Let's Surf the Web Together

For a place teeming with millions of people and bursting with talk of global community,the Web can seem pretty lonely at times. Sure, email and chat rooms make it easy to communicate with lots of people. But when it comes to surfing the Web -- visiting sites and figuring out whether they're worthwhile -- you're on your own. Perhaps Robert Putnam, who recently published a book on the decline of community in America called Bowling Alone (Simon & Schuster, 2000), should title his next book Surfing Alone.

Or perhaps not. Recently, a bunch of new tools designed to make the Web a more collective experience have become available. Some of those tools make community-oriented applications such as text-based chat more robust by letting people really chat -- that is, with their voices. Other tools are designed to capture Web "trails" -- click-by-click records of how Net surfers get from one destination to another, which can then be shared with friends. Still other tools are designed to enable groups of people to surf together in real time: A "tour leader" controls each person's browser and leads the group to various sites.

Full disclosure: These tools are new, which means that they're still a little rough around the edges. And since they're designed to enhance a sense of community on the Net, they tend to work best when lots of people use them. Right now, using some of these tools is like going to a party in a fancy nightclub and discovering that there are only five other revelers. But as the number of users increases, the quality of the conversations and the connections should deepen.

Firetalk (www.firetalk.com)
overall rating ....1/2
usability ...1/2

Real-time chat has become an increasingly popular Web application - whether the users are teenaged girls swapping gossip, or engineers collaborating on a prototype of their newest product. But the word "chat" has always been a misnomer on the Web. Wouldn't the experience be more rewarding if you could actually talk, rather than type? That's what the folks at Firetalk believe. They offer a tool that adds voice capability to real-time text chat so that you can gab with friends in San Francisco, San Jose, or Singapore -- all for free.

All you need is the software (available at the company's Web site), a computer with Windows 95, 98, or NT4 (sorry, there's no Mac version), a sound card, speakers, and a microphone -- all pretty much standard equipment. Firetalk users can make worldwide person-to-person calls and unlimited conference calls. They can also "instant-message" each other and leave voice mail for users who are not online.

To make a call, click on the telephone icon next to the name of the person you're trying to reach. When the call is answered, push the "talk" button and speak. It's that simple. If the conversation is limited to a small group (one to seven people), you don't even have to push the talk button to communicate.

True to the free-for-all spirit of the Web, you don't have to limit your conversations to people you already know. You can find other users whose interests are similar to yours by visiting one of the Firetalk forums, which are arranged by subject -- "Computers & Technology," "Family," "Spirituality & Religion," and so on. (You can also create your own forum.) Forums can be public or private, and you have the option of inviting a moderator.

To get a feel for the quality of service (and the quality of conversation), I listened in on a public forum for "Vietnam Vets and Friends." Even in this forum, the participants were talking technology -- discounts on computer hardware offered by the Veterans Benefits Administration. And while the sound quality was generally acceptable, sometimes the conversation was unclear. According to Firetalk, the quality of what I heard related directly to the quality of the microphone into which each participant was speaking. So if you want your voice to be heard, be sure to invest in a high-quality microphone.

But speech-based chat is just one of Firetalk's many useful tools. Even more impressive is its "talk-and-surf" feature, which allows users to surf the Web and talk to one another simultaneously. The designated "tour leader" can control the browsers of up to 20 other users (with their permission, of course) and take the group to various destinations on the Web.

To set up a tour, go to the site from which you wish to begin, and select the names of the people you wish to invite. When users accept, their browser instantly launches the appropriate site -- where the leader is waiting, and where all participants can talk to one another. Finally, no more surfing alone!

Cahoots (www.cahoots.com)
overall rating ....
usability ....