Motherboard.tv –  Keeping track of technological advances is rather easy; quick headline-skimming on TechCrunch, Wired or any major newspaper these days will do that. But one aspect of technology that is often difficult to track and explore is tech’s cultural dimension. Dell’s Motherboard offers just that, in the most professional, engaging and alluring way possible.

According to their About page, Motherboard is “an online video network and community focused on the exploration of the nature and culture of technology, as viewed through the lenses of curated editorial content, community, and dialogue.” Tap into original content videos covering a plethora of topics including film + video, music, art + design, gaming, environment + the body, and ‘wonderful.’

Among seemingly infinite informative delights, you will find all the hottest topics buzzing around the Web right now, such as the Gap logo conundrum, or check this video showing the solution to the mysterious bee shortage in the US. Each video is accompanied by superb textual content, which makes any session on Motherboard a most enjoyable didactic experience.

The Hot Word – Dictionary.com, the Web’s most widely used reference, dictionary and thesaurus source, has recently created a fun extension; the Hot Word. Taking terms from current affairs and relevant news stories, the Hot Word is here to simplify complicated words while adding in a little bit of context and interest.

To show you the Hot Word in action, let’s take the recent ‘bigot’ remarks that cost CNN’s Rick Sanchez his job; the Hot Word dives deep into the term “bigot” and not only gives its definition, but also provides a brief etymological account of the word’s origin and history. For another example, see why bankruptcy is often referred to as Chapter 11.

Redbeacon – The next time you find yourself searching for the services of any professional, stop by Redbeacon and give their innovative service a shot. Redbeacon has created a revolutionary platform for matching clients with professionals (from plumbers and electricians to personal chefs and graphic designers), based on the type of job required, location, date and price.

What next? Once you’ve submitted your service request, Redbeacon will “show you the price quotes and profiles of people interested in doing your job, and allow you to book an appointment with them, saving you the time and hassle of calling around.” No more endless searches on and offline for landscapers, dog walkers, air conditioning technicians and what have you; Redbeacon makes the entire process, from start to finish, easy, affordable and premeditated. We like that!

See the screen shots below of the service request submission form, and of the table explaining the benefits of using Redbeacon. By the way, if you have a service to offer and wish to use the Redbeacon platform to meet new customers, click here.

Wetpaint – Simply identified as a “custom-tailored [entertainment platform] for young women who love TV and fashion,” Wetpaint is first and foremost a content specialist web publisher that has put its foot down and decided to offer its first “property” in the entertainment content area, hence this superb Weekly Fave spot.

Since Wetpaint specializes in online content, I won’t be surprised if this particular entertainment venue will make you wish Wetpaint had covered other interest areas as well. With the intent of offering top and engaging content while inviting users to interact with each other, Wetpaint is exceptional; you’ll understand why the way you consume content on this site is remarkable compared to what’s already out there.

Browse the entertainment categories (TV shows, fashion, gossip, spoilers, photos, videos, TV stars) and enjoy well-written and edited, interesting articles, posts as well as videos and photos. In short, Wetpaint is most definitely a keeper. See Wetpaint’s Grey’s Anatomy page to learn more.

ChickRx – Up until now, I would go to several sources for information on the different aspects of my life as a woman: I would visit WebMD or MayoClinic for gynecology, psychology and relationship blogs for mental balance and relationships, and various nutrition and fitness sites to keep fit.

Now, thanks to ChickRx, I can get all the info I’ve described above in one easy and fun to visit site. ChickRx offers solid articles and posts on gynecology and sex, fitness and nutrition, emotional health and relationships, dermatology, and general health. In addition, the site has other perks such as Heads Up (interesting facts and studies) and Chicks’ Picks, among others. One of the articles I enjoyed reading is Cool Guy Syndrome. For more women oriented resources online, be sure to visit our Women mini page.

Google Beat – If you’re already familiar with Google Trends then Google Beat should seem like a natural extension. If you don’t know what Google Trends is, check it out and learn what are the hottest topics and keywords in Google search at any given moment, based on searches people make all over the country.

So now that we’ve established the concept of Google Trends, step it up with Google Beat; a short weekly video presenting the past week’s hottest trends online created by curious people using Google search. Think of it as our society’s cultural analysis, brought to us in weekly bite size as a time. To see an example, see Google Beat’s presenter, Anne Espiritu, covering Labor Day’s week (Sep 10). It’s fascinating to learn what people are searching for!

Techdirt – With over 700,000 subscribers, Techdirt is definitely a must read blog. What will you find here? Oh, just super smart content about technology, governmental policies and legal issues influencing innovation and growth of companies these days.

It’s not by chance that top Editors of major publications (such as Wired Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Business Week) highly recommend tapping into Techdirt. See this intriguing article on legalizing file sharing in Brazil as an example of the top notch content Techdirt is all about. Other content categories on Techdirt include wireless technology, entrepreneurship, IT and others. I rarely repeat myself when writing posts for the All My Faves blog, but in this case I’ll make an exception: Techdirt is a must read.

Expatistan – Wouldn’t it be great if you were able to compare the living cost of a different city with that of your current location before saying ‘yes’ to that relocation offer? Perhaps you’re just curious to know where’s cheaper to live; London or Sydney? Well, Thanks to Expatistan, now you can. It’s super easy and fast. Simply type in the two city locations (only major cities at this point), and hit Go.

I compared the living costs between Houston, TX and Sydney, Australia. Can you guess where it’s less expensive to live? See the screen shot below for the answer…

Kngine – A new Web 3.0 search engine “designed to provide meaningful search results,” Kngine tries to offer a search engine with an added value. Yours truly took the search engine for a test drive using the keyword phrase ‘BP oil spill,’ and compared the results with the same search on Google. The screen shots below show Kngine’s results compared to Google’s.

As you can see (if the screen shots aren’t clear enough, click on them for the respective results page), the Web search results for the chosen keyword phrase are for the most part identical. No real innovation there. Where Kngine really shines though, is in their additional search themes such as Kngine Movies, Music and my favorite, Kngine Stats. This last feature offers great graph based statistical information on an array of topics ranging from energy and economics to culture, food and education. See the screen shot below of the Kngine Stats search I did for Exports of goods and services in different countries. It’s great stuff!

The Google giant indeed offers amazing free products, and the one that let them break into the market was their flagship service, Web search. However, it has yet to offer the innovative perks Kngine does. I strongly suggest that you take the time to explore Kngine and the various services it offers. It’s refreshing, extremely user friendly and engaging.