Welcome to the hit websites of 2008

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FOR many in the dotcom world, 2007 was dominated by one story: the rise of Facebook. The social networking site tells us good ideas can be worth a lot of money.

Inspired by this, investors are looking for the next big thing. Their criterion: not necessarily cutting-edge technology, but getting closer to everyday life.

Seesmic.com: share video diaries online

Unlike YouTube which has been dominated by spoofs and professional marketing videos, Seesmic focuses on online video diaries.

The site has not gone public yet, but has had positive reviews from testers. The website's founder Loic Le Meur is an Internet adviser to the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Moshimonsters.com: gaming while socializing

Created by a London games firm, Moshi Monsters combines virtual pet games with social networking and puzzles. Players \"adopt\" a monster, and look after them by solving regular puzzles. Monsters can interact with each other online, providing a social aspect for players. With its cartoon graphics and addictive qualities, Moshi wants to become the next craze for young people.

Etsy.com: a platform for your creativity

The New York-based Internet retailer says it is \"your place to buy and sell all things handmade\". You can sell everything personalized from clothes and jewelry to music on Etsy.com. The site was launched in 2005 and now has more than half a million registered users and 60,000 sellers.

Where Amazon revolutionized online commerce and eBay made its name allowing people to sell off their unwanted possessions, Etsy hopes to tap into the trend for personalized items.

Twitter.com: use your cellphone to blog

Twitter lets you text message large groups of people simultaneously, and for free. Sign up and send it a message, from a phone, the Internet or an instant messaging service, and it will be sent to your contacts. Updates are limited to just 140 characters, thus people call it \"microblogging\". Launched in March 2006, Twitter.com already boasts over 500,000 users.

Dopplr.com: link to your friends via travelog

The site lets users keep track of where their friends are and get informed of who is visiting their hometown. Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, says it is his favorite website. \"You put in your travel schedule and link to your friends. It allows you to see where everyone is. I love it,\" he told the New York Times. The site had a public launch this month.