It's a strange thing. When I was going through archived materials from the past year looking for a common thread for digital art, I was astonished by what I discovered. The big story is how much time and effort the CBC put into the digital frontier. Oh I can hear the scoffing all the way down my DSL line. You doubt moi? Listen to the evidence.

The Little Story Engine That Could: The CBC got aboard with the Canadian Film Centre to launch a national Internet-based storytelling initiative, The Canadian Story Engine. Its primary purpose is to give Canadians of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to tell their life stories online, ultimately creating a collective Canadian history. Sounds good doesn't it? In theory it is. The design of the site is simple and relatively easy to navigate. The graphics are simplistic, with a definite child-like appeal. This is a clever ruse on the Web, where many sites lack a humanistic touch.

From there visitors can choose different geographical areas to visit, as well as picking a time span you might want to read about. Once you've arrived at your destination, you're greeted with a short story that tells of one Canadian's experience. From there you can move to another and another, taking the train across the literary landscape. And of course, please feel free to submit your own experiences. Your slice of history will be part of the big Canadian picture.

The problem is the non-linear nature of the site. I think the project lost a bit of steam in this area, but all in all, we must applaud the Film Institute and the CBC for their efforts.

Art on the Web: Back in May we covered a fascinating documentary series produced by Sascha Hastings for The Arts Today. Art on the Web examined the effect the Internet has on how we appreciate art in the realm of new media. It looked at creating art within the confines of the web, the effect new media is having on cultural institutions like galleries and museums, plus the series looked at the possibility of buying art online.

Host Eleanor Wachtel spoke with a group of artists, critics, curators and entrepreneurs about how the worlds of visual art and the Internet are converging. You can hear most of the show with your Real Audio player. Especially fascinating is a web component provided by video artist Vera Frenkel. One warning. The site design totally sucks. But the content is great.

Tod-ally Cool: CBC is playing around with the notion of joining radio and the web for a country wide interactive experience. Welcome to TodRadio. Hosted by Vancouver futurist and digital entrepreneur, Tod Maffin "explores how technology affects people. From the way we work, live, love and explore the powerfully shaping nature of the computers around us. The show's off the air for the festive season but Tod will be back online every Tuesday at 8 pm after January 23rd.

Most Entrepreneurial: Just in case you thought I was in the pocket of the CBC I've got to make mention of .Trailervisionand Zapavision. Brainchildren of digital wonderboy Albert Nerenberg, these are incredibly creative and hysterically funny sites. If you find you've got some extra surfing time between feasts, you've GOT to check them out.

Saddest Story: Shift magazine. Need I say more? The big shots in the Canadian magazine biz should be ashamed of themselves for not helping out this incredibly innovative and well-made mag. I'd love to know the real back-story to this terribly sad story.

More from our year-end review: