Portals

iGoogle.com I started with iGoogle because I am a fan of Google in general. It is always what I use to search the web and it’s just the most common site for everyone I know to use. However, I found iGoogle far from my favorite of the PIP options. Firstly, the apparent benefit of Google is actually its main detractor. Google is so big, and contains so many options, that it appears less would be more in this case. There’s just so much to focus on that it’s hard to narrow does what you want. I also found it to be the least user friendly. Here again was the issue of less-is-more. When I went to the about link to learn only about iGoogle, I was directed to a help page that gave information about all Google options – not just iGoogle, which greatly interfered with my understanding and the ease with which I could have created a page. Now there’s half a page out there that I created before I wanted more info, which I couldn’t find. And for some reason, the weather for Belton didn’t show up. Now that may seem like a no-big-deal thing, but if I can’t even get my weather, what good is a start up page with information that I desire when that information is “not available”? I also found the general process for adding things I was interested to my start-up page difficult. I follow the general internet policy of the three-click rule. If something can’t be easily done in three clicks, I’ll continue shopping for something else since it’s clearly going to be more work than it’s worth. I am not alone in my thoughts here. Here’s s review that views iGoogle in the same negative light as me: []. Here’s a more favorable review: []. though the drag and drop possibility is cool, I don’t think it outweighs the sad disappointment that Google has put out.

GloTouch.com Well, this was interesting. I liked the simplicity of GloTouch and it was quite easy and quick to start a page. However, I could not find the handy FAQ or About link that was on the other pages. Moreover, when I clicked the help link I was directed to an error page that said the help page didn’t exist. I found no reviews of GloTouch on YouTube and a general Google search offered no information either. Once I created my page, I could easily change my theme and after that, I was sort of stuck. Perhaps it’s my own lack of internet prowess, but the lack of general information on this program is disturbing, though not as much as the fact that I couldn’t get to the help or about pages. I will say that I did discover a page (here’s the link: []) that explained a lot about the help page being inaccessible. It appears that only a short month ago, the creator was trying to sell it. In his own words, he just didn’t have time to manage GloTouch and the other sites he manages. It appears to have gone unsold; however, if GloTouch is on the market and is unsold, I assume it’s his last priority, which makes me hesitant to use it. I am not a big fan of anything where the oh-so-important help page isn’t accessible. Supposedly GloTouch will be coming out with a business account soon. I don’t know if that’s still in the works now that the site is for sale, but if so that may be an extra benefit for others, but it still doesn’t seem to help its relevance to the education world.

Only2clicks.com This is definitely one of my favorite PIP sites I found. To title (only2clciks) refers to how easy it is to share links with friends. However, I found this to be generally true of the site in general. It took about that many clicks to set up my page as well. it also, though I would NEVER condone an Apple product) compatible with iPhones and iPods, which is good for all the Applephilles out there and allows greater compatibility between those who are Apple devotes and those who are PC devotes. Like other PIPs, only2clicks allows the user to change the background easily and offers choices from their own files or allows users to create their own backgrounds and important them in. bookmarking is also easy here. From other sites, you can simply click the only2clicks icon under the address bar on your webpage and your bookmark is added to only2clicks.com, instead having to go to the website and then add it and then go back to the site you were viewing that you just added. It also serves as a backup for all the bookmarks in your internet explorer (or whatever), so that you won’t ever lose them when you change computers and allows you to access them from any computer you are on. iGoogle proudly promoted their drag and drop feature for organizing your PIP, but only2clicks offers that as well, which easily allows you to change the look, feel, and organization of your page. Here are two YouTube videos that show how to use it and the benefits it offers. A good sign to educators is that one of these is from edu teacher. [] [] And here’s a generally positive review that focuses on features: []

MyHomePoint.com Here’s a nice summary of what this site does: [] Overall, this too scores in my top three picks. Mainly because of how it seems to differ from the other options. Other PIPs seem to be focused on the individual. This one is focused on the family. In fact, Heaven might be a place very similar to this site where everything is organized, clean, easy to use, and makes life generally easier (yep, I’m aware of the paradox that is that last statement!). however, this site is clean, one of the many aspects I like about it. There’s no bells and whistles in the design that interferes with the actual function of the site or the simplicity with which the information can be accessed. The calendar can be edited by anyone given that access. Which means that when your kids are teens and need to add in basketball practice from 5-8 on Wednesday, you, as the site “leader”, can grant them editing access. If they are five and you don’t want them messing with your stuff, they can only get view access. You can add important dates, set how early and often you would like the reminder for those dates, can get text reminders to your phone if you’re like me and don’t get on your computer every day (isn’t being chained to one at work terrible enough?), and you can even inventory your household items, which would make a tragedy like a fire less stressful at the very least. You can also add lists and reminders and choose to keep them private or public (which would still only be shared with others who are linked to your account). This would be awesome in so many instances – such as when two busy parents have twins and need a place to record feedings and medicine doses (I have personal experience with the chaos of that since my twin brother and sister were born when I was 18 and lived at home). The only real detraction I see in this site is that I wouldn’t really call it a PIP in the way that other sites are. It seems more to be a really freaking awesome calendar. There doesn’t appear to be a link to Google or any other search engine and you can’t really add links and RSS feeds like you can with the other sites. Either way, this is the only page I’ve looked at today that was awesome enough that I created it with my personal email address rather than my school email. In fact, for pretty much every busy woman this site is a winner and can make organizing a crazy way easier!

MyStartSite.com This is a more classic PIP than MyHomePoint. This, of all the sites here that I consider to be a true PIP, is the best so far. Only2Clicks is better for social networking and sharing things with family and friends, but this site is more conducive as a one-stop page for all my needs. I found it to be very user-friendly and by far the easiest to customize. When I created an account a simple page can up that gave me all customizing options I could ever want. It was also very easy to add my own custom links. The only real draw back was the blandness of it, but that to could be a benefit if you don’t want reaching your goals online to be filled with clutter and confusion. There is no advertising, not colors or images vying for your attention, and simple buttons to take you to the page you desire. On one page I can access my several email accounts, school account, my most frequently used shopping sites, and more. I also get top story headlines from site like Yahoo, so with a simple glance I can pretend I know what’s going on in the worked even if I don’t have time to read the article. Here’s a basic summary from a more professional sounding site: [] There’s not much on this site out there yet – not even any videos on YouTube that I found, but I wonder how much of that is due to the lack of visual personalization this site allows. I was a bit saddened that I couldn’t even change the colors.

Groovle.com Groovle uses Google (the name similarity is not a coincidence since Google tried to sue them to get it changed - the lost by the way) to search the web. It is customizable with a wide variety of backgrounds to choose from. However, at that point it really becomes Google. As far as I can tell, it’s just a site that allows you to get a cool background before you search using Google. Did I maybe miss something? It sure feels like it. But there were no video on YouTube that I could find and searching for reviews online yielded me a wealth of info about the law suit between Groovle and Google with little else. Overall, I’d save myself the time and forgo the pretty background since I would just do a search and be taken to a new page anyway before I had time to appreciate it.

Extra Here’s a link to a site I stumbled across that seems to give a general overview of the top 25 sites that are similar to Pageflakes. It’s a good starting place if you want to find a new site. []