JoeAnt Topic Guide: April 2005

10:57 AM

Why Be a JoeAnt Editor?

Some people become JoeAnt editors because they want to list their site. Some join because they want to share some of the interesting sites they have found, perhaps ones that relate to their business or hobby. Some join to be a part of a community. (Regardless of why they join, it's the community and the feeling of doing something productive that many of them stay for.)

Remember when you first started going online? Before you learned how to use search engines and directories to find sites. Or if you've been around as long as some of us, before there really was much in the way of search tools? Back then, one of the best ways to find sites was through links pages. If you had a site you would create a page of links to sites that you liked. When you found a site that interested you, you would look at their list of links to see if they had anything new.

A directory is similar to the old links pages except that it is done by a group of people and we include descriptions of the sites to help visitors decide which ones they want to visit. (The downside to the links pages was that they often just had the URL or site's name without much other information. Clicking a link could mean a great new discovery or it could be a big waste of time...especially when everyone was on dial up!)

Being an editor lets you share sites you like and there's a certain (geeky) thrill of having your editor-name attached to the listing. If you have a hobby, do you know of sites that are informative but may not be getting the attention they deserve? Join and add them. Make the topic(s) you add sites to the best place for others who share your hobby or who may want to get started in it to find sites. (Browse the topics before joining so you select the best one for adding your sites.)

See what JoeAnt editors have been adding lately.

2:02 AM

Finding Sites to Add to JoeAnt

You've joined the JoeAnt community. Maybe you contribute or have contributed listings to another human edited directory. If so you probably don't need much help finding sites to add. You already know where to look for sites for your favorite topics. If you've submitted your favorite sites to another directory, you may still add them to JoeAnt (assuming they meet our guideline standards). Just remember that you need to write unique descriptions - even if you are the author of the site's description in another directory, once you submit it there the description belongs to them and you need to write a new one at JoeAnt.

What if you've never worked on a directory before? Maybe you joined because you wanted to list your own site. Or you remember how hard it was for you to find truly good sites about your favorite topic and want to do something that will help others with the same interests find them more easily. Or you just wanted to join an online community and help create something useful. What do you do to find sites to add?

If you have a site that is not an affiliate and has original content, begin with that. Next look through the sites that you have bookmarked on your computer. Will any of them go in the topic you selected when you joined JoeAnt? If they were good enough to bookmark then the chances are that they are good enough to be listed...so add them.

Even the sites that don't have enough content to be added to the directory may have something you can use, a page with links to related sites. Check them out. Would any of those sites be a good addition to the directory? We don't allow sites that are just a collection of links to be added to the directory but they can still be an excellent resource for an editor.

Use search engines and directories. You probably have one or two favorites that you use most often but try some others also. Here are a few to get you started.

Aesop
All the Web
Ask Jeeves
Brainboost
DMOZ - Open Directory Project
Gigablast
Google
IceRocket
MSN
Scrub the Web
Yahoo!
Zeal

10:05 AM

Advance Directives, Attorneys, Adventure Travel and More

Recent topic additions:

Arts & Humanities:

Photography Communities for sites that provide an online gathering place for hobbyist and professional photographers.

Business:

Advance Directives and Living Wills lists sites with printable forms and information about selecting a health care proxy.
Audience Response Systems has sites with products for interactive meetings.
Promotional Balloons and Inflatables
Moving Company Reviews

Attorneys_and_Law_Firms By Practice Specialty is a new topic with several new subtopics in it. (Administrative, Bankruptcy, Business, Civil Liberties, Criminal Defense, Employee Rights, Family, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Malpractice, Personal Injury, Product Liability, and Trust and Estate.

We also have Lawyers listed by location. Most law firms should be listed according to the location of their offices unless the site clearly emphasizes a practice area.

Computers:

Internet > Weblogs > Media Weblogs for comments, criticism, and backstage looks at the journalism industry.

Home and Garden:

Pets_and_Animals > Cats > Breeds > R-Z > Siamese Cats

People and Society:

Romance > Weddings > Destination_Weddings > Las Vegas Weddings has its own topic now because the listings for this destination were about 1/3 of the total Destination Wedding sites.

Real Estate:

We have added some new topics for Real Estate Agents in these locations.

Turkish Real Estate Agents
North Carolina > Dare County Real Estate Agents (Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks area)
North Carolina > Buncombe County Real Estate Agents

Recreation and Sports:

Recreation > Summer_Camps > Day Camps (This had been in the Children's topic but was moved to consolidate the camp topics in Recreation.
Travel and Adventure Camps are usually for teens and offer more challenging programs than more traditional camps.

Shopping:

Music Lessons for music classes, in person or online. This topic is crosslinked under Arts_and_Humanities > Arts > Performing_Arts > Music and under Entertainment > Music > Musical Instruments
Outdoor > Coolers and Picnic Supplies
Playground Equipment for the backyard.

Travel:

Agents_and_Services > Tour_Operators_and_Travel_Agents > Regional_Tours > Africa > African Safaris (This is crosslinked under Adventure Travel.)
Destination Guides > South Padre Island, Texas and Devon, England.

The English Hotels topic was getting full so we have new subtopics for London Hotels, Lancashire Hotels, and Warwickshire Hotels.

6:14 AM

Drug Stores Online

The JoeAnt Directory has for online pharmacies in two separate categories. In the Health and Fitness topic we list pharmacies that are VIPPS (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites) and Certified Canadian International Pharmacies. The VIPPS pharmacies are ones that have been certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. CIPA (Canadian International Pharmacy Association) is an association of licensed pharmacies in Canada that do business internationally.

In the Health and Beauty topic in the Independent Business Affiliates category we list other online pharmacies with subtopics for buying Viagra online and buying pain medication online.

Any sites that sell prescription medication must have either the VIPPS or CIPA seal displayed on the Web site to be listed in the general Health and Fitness category. All other drug retailers will be listed in the Affiliate category. Any editor may add a VIPPS or CIPA certified site to the directory but all non-certified pharmacy listings are through Speed-Pass only.

5:47 AM

JoeAnt Topic Guide

About Me

Friday, April 15, 2005

Finding Sites to Add to JoeAnt: Part II

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Why Be a JoeAnt Editor?

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Finding Sites to Add to JoeAnt

Advance Directives, Attorneys, Adventure Travel and More

Drug Stores Online