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Site NameURLDescriptionCategoryCost SystemNotes
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AboutI put together this spreadsheet as a living resource for websites and digital places that reignite feelings of joy, excitement and curiosity while exploring the internet. Somewhere along the road, corporations and recommendation algorithms made the internet feel loud and unescapable. I like to think of the internet as a place where you can build a digital home that feels right for you.Curated by Matthew Prebeg.

https://matt-prebeg.com/
https://instagram.com/mattprebeg/
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InstructionsThe tab you are on is a master list of websites. Scroll down and see community additions below (add your favourite websites!). Use the tabs at the bottom for filtered views by category.
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Shareable Linkhttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TVxcOA-xuxOifbtFv23K-JTJziOEmCEiXtfmZPxK0-E/edit?usp=sharing
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Are.nahttps://are.na/Are.na is a place to save content, create collections over time and connect ideas. Privately or with other people.ToolOptional paid membershipI spend a lot of time on this website. It does not use recommendation algorithms, so all content on the "Explore" page is chronological, based on what other users are connecting.
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The Creative Independenthttps://thecreativeindependent.com/A growing resource of emotional and practical guidance for creative people.ReadingFreeOne day, I'd really love to have an article featured on The Creative Independent. It's a really lovely resource.
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Puzzmohttps://puzzmo.com/Reimagined daily puzzle games.FunOptional paid membershipYou can tell a lot of thought was put into developing this puzzle platform.
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Poolsuitehttps://poolsuite.net/The ultra-summer internet radio station, playing an infinity pool of summer sounds 24/7.AmbienceFreeThe team behind Poolsuite launched a sunscreen brand, Vacation, which completes the sunny retro feel.
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Nightwave Plazahttps://plaza.one/The ad-free 24/7 internet radio station dedicated to Vaporwave.AmbienceFree
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PI.FYIhttps://pi.fyi/PI is a social discovery platform that's built for people to share what they love and discover new things from real people, not algorithms.SocialOptional paid membership
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Psychehttps://psyche.co/Psyche is a digital magazine that illuminates the human condition through psychology, philosophy and the arts.ReadingFree
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Aeonhttps://aeon.co/Aeon is a digital magazine of ideas and culture.ReadingFree
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Earth.fmhttps://earth.fm/Listen to nature sounds, fall in love with the Earth.AmbienceOptional paid membership
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Tree.fmhttps://tree.fm/A tool that gives you instant access to the sounds of the world's forests.AmbienceFree
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Museum of Modern Gifshttps://momg.neocities.org/Open doors and walk through different digital rooms with lots of gifs.FunFreeThis is what exploring the internet felt like when I was a kid on my family computer.
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The Puddinghttps://pudding.cool/Ideas debated in culture, explained with visual essays.ReadingFree
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Marginalia Searchhttps://marginalia-search.com/A search engine for discovering the margins of the internet that de-prioritizes commercial content.ToolFreeIf you like exploring corners of the internet, this is the tool for you.
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WindowSwaphttps://window-swap.com/Open a new window somewhere in the world.AmbienceOptional paid membership
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Neal.funhttps://neal.fun/Games, visualizations, interactives and other weird stuff.FunFree
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Slowlyhttps://slowly.app/An app for digital penpals.SocialFree with paid add-ons
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Atlas Obscurahttps://atlasobscura.com/The definitive guide to the world's hidden wonders.ReadingOptional paid membership
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myNoisehttps://mynoise.net/Background noise and ambient sound generator.AmbienceFree
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I Miss My Cafehttps://imissmycafe.com/A virtual cafe.AmbienceFree
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Colorflehttps://colorfle.com/Like Wordle, but for guessing colours.FunFree
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Murdlehttps://murdle.com/Daily murder mystery puzzle.FunFreeThe creator of Murdle has also released a few physical books to play Murdle with pen and paper.
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Rhizomehttps://rhizome.org/A resource and platform for born-digital art and culture.ReadingFreeRhizome plays a key role in digital archiving, which is important for preserving new media and internet art that gets lost over time.
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Lowtech Magazinehttps://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/about/Lowtech Magazine underscores the potential of past and often forgotten technologies and how they can inform sustainable energy practices.ReadingFreeThis website is solar-powered.
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Zooniversehttps://zooniverse.org/A citizen science web portal for people-powered research.ToolFreeOn research as a leisure activity.
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The fish doorbellhttps://visdeurbel.nl/en/the-fish-doorbell/A livestream of the fish that swim through Utrecht, where you can monitor a lock operator to open a gate they can swim through.FunFree"Fish are essential to the quality of rivers and canals in Utrecht, as they play a role in keeping the water healthy and clean. The fish doorbell helps fish in their annual trek to find a place to spawn and reproduce. We also want to show Utrecht’s residents and visitors how much life there is underwater in the canals. The doorbell also provides information on the species and numbers of fish travelling through Utrecht’s waterways. We can use that information to improve the quality of underwater life in Utrecht." Thanks @elliemroberts on Instagram!
