Sometime last year, MakeUseOf featured an excellent list of disposable tools for the web. It covered a spread of useful disposable email accounts, phone numbers, login details, fake names, and file sharing tools.
Disposable services are incredibly useful when you just want a bit of anonymity online. Can't trust a website that looks a little dodgy with your real email? Use a fake one which you can gain access to later.
Disposable services are also good for cases where you just need something to exist for a limited amount of time and not reside in cyberspace forever, for example files you want to share with your friend, or in this case - a webpage which expires after a certain timeframe. Below, I'll show you how to create a disposable webpage in a matter of seconds.
Why would you want a disposable webpage?
The aptly named service is called DisposableWebPage and is completely free. What it does is that it creates an instant wiki for you to edit, share and perhaps collaborate with your friends. This also means you reap all the benefits of a wiki system with rich text editing and collaboration built directly into the system - plus you have version control so you can easily revert back to previous forms if something goes wrong.
These web pages can last up to 90 days or less, and can be very useful for event based discussions, for example, party or travel decisions - where it's important to get everyone's input but you don't need to have the details stuck online after the event.
With this service, you don't have to worry if all your friends use Facebook, Friendster, or whatever social networking service to organize and plan an event. Everything is on a single web page, accessible by all.
You can also put in photos, and even easily integrate sticky notes, and maps to make the page more dynamic.
Finally, you don't have to worry about the site expiring without your knowledge. Every time you visit the page, a countdown timer to expiry is prominently displayed.
How to set up your own disposable page
What I really liked about it is that it's pretty much quick and dirty. You don't need to register in order to create a page, so your disposable web page can be set up in just a matter of clicks. To show you how easy it is, I'm going to walk you through making one for yourself.
Step 1: Go to DisposableWebPage, and click on the big red link, and name your page
Step 2: Your page is created! Now you can bookmark it right away, start editing it, change the timer, or send editor keys to your friends so they can edit this page as well.
Step 3: After you make the changes you want, send it to your friends so they can collaborate as well.
That's all there is to it! Simple, and flexible for quick and dirty solutions where you need a web page which expires after a certain amount of time.
Do you use disposable tools? If so, tell us which ones you use in the comments!
Photo Credit : Wok
