My Most Utilized Websites Found in Top 500 and Then Some

This week I received an email about the Top Seventeen Most-Visited Websites. The link took me to the following website.

Most Popular Sites 2012: Alexa Ranks The 500 Most-Visited Websites

http://www.alexa.com/topsites

From this information I created a list of the top twenty websites that I frequently visit or receive information from.

1 Google

2 Facebook

3 YouTube

6 Wikipedia

10 Amazon.com

11 Blogspot.com

13 Linkedin

20 Wordpress.com

39 Craigslist

42 Pinterest

47 Blogger.com

65 AOL

78 About.com

143 Dropbox

186 Skype

187 Etsy.com

194 Dictionary.com

227 The Internet Archive

319 Groupon

352 US Postal Service

The biggest surprise is that no genealogy specific websites were included in this group. Then I checked out my twelve top favorite websites and found amazing results.

Not in the first 500, but important to genealogists.

633 Ancestry.com (157 US)

4005 Findagrave.com (873 US)

4063 Familysearch.org (1,120 US)

24,861 Fold3.com (6,436 US)

44,188 Rootsweb.com (14, 644 US)
46,972 Worldvitalrecords.com (14,317 US)
77,312 Stevemorse.org (27,465 US)
85,923 Cyndislist.com (25,212 US)
94,609 interment.net (22,749 US)
103,691 legacyfamilytree.com (21,430 US)
115,382 rootsmagic.com (23,687 US)
267,845 usgenweb.com (52,296 US)

Friends Suggested Websites
128,785 wvculture.org (33,022 US)

What does this say about the popularity of genealogy versus every day usage of the websites found around the world and in the U.S.? To me it says that genealogists are a rather small portion of the people who use the Internet. While we may use general websites in the course of our work, in those we are included in the vast amount of website users. I use Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Blogger.com, AOL, Ancestry.com, and Familysearch.org on a daily basis. The websites of Pinterest and Etsy.com are connections from my three daughters. Skype is usually a once a week connection with my daughter's family.

When we consider the Internet world it is an amazing tool that many of us take for granted. When our computer shuts down we panic as we lose access. Going on vacation without a computer connection can cause huge withdrawal symptoms. During my workday I take breaks from the computer just to let my brain and eyes rest. Like any other tool at our fingertips, we need to understand how the computer fits into our world and protect against overuse. Check out the top 500 Most-Visited Websites to see how your favorites rank on this list and then check the genealogy websites that you use on a regular basis.
Please share your favorite genealogy websites.