The Ten Most Popular Websites

Back in the day, there were boards, bulletin board systems (BBS). There was no Internet, web, e-mail, or online shopping. I remembered when the BBS allowed me to share information with people around the neighborhood using my Commodore 64 and a 300 baud modem. We were confined to the neighborhood because of long-distance costs. Then the world became connected through the Internet. With broad band Internet and the explosion of websites and services online, the Internet evolved into a gigantic cyberspace of merchants, libraries, services, news, and websites that fulfill the users’ need to search, learn, purchase, and share. In this article, I am exploring the top ten most popular websites in North America.

Alexa.com is a service provided by Amazon.com that provides tracking data regarding the use of websites. The data are based on over ten million users who downloaded and installed the Alexa Toolbar. Because the data represent the Internet “surfing” habits of these users, the data may be biased by the types of people who download and use the toolbar. However, because millions have downloaded the toolbar, Alexa.com provides a good estimate of the most popular websites.

The #10 most visited website is Live.com. Live.com is owned by Microsoft and is currently in Beta version. The goal of Live.com is to provide an online desktop experience where your information, e-mail, search, news, and PC files can work together and be accessed anywhere with a computer and Internet connection.

The #9 most popular website is Go.com. Go.com is owned by Disney and provides a central place for news and search.

The #8 most visited website is CNN.com. Users find up-to-date news around the world. The site is huge and is free to use.

The #7 most visited website is Craigslist.org. Are you looking for a car? Do you want to rent your house? Are you looking for a date? Do you need a job? Whatever you need, you will find it on Craigslist.org because this is one of the most rapidly growing online classifieds on the Internet. What’s so great about Craigslist.org? It’s all free, unless you are a business listing a job. Even so, job listings are a bargain at $75 per listing in San Francisco and $25 per listing everywhere else. The Craigslist.org business model generates over $10 million in yearly revenues.

Amazon.com is the #6 most visited website. Amazon.com is a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, Washington and opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers the Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find anything from books to plasma televisions. Looking for a bargain? Look on Amazon.com first.

Ebay.com is ranked at the #5 most visited website. Ebay.com started in 1995 when Pierre Omidyar developed a software program to faciliate trading online. At first, a few users registered, including his girlfriend who traded PEZ candy dispensers. By the end of the year, several thousand auctions were completed. Ebay.com nickeled and dimed its way to a market capitilization of $46 billion. Now Ebay.com also provides global banking services through PayPal.com and telecommunications services via Skype.com.

The #4 most visited website is MSN.com. Operated and owned by Microsoft, this site provides internet service, news, e-mail, and shopping.

The #3 most popular website is Myspace.com. Myspace.com is a social networking site where people create a profile on the Internet and find other people with similar interests. Similar to social clubs in the physical world, Myspace.com provides a medium for social interactions in cyberspace.

Started as a simple “search engine”, Google.com is the #2 most used website. Google is a brand that people love and use around the world. For this love, Google generates over $7 billion dollars in yearly revenues from its search engine advertising model. If you need to find something, then you’ll find it with Google.com.

Yahoo.com is one of the oldest websites on the Internet and currently holds the #1 most popular website. Yahoo.com provides search, e-mail, financial services, news, movie updates, and much more. Visit Yahoo.com and see why 27% of all Internet users come to Yahoo!

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“There is no such thing as a free lunch!” This was true until the development of the Internet. There is incredible pressure to offer free services to the consumer. Numerous companies offer free services on the Internet. For instance, Google.com offers free G-mail where each user receives 1 gigabyte of e-mail storage. G-mail will even sort the e-mail automatically based on content and address. Yahoo! offers free stock quotes and investment tools. Craigslist.org offers free classifieds where people sell everything under the sun at no cost. In California, Craigstlist followers are many, and people are selling cars, homes, and services to other local Craigslist users. Medrounds.org offers narrated surgical videos and educational materials at no cost for patients, students, and physicians. Blogger.com offers free self-publishing software for world-wide pontification. Google is the leader in free services on the Internet; thus, it was not a surprise when Google purchased Pyra Labs, the creator of Blogger.com.