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ScreenZenhttps://www.screenzen.co/An (actually) free app to manage your phone screentime.AppFreeMy favourite feature: you can set a number of times per day you're allowed to open an app - say, 5 sessions a day, for 7 minutes each session. This is great for being intentional about your time on addictive apps.
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How We Feelhttps://howwefeel.org/A beautiful and intuitive emotion tracker and journal.AppFreeThis app was developed with a research team at Yale University Center for Emotional Intelligence. Great research behind this app, and I love to see academics taking a more creative approach to resources. And it's fully free.
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Oblique Strategieshttps://obliquestrategies.ca/A mobile web app of Oblique Strategies, originally created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in 1975 as a card-based method for promoting creativity.ToolFree
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The Secret Type Gardenhttps://thesecrettype.garden/The Secret Type Garden is a generative typographic poem without words conceived by artist duo Studio Pointer.AmbienceFree
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Scans Archivehttps://scans.gr/SCANS is an online archive comprised of scanned objects. Scans was put together by Anastasia Pavlou in early 2020.ToolFree
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Rapporthttps://play-rapport.com/A mobile web app for creative conversation prompts.SocialFreeMade by me :~)
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Community AdditionsAdd below! ෴𓆑𓋼
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This to Thathttps://thistothat.com/A resource for gluing things.FunFreeThere really is a website for everything.
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Imagine5https://imagine5.com/Positive storytelling about climate and natureReadingFree
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SOOThttps://soot.com"SOOT is a new way of mapping information. It's self-organizing, spatial, and incredibly fast. For mapping design files, videos, websites, and moodboards."ToolFreeEarly access; future cost system unknown
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Maggie Appletonhttps://maggieappleton.com"Maggie makes visual essays about programming, design, and anthropology."ReadingFree
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Wait But Whyhttps://waitbutwhy.comTongue-in-cheek longform explorations across science, philosophy, and technologyReadingFree
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Public Work by Cosmoshttps://public.work/Search engine for public domain contentToolFreeCosmos is also a great platform; very similar to Are.na
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Gatherhttps://gather.townIntended for remote work but generally interesting as a multiplayer toolSocialOptional paid membership
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JSON Canvashttps://jsoncanvas.org/From the team at Obsidian—an open file format for infinite canvas data.ToolFreeThis is mostly a general plug for Obsidian and infinite canvases as a format
Note from Matt: This is genius.
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Unhook YouTubehttps://unhook.app/"Watch YouTube free of distractions. Block suggestion feeds, comments, and more."ToolFree
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Opalhttps://opal.soAppOptional paid membership
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Portalhttps://portal.appYet another (albeit gorgeous) background sounds toolAmbienceOptional paid membershipBest on the paid plan 😢
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Space Awesomehttps://spaceawesome.io/A text adventure game similar to The Oregon Trail, but in space.FunFree
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Monster Breederhttp://monsterbreeder.com/A text-based game where you explore and breed together different monstersFunFree
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Universal Paperclipshttps://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/index2.htmlA story-based incremental game about building (and destroying) the world from selling paperclips.FunFree
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Bead Machinehttps://bead-machine.firebaseapp.com/A story-based incremental game about making and selling beads.FunFree
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Candy Box 2https://candybox2.github.io/A story-based ASCII art incremental adventure gameFunFree
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The Barnacle Goose Experimenthttps://everest-pipkin.com/barnacle-goose/A story-based inventory & incremental adventure gameFunFree
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The Gold Factoryhttp://gamehelp16.github.io/thegoldfactory/A story-based incremental adventure game about a gold factoryFunFree
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A Dark Roomhttps://adarkroom.doublespeakgames.com/A story-based incremental game about a dark roomFunFree
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Drowning in Problemshttp://game.notch.net/drowning/#A story-based incremental of starting from nothing and solving the worldFunFree
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You Feel Like Shithttps://philome.la/jace_harr/you-feel-like-shit-an-interactive-self-care-guide/play/index.htmlAn interactive tool for when you feel like shit and need a little help feeling less like shitToolFree
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The Quiet Place Meditation Toolhttps://thequietplaceproject.xyz/thequietplaceAn interactive mediation guide from The Quiet Place ProjectToolFree
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Interactive Emotion Wheelhttps://feelu.vercel.app/Emotional wheel able to journal ToolFree
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Little Alchemy 2https://littlealchemy2.com/Merging alchemy gameFunOptional paid membership
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Lonely Witch Alchemyhttps://lonelywitchalchemy.com/hMerging alchemy game with a short storyFunFree
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The Bored Buttonhttps://www.boredbutton.com/randomA button to click for when you are bored--Similar to StumbleuponFunFree
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The Useless Webhttps://theuselessweb.com/Click the button to take you to a useless website--Similar to StumbleuponFunFree
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NCasehttps://ncase.me/A individual's collection of interactive gamesFunFree
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Old Avistahttps://oldavista.com/A directory of the old internetToolFree
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Melonland Surf Clubhttps://melonland.net/surf-clubA directory of self-submitted sites from across the internet that are unique and interestingReadingFree
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The Whimsical Clubhttps://whimsical.club/A curated list of sites with an extra bit of funReadingFree
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The Foresthttps://theforest.link/A Stumbleupon-like website full of interesting individual's sites.ReadingFree
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KK's Life Streamhttps://kk.org/kk/A curated list of links to interesting things to read on the internetReadingFree
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Joe Jennet's IWebThingshttps://iwebthings.joejenett.com/A curated list of links and thoughts to readReadingFree
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Soft.Spacewww.softspace.world/A space for digital solace, reflection, & connection.ToolFreeMy BFA thesis!
