I have used www.getwapps.com until they have evidently shut down. The downside, all of my bookmarks and saved sites shut down with them. I put in many hours and organizational efforts into perfecting my dashboard using their site. I was so disappointed when I realized they were no longer in working order. RIP GetWapps.
I've also tried and used Diigo for some time. It's a little different because it is more of a list much like the bookmarks on your browser. In my opinion from use over time, it serves it's purpose but lacks in the ability to personalize your page. It's like having an apartment you can't decorate. It serves the purpose but brings little pleasure to use.
Then there is booky.io which allows some customization. It is sparsely decorated white pages with bits of colors that you can choose for Category headings. So, in my case I have categories like Web browsers, GAFE sites, Bills etc. These are basically the headers instead of tabs for the things I use most. I have it set up, but can't say that I love it. Just a little plain for me. One thing I like about booky.io is that it is free and the developers actually ask for input. They are currently trying to set up a file service for sharing links with friends (or maybe different accounts for all of us teachers!) I don't know about the rest of you but I think I have seven different gmail accounts for various things. (One being a junk account for all those forms you have to fill out that get sold off to other companies.)
Next I tried Atavi.com, it seems much like Protopages yet more polished. It took me a few tries to get this one figured out. It sort of reminds me of a mash up of a Google Sheet and Facebook because the tabs are at the bottom of the page (which is why it took me a few tries to figure it out!) But the graphics and backgrounds are customized and look like large boxes (or you can make lists.) I made groups or tabs and honestly didn't see them at first. I like it but but haven't put a lot of effort into getting it just the way I like it yet. Here are some screenshots from Atavi. Please see the bottom left where the tabs are to help you get the idea of the layout.
Finally, I tried Netvibes without much success. The reason for my lack of enthusiasm about this site was because I don't follow RSS feeds. It is possible that at some point in my life when I have more time I will need this. Now however, it will just make me feel more behind and bogged down. I struggled with getting through the creation part because it seemed to need the RSS feed info. I looked at the public sites for samples. Many were not working or had broken links. The disaster relief sample that was given to us in our assignment was a little heartbreaking yet wonderful that this site could give hope and help people. I think it was a clever use of free technology.
Protopages which was what our entire class seemed to like most was definitely user friendly. It was easy to access, easy to customize, easy to understand. Therefore, usable. Here is a link to my Protopage. Also, here is a link to a Protopage I made for my Newsletter class as I was brainstorming how I will get assignments and information out to the students. Deadlines are an issue and I want them to all have access to any of the information as quickly as possible. Please see Protopage VAHS newsletter I would like to use this as a quick lesson for my students just to show them the different types of bookmarking managers that are available. I am happy with this learned information and will definitely use it to keep myself organized and information available at a quick click of the mouse.
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