Google announced a new toolbar add-on a couple of days ago called Sidewiki that allows you to add your own comments to any webpage.

This new feature displays submitted comments in a sidebar next to the actual page. This isn’t an entirely new idea — a similar concept that used PostIt-Note-like overlays was tried several years ago by another company, but met with outrage and ultimately failure.

Of course, this failed attempt was well before the viral adoption of social networking. Today, the concept of group collaboration and multiple minds generating content is accepted and embraced by millions, as is the ability to provide product or service feedback.

The ability to add this feedback directly on any website, however, will be interesting, as disgruntled consumers happily post their frustrations right next to the product or service that is being marketed to others.

To read more, see the official Google Blog post.

There’s lots of negative press about social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, decrying their value and claiming that they add no real value to our lives.

When you think about all the pointless info on Facebook or time-wasting Tweets like “I’m standing in line for a coffee” it’s easy to agree. However, every once in a while social media sites provide a service that is so immeasurably valuable that they put the formal processes and tools to shame.

Here’s an example of a recent story about a missing girl. She didn’t fit the formal profile for triggering an Amber Alert so the family fell back on their informal online networking contacts.

Read more: Social Networking Aids Family of Missing Child

If you’re in the process of building a best practices or standards document for your corporate intranet or internet site, there’s an excellent online resource available to you for free.

The Web Communications Division in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office offers a comprehensive, easy-to-use, online guide for creating usable and useful websites.

Check it out at http://www.usability.gov/

Yahoo just launched their beta online music store — Music Unlimited — which is undercutting the competition.

Their prices are pretty good (about $7/month, $70/year, or $0.79 for single song downloads) and music selection isn’t bad, either.  I found a number of songs I’ve haven’t been able to find on iTunes or RealNetworks.

However… When I tried to play their music videos, I got a popup / error page that stated, "Macintosh users must use Netscape v4.7 to view videos."  Netscape v4.7? Are you kidding me?

Forcing customers to use an (extremely) outdated browser to access content doesn’t seem like a good way to win customers. It’s also rather contradictory to this statement they issued: "We are committed to being at the forefront of the rapidly growing online music segment," said Lloyd Braun, head of the Yahoo Media Group.

Um… Sure… Guess I’ll be sticking with iTunes.

Nobody likes to see a photograph of themselves. Now you can shudder and squirm even more, thanks to The Perception Laboratory and the University of St Andrews’ Facial Transformer.

It’s as easy as uploading a mugshot and then selecting one of their transformation filters.

Here’s what the buggers did to MY beautiful mugshot…

The Internet has been around for about ten years now. Predictions as to how the Internet would change our lives (or destroy humanity) varied. Some of them have come true, some haven’t, and along the way, all kinds of new and cool uses were discovered. (Think blogging, RSS feeds, Google’s satellite maps and so on.)

So how do we use the Internet now? Stanford University has published "Ten Years After the Birth of the Internet, How Do Americans Use the Internet in Their Daily Lives." (PDF)

It’s an interesting read.

Amazing — Microsoft has actually done something good!

It’s been a couple of years in the making, but Microsoft’s CET (Child Exploitation Tracking System) has helped the Toronto Police Service’s Sex Crimes Unit track down and charge a man previously arrested on child-pornography charges with sexually assaulting a 4-year-old-girl, taking pornographic pictures of her and distributing them.

I never thought I’d say this, but "Good job, Microsoft!"