GO2WEB20 Gets An Upgrade

Simple ideas can be the foundation to some really great products. Such is the case with search. But search can only go so far, and no matter how precise the algorithm, if you don’t know what it is you’re looking for, you’re going to be in a rut until you discover what that something is. The founders of GO2WEB20 have proven this point well, by helping searchers search via directory. Better still, GO2WEB20 is all Web 2.0, all of the time. It doesn’t get much better than that. At least of our kind.

GO2WEB20 is logo heaven. Now a source to roughly 800 Web 2.0 sites , novelties, gadgets, widgets (I could go on), the directory abounds with information about the places contained there. And the Ajax. Oh, the Ajax.

There are some Ajax-heavy domains out on the web today that just don’t cut it. GO2WEB20 has to be among the top 1% of Ajax-laced pages, however. Its designers have built on the site’s original Flash-only UI, and have done well in meshing the two (or three, considering Ajax is a duopoly) technologies together, but have managed not to get ahead of themselves. Applying “cool” items here and there with little regard for site aesthetics and failing to consult the mind of the general user will often break down a great idea to nothing more than mush. GO2WEB20 is not only a pleasure to explore, its purpose isn’t overshadowed by excessive glitz, which is, again, great.

So what can you do with GO2WEB20? Its main purpose is to dole out succinct information about a site and provide links to said page. The owners and operators of the 800 sites linked the directory (the number is bound to grow) can even add “rich content” to attract more people. Developers can include widgets with their directory listing(s), an RSS feed, a video, and more. As GO2WEB20 grows and adds features, so will external sources be able to develop more items to add to their spaces. It’s clear that GO2WEB20 wants to be the premier destination for anyone curious and interested in Web 2.0 but finds it too large and expansive to grasp and learn more about through simple Google searches.

GO2WEB20’s impressive “candy” will bring in many eyes in search of the pretty side of Web 2.0. There’s plenty of people out there that fit such a description. I count myself as one of them. But the creators of this great directory of Web 2.0 sites clearly intend to back up their wonderfully-sculpted UI with a solid, infinitely-expandable next-gen information database.

We all judge books by their covers. But the content is what gets us to the last page. Because GO2WEB20 is equal parts charm and intelligence, I think it’ll do quite well in avoiding the “bargain bin” for quite a while longer.