CommandShift3 Archive

Is it just me or does it seem like a good bit of the new Web apps being launched are being considered "time wasters"? The term first hit me hard when iminlikewithyou presented at the NY Tech Meetup several months ago and during their demo they stated that the app was created just to waste time. Today I thought we would take a look at a couple new time wasters. Though both of the sites below actually add some unique value which makes them actually worthwhile.

CommandShift3

Brooklyn-based CommandShift3 is similar to the long-running Hot or Not people rating system. Here you are going through Web site battles. They show you two Web sites and you select the one with the better design. Then it’s on to another set, and another set, etc. Where they add value is that you have a good chance of finding several sites each time that you might not have known about before. I know I have. Marshall has a good review of the service.

ProductClash

We initially covered ProductClash when they launched in late November. The idea of ProductClash is very similar to CommandShift3 except that its for products. They throw up two related products and you pick which you like better. Revenue is generated by Amazon referrals it appears – though the links go to the UK Amazon site – they might want to look at localizing that for maximum revenue creation. Here is an example clash using two mice. It’s an interesting way to rate products and while it’s no replacement for an actual review, it can provide a quick look at two similar products. I don’t care for the spammy text they put below the footer to attempt to rank high for SEO. I’d rather see better quality text added to the actual page.

Update: Duncan at Techcrunch has an overview of ProductClash including notes on the Facebook app – he calls the service a Digg clone. I’d suggest if it’s any type of clone, it’d be a Hot or Not clone.

Do you know of other good "battle" sites? What about other time wasters?