The good work that the folks
at India Internet, the Calcutta-based Internet company have put
in for bringing together school and college batchmates all over
the world, has finally been recognised. The site has won both the
Judges' Choice and Popular Choice awards at this year's CHIP
Dishnet DSL Web Awards. Take a peek at their site, and you will
just not be able to resist the temptation of both registering
yourself and searching for that nasty 'un at school who threw
chalk at you. You can search by name, institution and year of
passing out. It's over two years since the site was put up and it
now boasts of about 235,000 members. Go ahead now, and register.
It's not only free, but you could also win a cool Batchmates.com
T-shirt. www.thirdage.com
After developing yourself,
making a career and raising a family, what's left? Well, there is
the Third Age where you come into your own, indulge in creative
pursuits, and continue learning and exploration. Some call it old
age or retirement, but the Third Age affirms that these could be
your best years yet! This niche site is a community site for
those past their prime and has special features, chat rooms, e-mail
programs and home page development facilities for them. If you
are new to the Web, there is a section which tells you all about
this medium and how to get the maximum enjoyment out of it. Other
features include information on health, money, general living,
and even romance. So go ahead and invest a small amount of your
retirement benefits in a computer and rather than be confined to
the cronies in your locality, make friends across the world. Family Point
Now families which are spread
across states, countries and continents have a great way to get
together whenever they wish. A family member simply creates a
specific family's meeting place by entering the family name. The
individual then lists the e-mail addresses of other family
members, and FamilyPoint takes it from there. E-mail invitations
are sent to these members inviting them to join. Family members
can post notes on the 'fridge,' schedule events and activities on
a family calendar, share pictures, send messages and create
conversations by topic, update the family address book, and even
add recipes and other favorites in the 'Family Favorites' area.
Family members can also see who else is visiting the site at the
same time and jump into a live chat.www.ties2family.com
Now this is a desi site,
launched only in April which sets out to offer pretty much what
the above site does, but with a special focus on the Indian
diaspora. You create a family site and then send the e-mail
addresses of your family members to the Webmaster of Ties2Family.com.
Thereafter you can 'keep the family together' with features such
as 'Chitthi aai hai' (e-mail), join the 'Gupshup ho jaye' (yes,
that's chat), get 'Taaza kahbar' about the latest addition to the
family and, if you're a 'bhulakkad,' keep track of birthdays,
anniversaries, Rakhi Bandhan and what not. We did say desi, now,
didn't we?www.ivillage.com
This one's for women. In the
words of Nancy Evans, editor-in-chief and iVillage Co-Founder,
this is "a place where women don't just read about how they
can get the most out of life, but can help each other do it."
Members of the site -- only women -- belong to all sorts of
callings, right from stay-at-home housewives to highly-successful
career women. The site provides a platform for women to interact
by sharing not just problems but also solutions. There are over 1,700
message boards on any topic from changing diapers to changing
careers. Achievers can help others by talking of just how they
made it in this 'Man's World.' Besides member postings at the
site, there are experts who talk on health, fast-food recipes,
books and astrology.