I LOVE visiting web traffic analysis company Alexa's list of top 100 websites every now and then.
It’s a fascinating peek into what my fellow Singaporeans are up to online, irresistible and admittedly voyeuristic all at the same time.
Unsurprisingly, news, information and reference sites like Wikipedia and AsiaOne came up tops amongst local users, comprising 16 of the top 100 sites.
I’ve arbitrarily decided to exclude search engines like No.1 site Yahoo or No.4 site Google, as they can be used for a variety of purposes, as well as some of the more boring, pedestrian sites - sorry, boring, pedestrian websites.
Here's another easy conclusion: Singaporeans love staying connected to their friends via the Web: nine blog and social networking sites like Blogger and MySpace made it to the list.
Yep, Facebook too.
I mean no, of course I don’t go there during work hours.
Hardcore Internet pornography sites are also a hot favourite amongst Net users, with five such sites making the list.
And this is after repeat culls of such sites by the Media Development Authority in previous years, following complaints about them.
PS, to SPH internal audit folks: I was forced to click onto these sites for research purposes to do this story, to verify their content. Yep, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Singaporeans are also big fans of pirated movies and software, if their visits to three sites notorious with the file-sharing community – Mininova, Rapidshare and MegaUpload – is any indication.
Beside this trio, here are a significant number of sites within the Alexa list that serve up pirated materials including Baidu and Crunchyroll, although these sites do offer legit content as well.
Many are also going online to buy and sell products, with four e-commerce sites including Amazon and Golden Village making Alexa’s hit-list, and a number using the Web to make online banking transactions, check share prices and adjust home loan payments.
These broad categories aside, individual entries also offer a glimpse into some Singaporeans’ interests and tastes.
Like gossip rag Gutter Uncensored (No. 86), where the indiscretions of celebrities, tycoons and politicians around the world can be found.
And, do check out Adult Friendfinder (No.77) – the site name should explain what its users want – but don’t do it in the office unless you have an ironclad work-related reason to visit it.
Ahem, like me.