Masterclass in creating and promoting a web directory

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Michele 27 Dec 2007 at 5:21 pm

Interesting observations. I like the layout of that site. It reminds me of a particular series of techy books – can’t just remember the name, but they used to be quite pricey.

Categorization within a category – that works really well; though I wonder if it will continue to do so as the site gets larger.

A directory on the front page of Digg, who’da thunk it?

Mike 27 Dec 2007 at 7:47 pm

Do you think a new directory like this should not charge a review fee up front so it looks less spammy, or do you think that nobody would want to spend any money on a link until they are a bit more established?

Sander 27 Dec 2007 at 10:48 pm

This isn’t really the standard web directory but more a collection of open source resources. Everybody loves open source, take a look at http://www.webappers.com without any questions this place is great for open source resources, but not really categorized. With http://www.osliving.com/ everything is placed under categories and thats why you think its a directory. I don’t think this is a linkbuilding directory, if thats is what you mean.

Vladimir 28 Dec 2007 at 2:34 pm

That’s a really good analysis and observation. You could say that the amount of work they put into it is outstanding.

chetan 28 Dec 2007 at 2:35 pm

Great work done there..

Unlike the normal script, addition of related images etc. did the work better.. And its index page is classic!

Andrew Eglinton 06 Jan 2008 at 10:01 am

Hello Patrick and thank you for writing about OSLiving.

I’d just like to clear up a few discrepancies before they fester into facts.

First of all, OSLiving was, is and will never be a link building directory. It is an archive of resources built by a group of people who are passionate about OSS. People who volunteer in their spare time. The site aims to raise awareness, to inform and to motivate others about OSS as a viable alternative to some of the mainstream closed source programs.

The current html site has been running for less than two weeks. We are in the process of migrating it to Wordpress, which means a new design and new features but also we are building it to adhere to OSS standards and guidelines laid out by the Open Source Initiative. But all aspects of the site’s development including the archive itself, the new weekly publication that we’ll soon be launching and the community forums, are built under the guidance and with the help of community members.

You are of course free to believe that we employed ‘tactics to appear trustworthy’, that we are some sort of front for a money making business, or any other such offensive postulation, however, for the real version of what’s happening, I urge you to visit the following forum board and read the threads that chronicle the site’s short journey thus far:

http://osliving.com/forums/index.php?board=8.0

We will not be charging fees for anything. Access to the site is entirely free. Visitors are free to browse with adsense turned off and any revenue that is generated from google ads (which is currently negligible) goes towards covering the costs of running the site. The more it grows, the more resources it demands.

@Patrick: Thank you for taking the time to write about OSLiving. If you’d like to find out more about the project, including detailed background and development information that would hopefully prompt you to reconsider your position on OSLiving, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Thanks very much indeed.

Andrew.

Little Guy Network 15 Jan 2008 at 6:11 am

Some very good points, thanks for sharing

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