Top Uses of the Internet
Based on Most Popular Websites

This list of top uses of the internet was compiled by describing the services offered by the 100 most popular websites at Alexa.com.

1. Web surfing, email, chatting
Some of the most popular websites were Google, Yahoo and MSN. Web surfing, email and chatting are assumed to be the top uses of the internet since these are the main services offered by the most popular sites.

2. Social Networking
Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Orkut all demonstrate that social networking is a top use of the internet. The special features to each of these sites also support the assumption that email, chatting, buying, selling, classified ads, etc are all top uses of the internet.

3. Viral Videos
Youtube, Megavideo and other free video hosting websites are among the top ranks. Amateur and professional videos may be used as simple hobbies or as a source for promoting a service or product.

4. Shopping, Selling, Online Business
This top use includes selling on eBay, Craigslist and Amazon, stocks, mailing products (USPS), website promotion, job searching, and business networking. Target, Walmart and Best Buy are some of the major retail chains that have high ranking websites.

5. Job Searching
CareerBuilder and Monster represent this top use of the internet.

6. News and Information
Encyclopedias (wikipedia), answer forums, news in general, sports, entertainment, weather, and directions were all services offered by top sites.

7. Classified Ads
Craigslist, the featured classified ads website at ActuallyFree.info, is the free-to-use classified ads site that consistently competes with the highest sites for popularity. Craigslist categories include: Community, Housing, Jobs, Personals, For Sale (which includes the ever-popular "free" section), Services, Gigs, Resumes and Discussion Forum. Classified ads are a great way to find needed information and resources, and they are great for posting ads.

8. Blogging
Google's Blogger, Wordpress and other free blog host sites are included.

9. Photo Hosting
Whether for personal use, clearing up website space or promoting products on eBay and Craigslist, free photo hosting sites offer the service for this top use of the internet. Flickr, ImageShack and other hosting sites are included in the ranks.

10. Downloads
Free downloads of software, computer updates, music, mobile phone back grounds and applications, bit torrents, etc. are a top use of the net.

11. Pay Bills
At&t, Verizon and other Websites with monthly fees suggest that bill paying may be a top use of the internet. Granted, these websites also make lots of revenue from first-time buyers.

12. Banking
Checking a balance, opening new accounts, transferring money and paying bills all contribute to this top use of the internet.

13. Pornography
This top use of the internet is included only for informational purposes and because it is undeniably one of the top uses of the internet. Since the website you're currently viewing is to be kept family-friendly, the ranked websites that suggest that this is a top use of the internet are not listed here. Noted, however, is the fact that the websites that were listed are a type of specialty video host, which supports the viral video assumption above.

14. File sharing
Imeem, bit torrent files, and the photo hosting websites mentioned above all offer this service.

15. Video games and online games
Pogo and IGN are examples

16. Renting movies, and watching movies online
Netflix and Hulu are examples

17. Calculate and print shipping postage
UPS and USPS represent this top use of the internet. The fact that eBay is one of the highest ranking websites may also contribute.

Once again, these are top uses of the internet based on services offered by the most popular websites at Alexa.com. One could also try to find more top uses of the internet by studying the top searches of the internet.

Other possible top uses of the internet may include:

  • Dating
  • Genealogy
  • School or taking classes online
  • Celebrity News. (Searches for Brittani Spears and Paris Hilton rank high in search ratings.)

It is possible to verify these as top uses of the internet by following trends of the most searched for keywords in Google and Yahoo. Google's top searches can be found at http://google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist/index.html. Yahoo's top searches can be found at http://buzzlog.buzz.yahoo.com/overall.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended to promote any specific website, with the exception of the citation to the provider of this article, which is ActuallyFree.info.

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