Stimulation = Creativity

There is so much information on the web nowadays... none of us have enough time. Enter PopUrls, a meta-site that encapsulates up-to-the-minute headlines from 15 consensus filters, and top thumbnail images from the social sites Flickr, YouTube, and Google Video. The hive mind on one screen.

Here's how I use it. On one page I can scan the latest headlines of what the web collectively thinks is either popular or interesting. A simple mouse over the headline will cleverly reveal a small box of expanded text on the article. If I want even more, a click will open the original entry in the filter. In five minutes I can scan 18 social site sources thoroughly. I get an excellent feel for what is new, what people are looking at, and what is worth following up on (a small amount of overlap between sources helps). It's not just news, it's imagery, music, trends... it's stimulation and culture direction.

The design of PopUrls is brilliant. There's two flavors, black on white or white on black. Function drives form, buttons are minimal. It feels like a well-designed command post for a concise debriefing.

There's no better way to watch the world changing. I've posted the link in the side bar as well.