Unplggd: Find More Sites You Love

One of the best — and worst — parts of spending a lot of time online is finding lots of new and interesting feeds to follow. But after multiple sessions of purging our mailboxes, RSS and Twitter feeds, we’ve resolved to seek out quality over quantity. These five tools can help you find sites similar to ones you already love, so you can add to your reader without increasing bulk.

1. Sign up for StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon lets users rate sites with a thumbs up or down as they browse around the web, forming a massive database of recommended sites, and clicking “Stumble” on the site’s plugin bar takes you to a random one of these sites.

2.Type related:url into Google

Google may not yet be sentient but it certainly has a handle on peoples’ search behaviors. Just type related:theurlofyourfavoritesite to see what other people are looking at.

Check out the related:hermanmiller.com/lifework/results.

3. Test your Hunch

Hunch is a user-powered recommendation engine. Users rank stuff they like, Hunch spits out results based on collective user knowledge. Lots of community action and listmaking here, if that’s your kind of thing. Try out the Blogs or Websites when Bored categories.

4. Play Around with SimiliarSites

SimilarSites bills itself as an alternative to fruitless Googling. Users start with the familiar and refine their results as they learn more about what they like. Sites are categorized and rank, making it easier to explore with just a few clicks.

See the SimilarSites results for Herman  Miller.

5. Install a Plugin

SimilarWeb is the plugin version of SimilarSites, with the added benefit of working automatically as you browse around the web.

Grab the plugin for Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer here.

By Laura E. Hall