I think it's safe to say that there are a lot of people wasting time online.
Although I'm an advocate of most things digital, this week I discovered a few new tech toys that ate away a little too much of my life. If you're feeling bored at work or fidgety at home, these sites will certainly help to pass the time, but don't be surprised if they also leave you feeling a little empty inside when you finally persuade yourself to log off.
1. Cow Clicker
This is a new Facebook game that makes fun of Facebook games. As the creator says, "It's partly a satire, and partly a playable theory of today's social games, and partly an earnest example of that genre." There is no real skill involved to play this game. You're invited to click your Facebook cow every six hours. Yes, just one click. You can invite other cow-clickers to your pasture and you can buy virtual currency ("mooney") to personalize your bovine presence.
2. I Write Like...
If you like to write, and you think you're good at it, this tool is for you. I Write Like analyses your blog posts, journal entries, or any other text and tells you how your style compares to famous writers. I submitted this particular article to the service and was told that I write like sci-fi author Cory Doctorow. If you're prone to indulgent displays of pride, you can add an electronic badge to my blog proving my Doctorow affiliation.
3. The First Ever Sleep Up
Blogger Paul Balcarek shared his bed with the world this week while undergoing a sleep study at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. The live webcast featured Balcarek sleeping while doctors discussed his sleeping disorder. Online visitors were invited to "Sleeping in Seattle" to chat with the Medical Center's social media team and specialists (all while Balcarek was asleep). The video is archived online, just in case you want to see firsthand what a "sleep up" is all about.
4. AutoSummarize
If you find reading books too time consuming, Jason Huff has used Microsoft Word's AutoSummarize feature to take the top 100 most downloaded copyright free books and churn out a short synopsis for each title. For example, the Iliad by Homer is summed up in just a few words, "Gods! Gods! Gods! Hector! Gods! Gods! Hector! Gods! Gods God!" No need to head to the library.