What I Learned About Dave Matthews, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Rania, Al Gore, and Myself By Checking Out the iGoogle Showcase

Dave Matthews loves to look at photographs of monkeys. Rachael Ray is a huge movie buff. Ashton Kutcher is a terrible speller. Queen Rania is crazy about Twitter. And The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is one of Donald Trump's all-time favorite films.

How do I know all this? I just finished surfing around Google's new iGoogle Showcase, a feature that allows you to check out the home pages of people from the worlds of entertainment, media, business, fashion, sports, politics, and more. It's a fun way to see what gadgets they like -- and see if you want to add them to your own iGoogle home page.

Google asked me to be a part of the Showcase feature. So you can check out my iGoogle page here.

You won't be surprised to see that my top pick is the HuffPost gadget. But it's not just because it's my baby. Our tech team worked closely with Google to create a gadget that gives users a terrific feel for our fast-paced, constantly-refreshing, interactive approach to delivering news and opinion. You can flip through all our content areas quickly, getting the top news of the moment -- delivered with the signature HuffPost attitude and style. The gadget also expands so you can see more HuffPost without leaving your iGoogle page.

Add the HuffPost gadget to your iGoogle page by clicking here. Here's what it looks like:

It's a great way to keep up with the Huffington Post at a glance -- as, come to think of it, is our amazing iPhone app.

If you don't have our iPhone app yet, it's been picking up great reviews and doing tons of traffic. Add the iPhone app here.

If you add my page, here's what you'll get -- and why:

Theme: Sunrise in Greece. It's in my DNA.

Gadgets:

HuffPost: It rocks!

Digg: It's always fun -- and edifying -- to see what the digg community is digging and sharing.

My Google Book Search: A great way to find books, old and new.

The New York Times News: The Times continues to be a must-read source for news and information -- and the tabs make for easy access to the latest headlines.

iLike: I love working, driving, working out, hiking, etc, etc, etc to music.

BBC News UK Edition: Having lived in England, I find it useful to see how the news is being viewed on the other side of the Atlantic.

Flixster Movies: Useful, easy to use -- all the movie info you want in one place.

Zen Meditation Chimes: I meditate every day, and I love the sound of these chimes.

So check out the Showcase, add the HuffPost gadget, see why Dave Matthews loves those monkey pics, and let me know what you think.

 

 

 

Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Comments

[Buddy McCue]

10:13 AM on 06/05/2009

I like those chimes too.

I haven't checked it against any source yet, but it sounds like a pentatonic major scale starting with the third tone.

[jeliz]

09:47 AM on 06/05/2009

Love Dave Matthews. Maybe you could get him as a guest columnist and have him write about monkeys. He's so sexy.

[vooter]

08:53 AM on 06/05/2009

Wow...now it'll be even *easier* to live vicariousl­y through other people. Thanks, Arianna!

[lisalovesamelie]

08:34 AM on 06/05/2009

I love my Mozilla HuffPo toolbar. I put it on my pc and laptop. I like the fact that when I am working and need to use the net I can see the ticker with the latest headlines and choose whether or not to read further. Plus it is a nice green.

[ChelseaC]

03:31 AM on 06/05/2009

Cool!

[LeftWingX10]

06:53 PM on 06/04/2009

Oh Goodie!!!

[AGarcia]

12:59 PM on 06/04/2009

Are we supposed to infer some connection to Obama and the Hitler picture directly below? Is this supposed to be clever placement, a theme perhaps? Is it just supposed to be a popular image - pop culture? Seems like HuffPo is mostly about pop culture these days and less "newsy".

[MadHeart]

09:59 AM on 06/04/2009

It's been reported that 60% of people who use Twitter never go back. I'm one of those. It's kind of creepy that the only time I went on a local TV station's site, I was immediatel­y "followed.­" I wouldn't put up with that in my life outside Twitter, and anything I want to say can be done on my home computer on sites like this. And I'm not celebrity crazy (don't care what they say), don't want people to know what I do from minute to minute, and technology may be useful, but I don't want it crowding my life to the exclusion of physical contact with family, friends and neighbors. Why I don't even use a cellphone, although I do carry one for 911 calls only.

Paranoid? No, just practical as a mature adult. I get a lot more done without most of modern technology­, actually. Wish I could share your enthusiasm­, Arianna, and I know it's your job, but I do appreciate your site very much otherwise.

[Sleaky]

10:11 AM on 06/04/2009

I agree, Twitter has already peaked and people will eventually lose interest in it.

[jalex26000]

09:13 AM on 06/04/2009

Is this supposed to pass as news? this is what fox news does. PEOPLE, WAKE UP!

[Queenhuh]

07:33 AM on 06/04/2009

You are a wonderful lady Arianna. Actually, for quite a few months now, I've "given up" google. I didn't like their involvemen­t in the politics of China and here? And yes LibraLady, I'm happy to see another Adam L. fan!!

[anastomosis]

03:26 AM on 06/04/2009

UK content a la Huff is better at The Guardian than the BBC.

[IssuesInFocus]

02:36 AM on 06/04/2009

Yep, to the best in getting the informatio­n to us.. 'Kudos!'
http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=4hW_tVDDd­ro

[LibraLady]

11:30 PM on 06/03/2009

Love you, Arianna & thank you SO much for HuffPO, it's the best!!!
I have to confess, though, I was hoping to read about Adam Lambert here & not Ashton.

[dye2000]

10:51 PM on 06/03/2009

I hope you'll give Microsoft Bing a chance.

[LMPE]

07:51 PM on 06/03/2009

When Ashton Kutcher wrote a Huff Po article a few months ago, he spelled correctly. Of course, he may have had a spell checker.