograph - A picture of a picture from the past in the present.
- Neatorama - Neat-o stuff.
Creativity and Design
- 99% - Productivity insights for creatives.
- Abduzeedo - Visual inspiration and tutorials.
- Fast Co. Design - Fast Company’s design blog.
- Smashing Magazine - Useful and innovative web design information.
- Architizer - Amazing architecture every day.
- Colossal – Awesome digital art and inspiration.
- Six Revisions – Web design articles, news, giveaways and tutorials.
- Datavis – Curated data visualizations.
- Design Milk – Dedicated to modern design.
- David Airey – Insights from a brand identity designer.
Tech & Gadgets
- The Verge - In-depth technology news and reviews.
- ArsTechnica - The art of technology.
- Mashable – Social media news and web tips.
- Gizmag - Gadgets and emerging technologies.
- The Next Web – International tech news, business and culture.
- ReadWriteWeb – Web apps, technology trends and social media.
- Hacker News - Tech news from Y-Combinator.
- Gizmodo - By and for the Gadget obsessed.
- Wired - In-depth coverage of trends in tech.
- Engadget - Gadgets and consumer electronics.
Startups and Entrepreneurship
- VentureBeat - Interpreting innovation.
- Techcrunch - Obsessively profiling startups.
- GigaOm - Tech news, analysis and trends.
- PandoDaily - New, but striving to be the site-of-record for silicon valley.
- Ask the VC – What entrepreneurs want to know about.
- Xconomy – Business, life sciences and technology news.
- 47 Hats – Views on the startup world, online productivity and more.
- Silicon Prairie – Highlighting and supporting silicon prairie entrepreneurs.
- OnStartups – Advice and insights for entrepreneurs.
- Startup Lessons Learned – Lessons for entrepreneurs.
Photos
- The Selby – Pictures in your space.
- Pictory – Life through true photo stories.
- Petapixel – A blog for photography enthusiasts.
- Totally Cool Pix – The world in photos.
- Flickr Blog – Flickr’s stunning photo blog.
- The Open – An eye on the world’s best photographers.
- Photojojo - Photo tips, projects and more.
- FFFFound – Awesome photos for your timeline.
- iPhoneography – The iPhone photography and videography blog.
- Lomography – Analogue film photography.
Video
- Short of the Week – A new short film every week.
- Revision3 - Internet television.
- 30 Second MBA – Tips from business leaders.
- TinyWrld – The world in tilt-shifts and time-lapses.
- The Kid Should See This – Kids videos and other smart stuff.
- YouTube Trends – Trending and noteworthy videos.
- Google Talks – Talks by innovators and thought leaders.
- AP Video – Video from the Associated Press.
- FutureShorts – Shorts from the global film festival.
- Freddie Wong – Action shorts from Freddie Wong.
Living
- Hello Brit – Ideas to live more simply, beautifully and creatively.
- The Setup – Things people use to get stuff done.
- Foodily – Food, I love you.
- Lifehack – Tips for living in a digital world.
- Houzz – Inspiration for your next home project.
- Freshome – Interior design and architecture.
- Apartment Therapy - Saving the world one room at a time.
- Inhabitat – Good design will save the world.
- Curbed - Interior design, decor and real-estate.
- Dwell – At home in the modern world.
Travel
- AFAR - Where travel can take you.
- Adventure Journal - Real outdoor adventure.
- Spotted By Locals - Experience cities like a local.
- Stuck In Customs - The #1 travel photography blog.
- Gadling - Fun and interesting travel blog from the Huffington Post.
- Oyster - See the truth before you travel.
- Tnooz - Travel technology news and more.
- Vagabondish - Going off the beaten path.
- Kathika Travel - Lose yourself in the world of travel.
- Gogobot Postcards - Postcards being shared on Gogobot.
Business
- SEOmoz Blog – Search engine marketing tactics and strategy.
- Dealbreaker – A Wall Street tabloid.
- Freakanomics – The hidden side of everything.
- Copyblogger - Copywriting tips for online marketing.
- Social Media Examiner - Tips for social media marketing.
- Bloomberg News – Business and finance.
- Paid Content – The business of digital content.
- World Economic Forum – Improving the state of the world.
- The Consumerist - Shoppers bite back.
- StockTwits - Real-time trading news.
Miscellaneous / Other
- Uncrate – Stuff you never knew you wanted.
- Gear Patrol – Spirit of adventure. Passion for gear.
- Werd – Gear, gadgets and style for men.
- Big Think – Ideas from the luminaries of our time.
- Anchor Division – Vintage inspiration for men.
- Wallpaper* – Design, interiors, fashion, art and more.
- The Fancy – Curated feed of beautiful products.
- The Awesomer – Awesome stuff.
- Today and Tomorrow – Beautiful things.
- Uberreview – Gadgetry and geekery.
What Did I Miss?
Leave me a comment if I missed any of your favorites or if you think a site made it to this list that didn’t belong.
Thx for inclusion
You forgot to include in this list: http://www.vidabinaria.com.br
I’d recommend in Miscellaneous / Other category the site http://www.vercalendario.info/en/ for printing calendars, it has turned out very useful for me. cheers
Great! We love to be included in top 10′s like this – thank you very much!
Have you checked out the websites “Where is the Cool?” http://whereisthecool.com, “Devour” http://devour.com or “The Inspiration Grid” http://http://theinspirationgrid.com/
They’re all pretty good. I think you’ll like judging your taste with the above.
Think also about surfonaut.com!
Ugh…. maaaaan. Now my productivity for the next day is shot because you assembled such an awesome list of sites for me to check out. haha. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I just added your blog to my personal list.
http://www.notcot.org/ is always good.
Check out “WorkFlowy: Organize Yoiur Mind”
You guys missed Vimeo and Hypebeast. Both are great websites!
Ypu forgot political website blogs and this is one of the best. Built on wp with Ajax you can rate your senator congressman state govt and state tax. Joe also has 15k twitter followers
TED !
Great list! Will follow many of these recommendations. I hope that next year, my blog gets featured as well.
http://thecuriousbrain.com
Nice Post – Don’t agree with everything, but it is a handy tool across sectors. Thanks for taking the time!
I think you should definitely include MOSAIC – http://mosaic-on.com/ under Cool Curators. What do you think?
You missed thegoldrush.co.uk – The bestest funniest blog of 2012 by far!
Thanks for including Design Milk!
Cool list! However, in the “Cool Curators” section, it is almost *scandalous* to leave Network Awesome off the list!
http://www.networkawesome.com/
I have lost a lot of time there…
I love this web site for killing time. I should have said…
http://www.ishouldhavesaid.net/