Why Do You Browse?

I want to know what makes you keep going back to the sites that you visit.  Not here, but anywhere.  What kinds of things keep you addicted enough to add it to a feed reader (or something similar)?

I know what I personally look for in a site and I know why I keep going back to the sites that I enjoy.  But I realized, that browsing the web is similar to going out to eat.  We don’t all have the same tastes at all.  You might like something that I think is bland.  On the other hand, I might go somewhere for ambience, even though the food sucks - and you would be kind enough to tell me so.  It’s also very difficult for us to each be willing to try new things, because we always go back to the same comfort-zone places, even though you know you’ve said “Let’s try something new tonight, shall we?”, and ended up going down to that spot, you know, the one with the nice red leather chairs.

We all have our favorite restaurants, and for various reasons.  Is it the food?  Is it the atmosphere?  Is it the service?  Maybe a little of all three?  Think about that for a moment…  think about the places that you go to often because it’s something you’re familiar with.  And, once in awhile, maybe a friend, co-worker, or man on the street will direct you to a spot that you’ve never been before.  You go in, look around, try the menu, order a drink, admire the ambience, go home, and that’s where it happens.  Right when you get back into the comfort of your couch-potato life, you subconciously make a mental note of whether or not the owner of that shop will ever see your smiling face again.

Browsing the web isn’t that much different on a psychological level.  Why do we go back?  What makes all of our tastes so different?  You know what I mean, when you see a place that comes highly recommended, go in for a bit, and think to yourself “well, that sucked!”.  Because just like that food, we don’t all like the same things.

What do you like about the sites that you go to?  Be it entertainment value, maybe you like the graphics, maybe the content is where it’s at.  Maybe it’s cheesy fries and hot chics with a splash page, I don’t know!

I’ll let you in on something…  I had a bit of an epiphany tonight about where I’d like to take my own site in a year.  Some of those long-term goals that really make or break the work you put into it.  The idea itself isn’t thought out enough to keep from boring you, so I’ll save all that for a later post.

In the meantime, tell me what kinds of food you like, and what kinds of spices keep you on a certain website.

Because, is it really always about content?  Honestly?  Every time?