Note from Matt: I've had this saved on Are.na for so long! Love your work, this is amazing :~)
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Don't Touch Your Facehttps://donottouchyourface.com/A web app that alerts you when you touch your face.ToolFree
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Ascii Theatrehttps://ascii.theater/FunFree-
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Toooooolshttps://www.tooooools.app/
free minimalist and lo-fi effects for image and video processing online.
ToolFree
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Art of the Titlehttps://www.artofthetitle.com/titles/online publication dedicated to title sequence design in film, TV, and beyondToolFree
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Schultz Schultz Toolshttps://schultzschultz.com/de/tools-de/Tools to spark your graphic creativityToolFree
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Nownesshttps://www.nowness.com/A global video channel screening (short) film and video formats. Not really niche but I thought I add anywayFunFree
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Cosmoshttps://www.cosmos.soSomeone already mentioned Are.na and Public Work by Cosmos—Cosmos is more Pinterest-like than Are.na but has a better search/indexing algorithm than Pinterest. The content is also more "artsy," so to speakSocialFree with paid options
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mymindhttps://mymind.comBookmarking, notetaking, general PKM. YMMV on automated tagging and categorizations.ToolPaid (multiple tiers)
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Portorochahttps://portorocha.com/A really cool agency, worked on incredible projects for big, well-known brands. Their projects are incredibly inspiring, and you can find tons of great design inspiration from their work.ToolFree
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Proteinhttps://www.protein.xyz/A place where people and ideas grow that's been curating and publishing since 1997ReadingFree -> Paid
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Search Engines for Wanderinghttps://www.are.na/elan-kiderman-ullendorff/search-engines-for-wanderingAre.na collection of niche search tools for exploring the webToolFreeNote from Matt: LOVE this.
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Nekowebhttps://nekoweb.orgStatic web hosting service hosting a lot of the indie web, alternative to neocitiesToolFree
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Youtunehttps://youtune.glitch.meReally, really obscure music from the depths of Youtube. Unfiltered.MusicFree
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Museum of Modern GIFshttps://momg.neocities.orgAn online gallery full of early web GIFs.FunFree
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Secret Theaterhttps://fee.cool/theater/Watch a movie with strangers. Movie starts at a scheduled time, and features a chatbox.FunFree
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href.coolhttps://href.coolLarge, curated index of interesting corners of the web.FunFree
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IMG_0001https://walzr.com/img_0001Watch tons of unedited, raw Iphone footage between 2009 and 2012.ToolFree
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"bestie before:2007"https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bestie+before%3A2007type the site name into the youtube search bar (without quotes) for unfiltered melancholy. A look at a past that is no longer with us.ToolFree
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The Public Domain Reviewhttps://publicdomainreview.orgjournal focused on tracking and commenting on work/art/media as it falls into public domain/creative commonsReadingFree
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Consumer Aesthetics Research Institutehttps://cari.institute/aestheticsCurated repository of popular aesthetics, each accompanied with a collection of reference graphics.ReadingFree
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Every Noise at Oncehttps://everynoise.com/Genre scatter map/landscape linked to spotify. Provides artists, previews of music, and playlists.ToolFreeCreator is Glenn Mcdonald.
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Calendar Collectivehttps://www.calendarcollective.com/An archive of alternate calendars, real and imagined, traced through voicemailsReadingFree
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Slow Roadshttps://slowroads.io/Endless driving zen in your browser.FunFree
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The Sound of Lovehttps://thesoundof.love/Curation of YouTube comments left under love songs.FunFree
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Rate your Musichttps://rateyourmusic.com/The biggest online music library with user-based ratings.MusicFree
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Wayfinderhttps://wayfinder.nfb.ca/?ref=godlyA web based generative art game exploring the poetry of land.FunFreeProduction: Nicholas Klassen & Robert McLaughlin (National Film Board of Canada)