by Michelle Christina

Created on: January 05, 2009

Forward thinking is the only immunity websites have against e-Darwinism. Being the best website of 2008 isn't a matter of mere novelty or entertainment. In a time where the aforementioned qualities have saturated the net, there are five websites that surface over others in the spirit of professional, artistic, and leisurely progression. They are the pinnacle of what's to come.

1. Etsy.com: One glance at the collage of product available on the front page of Etsy sums up the experience. There is a 24/7/365 craft fair going on at your fingertips. This is online shopping turned sentimental - a convenient, simple way to exchange products that would otherwise never be exposed to the consumer population at large.

Etsy dwellers have marketed themselves as the pagans of Ebay - the antithesis of mass market personal e-commerce (and the increasingly high percentages one must sacrifice to operate there). Etsy boasts hand-made goods, vintage items, and supplies for creative endeavors as their product range, with a low $0.20 listing and 3.5% sales fee.

The basis of this platform promotes independent artisans and has indefinitely encouraged a generation of internet users to get crafty. Whether you're looking for a graffiti-motif pot holder, a grab bag of antique jewelry trinkets, six dozen fake flower batches for your wedding, or a chic piece of wall art, Etsy has it. You can even input area codes to support sellers in your region - the online version of shopping local "mom & pop" stores. This way if you make an impulse buy, you're not feeding the corporate giants - you're helping the guy next door!

2. Twitter.com: Status updates from everyone in the world, 24/7 - necessary? Probably not. But in the wake of much criticism on the excessive communication capability this website has introduced, Twitter has come through as something of a vital tool for the age of information anxiety. We need to know absolutely everything the second it happens, all the time. Watching news is not enough. Getting email is not enough. Twitter is the answer.

Twitter is used by simply making a profile and typing in your status, which is then broadcast to the bulletin board of updates that appear on the homepage of your contacts. You can network with friends & family, celebrities, contacts from other networking sites, as well as news feeds like CNN.

The website made headlines recently during the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, as real time accounts of the incident were published online via twitter

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