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That's life By Randy A. Salas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) What have you done with your life? A new website, along with some old favorites, can help you track where you're going and where you've been. After all, life is what you make it.www.meosphere.comHave you ever wondered what a map of your life might look like? The cool new site Meosphere helps give you an idea by embodying its slogan: "Been there. Done that." After free registration, you're presented with lists. There are hundreds of them, such as best-picture Oscar winners you've seen, U.S. states where you've lived and dogs you've owned. You simply check off the things you've done -- or click a button to add things you want to do to a list. You can add photos and comments to your choices if you want. At any point in the process, you can view the Meosphere you've created in a text format showing all of your choices or in a nifty graphical view that looks like some kind of paramecium with text for cilia. The site's founder, Eric Eliason, calls the latter an "experience DNA," because no two are alike. Your Meosphere -- text or image -- can be shared by e-mail or posted on a website or blog. The site is still adding features, too, such as plans for compatibility with Google Maps, an option to compare your Meosphere with others and a way to share favorite items on your lists.www.43things.comThrough the popular social-networking website 43 Things, users share what they've done with their lives or what they want to do by compiling tags. For example, if you want to "stop biting my nails," add that tag to your list and you will see that 4,386 other people want to do the same thing. Or that 6,481 people want to "read more books." Or that 16,050 people want to "stop procrastinating" -- but later, always later. Each tag gets its own page, where users can see what other things people under that tag are trying to do, read and post comments, and seek advice from those who have accomplished that goal. Under "get a tattoo," for example, one user wrote, "My advice if you are getting a tattoo, think about it before you do it. Think hard."www.superviva.comSuperViva combines the social aspects of 43 Things with the checklist format of Meosphere. You browse through ideas posted by others and then compile your list of life goals. Check off things as you do them, continually add new ones or delete items if you change your mind. The site has a vibrant community to share your experiences with. "Remember: Your list is a menu of ideas of which you may do 5 percent," the site notes. "And that's perfect! It's not a 'must do' list."www.joesgoals.comIf you want something simpler, it doesn't get any easier than Joe's Goals to "get control of your life," as the site says. Using the Web-based application, you create entries of things you want to get done each day or week. It could be a reminder to pick up milk on the way home from work or a note to put aside money for a dream vacation. It's completely open and user-determined. When you do something, you place a check mark. Since it's all tracked online, you can access it from any computer.www.personalitylab.org/tests/ goals_v9c.htmSo, what are your life goals? Maybe an online personality test can help you sort them out. Christopher Soto's My Life Goals quiz, which is part of his continuing personality research project, asks how much you want, say, "to be a very wealthy person,"to work for the betterment of society" and "to know and accept who I really am." It's all multiple-choice, but there are versions of the survey that have essay questions about things such as your views on abortion and government spending for the poor. I skipped those without affecting my results. One of my life goals is to stop wasting time online. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Randy A. Salas is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Do you have a favorite Web site or a question about how to find something on the Internet? Send a note by clicking here.
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