May 31, 2001 12:28 AM
4548 Views
I actually found out about bolt.com through a review here at MouthShut that disapproves of the site. I went there to see what it was all about, because the features explained sounded interesting. So I joined and now I am addicted! There's so much to do there that it takes up almost all of my time on the internet.
Features
Free Homepages - signing up includes receiving free webspace with an easy way to create a homepage. It really is a great and efficient homepage maker that bolt.com uses.
Grade: A
Tagbooks - ask questions and get answers. You can ask questions like Which is better: BSB or Nsync? and have fellow bolt members visit your profile (which is a popup) and reply to your question. When creating tags, you can choose from different styles. The visitors can pick between choices, have a comment box, etc. It's very interesting to read other's responses.
Grade: A
Email/Voicemail - I don't find much use in this because I don't use voicemail and I hardly ever stray from my hotmail. However, when you get email there and log onto bolt, it tells you how many new messages you have from other bolt members (when signing up with a username, your email becomes username@bolt.com). This is a great feature if you like owning multiple emails.
Grade: B
Bolt Notes - bolt notes (or commonly called b/n by members) are used for quick messaging between members. It is not actually like an instant messanger where you can speak in real time, but it is nifty if you'd rather not go through the hassle of email. Not only that, it only goes through the bolt.com server. Great device!
Grade: A
Boards - message boards on hundreds of topics will keep you occupied for hours. I don't usually participate in these because people never leave posts on the given topic, which is quite irritating. However, it's a good idea if people would stick to it. Not only that, but there are so many places and categories to post in.
Grade: B-
Horoscopes - when signing up you give your birthdate (you have to be fifteen, but I'm close enough so I just put '85 instead of '86) so that they can find out what your zodiac sign is and allow you to check your horoscope each day. I like this because then you don't have to go through the hassle of clicking a bunch of different links before you find your sign and what you want to look at. There's also something called BioRhythms that tell you your emotional, intellectual, physical (etc) feelings for each day. You can pick days ahead of time (surprise surprise, June 13 [the day of the BSB concert I'm going to] has all positive biorhythms for me!).
Grade: A+
Write Reviews - well you're not paid to write reviews there like you are here, but at bolt you can review music (albums) and have people leave comments about your review. Also, bolt creates a little poll for your review. Now, your review isn't just posted automatically, they go through the process of picking certain ones out so as not to find one full of irrelevant junk that has nothing but curse words. There can't be two reviews on one album, so luckily I was the first to review BSB's Black & Blue. :)
Grade: A+
I could go on and on with the things that you can do at bolt.com, but then I'd go over the 8000 limit that MouthShut has set. Let's just say you should really go check this site out if you're looking for something to do.
Dependability
With the few days I've been a member of bolt, everything has run smoothly. Occasionally my own internet connection has failed because I have a slow modem, but that wasn't bolt's fault. As far as I can see everything works really well, which is hard to find on sites these days!
Ease of Use
Bolt is sooo easy to use! The profile page takes some getting used to, but that's only a matter of a few minutes. Everything is set up well and I have yet to find a broken link. None of the links ever fail unless my connection goes bad. The site has never been down and always leaves me satisfied.
Layout & Colors
Love the colorful and very-cool layout. It's definitely a site aimed at teens, and mostly run by the teen members (I've not seen any adults there). However, if you're still a kid at heart, there's no denying this site is perfect for you. There is a sidebar along the side of the page where all your personal links and profile links go, and on the right frame is the main page.
Ah, But There Are Faults
The only fault of bolt.com that I've come across are the irritatingly frequent popup ads. Every time you click to another page, an ad comes up that insists that you enter a contest to meet Nsync. Well, that's quite alright with me, I'll do without meeting Nsync! Hopefully they will cease the constant popups soon.
In Conclusion
Bolt is a great place where you can kill time. Just be careful you don't become addicted like I have!