One of my favorite free Internet services is Skype.com. Skype offers VoIP services for free. VoIP is an acronym for “voice over internet protocol”. VoIP uses the Internet to transmit voice and video in digital format. Because the world is connected by the World Wide Web, VoIP facilitates communication via a computer-to-computer network. When calling a colleague who also uses Skype, there is no charge. For those who must still connect with traditional phone numbers or cell phones, there is a nominal rate that is cheaper than traditional telephone service providers. Up to five individuals can participate in a VoIP conference using Skype. While conferencing, links can be sent using a chat window and files can be distributed for everyone to view. In addition, video conferencing is available with the latest version. I have conducted meetings with individuals located in Beijing, Helinksi, New Zealand, and Paris via Skype.

Using a Bluetooth wireless headset, I can talk to people around the world for free. For those who prefer a device resembling a telephone, there are USB phones that are compatible with Skype. What about people who want to call your computer? A local telephone number can be purchased for about $30 per year. A Skype local telephone number allows users to receive voice mail and to receive calls from traditional telephone services. While traveling, friends, family, and colleagues can keep in touch by dialing a local telephone number, free of charge.

Skype is growing at an exponential rate with over 247 million downloads within the last 3 years. Because of its growth and user base, eBay acquired Skype for $2.6 billion in cash. For a service that people mainly use for free, this is rather an expensive purchase. However, controlling Internet communications for eBay may fit nicely with its e-commerce and financial services dominance on the Internet.

What are the disadvantages associated with a new communication tool like VoIP? A broadband Internet connection is needed for clarity. Skype does not offer 9-1-1 service. Video conferencing needs improvement because the video and audio are choppy. When calling a traditional telephone number or cell phone, it costs about two cents per minute for domestic calls and higher for international calls. While these disadvantages are minor, with increasing availability of broadband Internet and increasing numbers of users converting to Skype, we will be able to connect with friends, family, and colleagues for free.

I am waiting for Skype software on my Blackberry so I can avoid using my cell phone minutes!

UI Doctors Provide Latest Information On Age-Related Macular Degeneration

University of Iowa News

May 31, 2006

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the Western world, has reached epidemic levels. Eye experts at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics help patients with AMD reduce their risk of vision loss and help others reduce the risk of even developing the disease.

Nearly 15 percent of people age 70 and older have AMD, and it affects nearly one in three individuals age 80 and older. AMD destroys the central vision by damaging the macula, the part of the retina that provides detail and color vision.

"Patients with AMD fear they will go totally blind, and that there's nothing they can do about it," said James Folk, M.D., an ophthalmologist who also is a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

"We allay their fears and tell them that they can do a lot to reduce their risk of vision loss," Folk said.

With years of clinical experience, Folk and Mark E. Wilkinson, O.D., UI clinical associate professor of ophthalmology, knew that patients at risk for or newly diagnosed with AMD were eager for current information they could understand.

To help meet that need, they wrote "Protect Your Sight: How to Save Your Vision in the Epidemic of Age-Related Macular Degeneration," a book for patients with AMD, as well as eye doctors.

The book contains the latest information on the disease and specific steps people with AMD should take to help keep their vision. It also contains detailed information on visual aids for those who have already lost vision, the future of AMD research and tips on how to best keep up with the latest discoveries and treatments.

"Protect Your Sight" is published in electronic form at www.medrounds.org/protect-your-sight, where it can be read online for free. Print copies also can be ordered for a fee at the site.

"We put the book online to make it more accessible to the greatest number of people," Folk said. "The format makes it easy for us to update the book because this is a rapidly evolving field. It is virtually impossible for the general eye doctor, much less the patient, to keep up with advances that save vision."

Folk also maintains a blog at www.medrounds.org/amd to keep other clinicians, researchers and interested lay people updated on AMD issues.

