I was in a job interview the other day.  Yes, I’m looking for a job.  I want to work for someone else for a while, since it wasn’t quite as fun playing with my own money/life/future at stake.  And if I’m having fun, I am actually more productive, more creative, happier, and, well, I’m having fun.  It kinda justifies itself.

The interviewer asks me, “Tell me your three favorite web sites.”

Three favorite web sites?  Odd question.

I haven’t thought about what were my favorite web sites in years, any more than I put energy into thinking about what was my favorite color since I was  in 2nd grade.

I realized that of all the criteria that I could use in choosing a favorite site — visual appeal, gadgets, etc — the one that mattered to me was how useful it was.  Does it accomplish things that I want to do?

And I realized there’s one site which does most of the things I want, and does it quite well.

Google.

They have the best search — that has been a given almost since day one.  Google Maps has the best map interface around.  Google Earth is great. Google Docs has proven incredibly useful.  News search and alerts.  One of the best newsgroup viewers around.  I used Adsense in my recent business, and Google Analytics.  Picassa.   Google Video and YouTube.  And then there’s applications I haven’t tried, and know only by reputation — Gmail, and GOOG411 chief among them.

Every one of them guided by two basic principles: make it useful and make it easy to use.

Other sites I visit are single use — I might go once a day to find the latest from my social networks, or the latest content from a blog or daily cartoon I follow.

Visual design is great.  Gadgets are great.  Things that go bump and whirr and zing can be, well, fun or annoying.  Usefulness and ease of use never go out of style.