Yesterday I showed you my favorite free downloads. Today, I want to share with you the websites I can’t live without.
PRN Media. Seriously, if you’re a writer, you need this site. You can get hooked up with experts aplenty just by registering and then sending out a query on your article topic. The ProfNet query section is by far the best resource ever for finding experts. Ever.
Stock Xchng. Free (or almost free) high-quality stock images. Just credit the photographer!
Clear English. The source for dictionaries of all sorts, grammar resources, and writing resources.
Area Code Listings. I visit this site almost weekly. It helps when arranging interviews, and has saved me many missed phone calls.
Zaba People Search. You can find just about anyone here. Up pops name, addresses, birthdates, etc. Scary, but useful if you’re trying to locate a particular expert who has left one job for another.
Thesaurus. MS Word’s thesaurus function just doesn’t cut it sometimes. This is a great alternative.
THOMAS. Site of the Library of Congress, you can look up bills, laws, etc. by code or by keyword.
Zillow. This website not only lists the current estimated value of your home (and others around you), but also it gives you aerial views and hybrid views to help orient.
I Can Has Cheezburger. No typos there – that’s the name of it. It’s the world from a cat’s view. Hysterical! When things suck, I go here for relief.
How about you? What sites are your must-haves?
Along with Cheezburger and PRN Media, I check freelancewritinggigs.com first thing every morning for the job board and blog posts. Writer’s Market online and Craigslist are also up there. Oh, and Dooce.com; that woman is fuh-nny. Great list, Lori!
Thanks, Lori – These are awesome! Me, I’m a huge fan of the dictionary and thesaurus at http://www.thefreedictionary.com, and I rely heavily on Google Maps when I’m traveling to client meetings. For a laugh, I’m never disappointed with The Onion!
I added I Can Has Cheezburger to my favorites, and I couldn’t resist uploading a pic of my own cat . . .
A friend of mine is a private music teacher and she charges on a sliding scale (so the teenager paying for music lessons with her babysitting money pays less than the family with two houses and BMWs). Zillow.com is one of the resources she uses to calculate how much to charge, which I found fascinating!
I like “Help a Reporter Out” – I’ve gotten much better responses there than I have from ProfNet.