In the past year, my web habits have changed more than in any year in recent memory. Whereas just a few years ago my web surfing consisted of visiting certain sites of interest at certain times of the day, I now have several tabs open all day in Firefox in which information is being constantly refreshed (either through the browser refresh button or AJAX). I think this has a lot to do with the web's move toward the functional utility and away from mere content.
When I look at what's so compelling about these particular sites and applications that makes me want to keep them in front of me all day, I notice they fall pretty neatly into three categories:
Social
Business applications
Niche content
Some of them straddle lines, but mostly they're pretty clear cut. Let's look at what I keep open in my browser tabs all day:
Wordpress Dashboard at Hespos.com (social) - This is the main command center for my blog at Hespos.com. If I want to type out a quick missive, or if a comment comes in from a reader, this is where it all happens.
Message Boards (social) - I actually have two tabs open that... Read more
