As someone who spends way too much time on-line, I obviously have some favorite web sites. Sometimes these get mentioned in the text of First Impressions, but not all of them lend themselves to casual mention in this way. So I thought I would spend this editorial looking at my bookmarks and annotating some of the entries. As a reader of First Impressions, they are only one degree of separation from your interests, I hope.

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Brainstorms

A virtual community hosted by Howard Rheingold. I joined back in December, after finally getting frustrated with the low signal to noise ratio on Usenet. I wanted a conversation place (BBS. newsgroup, web) that had a maturity about it, allowed for the creation of friendships, yet was not too stuffy. BS is the place.

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WebLogs

• Jorn Barger's Robot Wisdom
• Bill Humphries' MoreLikeThis
• Raphael Carter's Honeyguide
• Laurel Krahn's Windowseat

I can't read everything that I might be interested in; I can hardly keep up with a magazine, much less the endless content created on the Internet. So I watch these sites to identify the things that I may find worthwhile. These people surf the Web so I don't have to. Jorn Barger's radar covers the largest scope, from the humanities to politics, breaking Internet news and games. Bill Humphries covers a lot of new technology and more liberal politics than Jorn. Raphael Carter is heavy in the sciences, while Laurel Krahn is big on culture.

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Open Directory Project

This used to be called NewHoo, in reference to the site that it is attempting to replace. Basically a yellow pages for the web, but as opposed to its competition, it relies on volunteers to keep it up to date. I edit the Arts/Books/Reviews category.

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Event Horizon

Ellen Datlow's new magazine (along with Robert Killheffer, among others) is sharp, professional, and everything else you would associate with Datlow. Non-fiction by Lucius Shepard and Barry Malzberg, fiction from Howard Waldrop, Pat Cadigan and K.W. Jeter. Yow. If I ever gave up First Impressions, I would use the extra time to bug Datlow to let me join their wonderful web site.

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SF Site

The host of the WWW version of First Impressions is also the best place for reviews of new science fiction and fantasy. Updated twice a month and chock full of detailed commentary that ranges from the "literary" to the "gaming" world. And, aside from hosting First Impressions, they also host several other magazines that will keep your eyes glued to the screen for much longer than is good for you.