Last week we told you about LibraryThing, the social web site that allows you to catalog your books online and discuss them, all for free. LibraryThing’s biggest competition, Shelfari, has just received a new make over that they hope will keep users coming back. Some of the latest features include a more powerful search engine and “My Shelfari,” a tool that keeps track of everything from your personal information to your friends. One of the biggest changes is the new Authors Unbound section, where fans can edit information on their favorite authors, wiki-style. If you’re a fan of literature, then Shelfari is definitely the place for you.

Sometimes in business, it’s imperative to know where your company’s website stands against the competition. Sure ,you might think you’re pretty popular the world over, but perception and reality are often two different things. Thankfully, Google has you covered with Google Trends new site comparison feature. When we compared LibraryThing and Shelfari, for example, we found that while LibraryThing is more popular in the US, Shelfari holds the edge in India. Both easy to follow and powerful to use, Google Trends will have you comparing your sites with each other in no time flat.

Nowadays, statistics are getting harder and harder to verify. Take Avril Lavigne’s video for her song “Girlfriend” on YouTube, for example. On the surface, it seems as if video has 90,388,110 views. Look a little closer, however, and things get a bit more “sinister.” The number isn’t real. A bunch of net savvy fans are using a web bot to go and view the page once every five minutes, racking up the hits without YouTube even noticing. Their ultimate goal was to make Avril the number one most viewed video on YouTube. The kicker? They succeeded. As of this writing, “Girlfriend” by Avril Lagvine is the most viewed video on YouTube.

The best places to get new and interesting sites that haven’t been gamed for popularity are new web engines that are still in beta. One of the best new start ups for link discovery that we’ve seen in awhile is called Socialbrowse. This site lets you share links in a Twitter fashion, and lets you follow what other people are linking. This is definitely one to watch out for.

On a sad note, we’d like to talk about the recent death of George Carlin. The man was a funny man and a brilliant thinker. In tribute to  Mr. Carlin, we here at the Freeline would like to present the “Seven Words and/or Phrases You Can’t Say in a Marketing Email:”

1. Penis
2. “Free insurance”
3. “Click here!”
4. Enhancement
5. “Deposed dictator”
6. “Apply today!”
7. “Canadian pharmaceuticals”

For more on  George Carlin, his life, and his work, check out YouTube.