Webthing of the Week: Summize.com

Last week's webthing was all about a search engine with a visual twist. This week, I'm featuring another search engine – but with a conversational twist.

Today's Webthing of the Week – Summize.com –  is a testament to just how quickly things can change in the online world. Between the time I chose this Webthing and started writing this blog post, Summize.com was acquired by Twitter and changed to "

But no matter what it's called, it's still pretty sweet.

When you enter a keyword into Twitter Search, the site returns a chronological list of Twitter conversations (or Tweets) with that same keyword. It's cool because you're able to see what people are saying right now about a certain subject. It's kind of like a popularity search engine.

What can Twitter Search be used for? Here are a couple different applications:

• Reviews. By entering a keyword, you can find out what the Twitterverse thinks about that new CD/movie/product. Try punching in 'The Dark Knight'. It only debuted this morning at 12:00 AM, but I bet you there's a lot of buzz about it already.

• People. You can keep tabs on friends and celebs alike by running a search on them. I typed in Canadian actor 'Michael Cera' and instantly had news about his upcoming movies as well as updates about random Michael Cera sightings (...and tons of "I want to marry Michael Cera" tweets).

• Entertainment. Why not use Twitter Search to do a little online cool-hunting? Searching for terms like 'best website' or 'funny YouTube' will return a list of links that people are viewing and sharing right now.

• The Inevitable. You know you can't resist searching for your own name. Even if the Twitter conversations returned aren't necessarily about you, they can still be pretty funny. Take, for example, this gem of a Tweet:

So give it a try! See what you can discover by seeing what people are saying!

And remember, if you have a website (serious or silly!) that you think deserves some attention, send it over to youngfreealberta@gmail.com and it could be featured on the Young & Free site as a Webthing of the Week!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Larissa

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