There are three types of websites that I can discern: those that attempt to keep users from browsing outside them, those that encourage users to leave them, and those that strike a balance. Of these, the ones I most regularly find useful or interesting, and the ones that I return to, are the ones that point elsewhere.
It’s not coincidental that most of my favourite sites are created by individuals. Most companies have a vested interest in keeping eyes on their products and away from their competitors’; it’s a rare one that will point to another and say they do good work too. Personal sites, on the other hand–especially weblogs–are all about sending readers to other places that have more information or different perspectives, or that the author just finds interesting, at appropriate points.
Hardly a revelation, I know, particularly to anyone who reads this irregular little screed and others like it, but I thought it needed saying. Now go away and find something more interesting.
