From TIME Magazine
Where's Balloon Boy? Ask the Web's Single-Serving Sites
By Randy James
The mysterious metallic balloon thought to be carrying a Colorado boy had scarcely returned to Earth last week when a new website launched, its domain name asking the question that much of the nation was wondering: WhereIsBalloonBoy.com....
The Internet is teeming with whimsical websites that really don't do very much. Or, better said, they do simply what their straightforward domain names advertise. Wondering if this week's episode of Lost is new? Check IsLostARepeat.com. Curious about New York's skyline tonight? Visit WhatColorIsTheEmpireStateBuilding.com. Stumped in the kitchen? Maybe HowtoBakeAPotato.com could help. And if you're ever in need of an ego boost, AmIAwesome.com might restore your swagger (the site's response: VERY.)...
Ryan Greenberg, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Information, has assembled a list of more than 200 such sites. "It's your chance to get 15 seconds of fame on the Internet," explains Greenberg, whose 2008 paper on the subject is available at IsThisYourPaperOnSingleServingSites.com. "There's something innately funny about a website that goes on for 60 characters, or an entire sentence."