Anyone over age 65 should make it a habit of checking each eye separately by covering one eye and making sure the vision in the other eye is not blurred or distorted, Folk emphasized.

"If straight lines look bent, this could be a sign of AMD. It's important not to delay diagnosis," Folk said.

The disease can be slowed by avoiding too much fatty or fried foods and eating fresh vegetables and fish instead. High doses of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene and zinc have also been shown to reduce the risk of progression by 25 percent over five years, Folk said. However, as with all health care, it is best to consult with your personal physician before making any change to your diet or health care routine.

The wet form of AMD, which accounts for about 10 percent of all AMD cases, involves the in-growth of abnormal blood vessels beneath the retina. These vessels bleed and scar, causing rapid vision loss.

"The treatments for the wet form are improving rapidly," Folk said, "but work best if the vessel changes are caught early, making it paramount that people with AMD check their vision frequently.

"We can actually improve the vision in many patients with wet AMD if they come to see us early enough," he added.

In contrast, the dry form of AMD, affecting nearly 90 percent of people with AMD, is a slower process, as the cells in the macula gradually become sick and die. Currently, there is no proven treatment for the dry form but small studies of various drugs are under way.

Genetics research, including investigations at the UI Carver Family Center for Macular Degeneration, is helping advance understanding and treatment of AMD. In addition, the UI is involved in many clinical studies that are testing new treatments for the wet and dry forms of the disease. Visit the center at www.c4md.org.

Individuals with AMD concerns may contact the UI Vitreoretinal Service secretarial staff: Ramona Weber at 319-356-8161 or ramona-weber@uiowa.edu or Susan Rath at 319-356-3185 at susan-rath@uiowa.edu.

University of Iowa Health Care describes the partnership between the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and UI Hospitals and Clinics and the patient care, medical education and research programs and services they provide. Visit UI Health Care online at www.uihealthcare.com.

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa Health Science Relations, 5137 Westlawn, Iowa City, Iowa 5224-1178

BOOK INFORMATION: www.medrounds.org/protect-your-sight

PROGRAM CONTACT: Vitroretinal Service Secretarial Staff: Ramona Weber, 319-356-8161, ramona-weber@uiowa.edu or Susan Rath, 319-356-3185

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New Open-Access Publication

Mark E. Wilkinson, OD, co-author of Protect Your Sight, publishes Essential Optics Review for the Boards in an open-access format. Dr. Wilkinson's optics course at the University of Iowa helps residents survive the OKAPs and ophthalmology boards. Now, in book form, his material will help residents and students around the world. His book is concise and complete with over 150 questions to guide the student through optics. The book utilizes diagrams to teach and provides a high-yield review of optics that's needed for success on the boards. On Medrounds, readers use the Internet to learn the material and to test their knowledge with the optics review questions.

We publish all our materials in open-access format on www.medrounds.org. This means anyone with an Internet connection can access our content at no cost. How do our books generate revenue? First, advertisers list their services and goods on each page. Some of these ads are paid-per-click, which range from 10 cents to several dollars per click. The more popular an author's work, the more advertising dollars they generate. Second, the integration of published content with MyFundRazor expands advertising to affiliate marketing where brand name merchants support the authors. Third, most readers still prefer to read paper books, so we also offer sales of the authors' books on paper. These books can be purchased directly from www.medrounds.org, through Amazon.com, and other distributors.

Essential Optics Review for the Boards is scheduled for printing and sales by this summer and definitely in time for the boards and OKAPs next Spring!

Mark E. Wilkinson, O.D.

Dr. Wilkinson is co-author of Protect Your Sight and author of Essential Optics Review for the Boards. Dr. Wilkinson is an associate professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa, which is one of the top three ophthalmology teaching programs in the U.S. He is secretary of the Executive Committee of the American Optometric Association Low Vision Rehabilitation Section. He has published extensively and spoken all over the globe concerning issues related to visual rehabilitation. He teaches optics to the ophthalmology residents at the University of Iowa and around the world.