by Unknown | 4/13/2008 04:01:00 AM
From time to time I write about a new site or project that seeks to draw the history blogosphere together as a more cohesive unit. More often than not, these items come from Andy Walpole of History Nexus, who is doing more right now to unite and strengthen the history blogosphere than anyone I know online.
So it is with this new item, the "History Now" widget (which you can see in the right-hand column of this blog). Simply put, the widget reads the RSS feeds of all blogs that it indexes and combines them in one easy-to-use panel. Essentially, if you've got a history blog that History Nexus indexes (and if you're not on their list, you can easily remedy that), every time you post a diary, it'll go straight to the top of the widget. Plus, your readers will see the stuff posted by other history bloggers, in a more democratic fashion than if they simply rely on your picks from your blogroll.
This is a great tool. The Liberal Blog Advertising Network used to have one of these, though it didn't work very well, and it was a huge traffic driver to the smaller sites. But it only works if enough people upload the widget to their blogs.
Actually, the History Now widget isn't a "new" item; it's been available for nearly two months, though I haven't seen it uploaded to any history blogs. If you're reading this and have a history blog of your own, please do me a favor: go here and get this widget, and put it on your blog. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Many thanks.
So it is with this new item, the "History Now" widget (which you can see in the right-hand column of this blog). Simply put, the widget reads the RSS feeds of all blogs that it indexes and combines them in one easy-to-use panel. Essentially, if you've got a history blog that History Nexus indexes (and if you're not on their list, you can easily remedy that), every time you post a diary, it'll go straight to the top of the widget. Plus, your readers will see the stuff posted by other history bloggers, in a more democratic fashion than if they simply rely on your picks from your blogroll.
This is a great tool. The Liberal Blog Advertising Network used to have one of these, though it didn't work very well, and it was a huge traffic driver to the smaller sites. But it only works if enough people upload the widget to their blogs.
Actually, the History Now widget isn't a "new" item; it's been available for nearly two months, though I haven't seen it uploaded to any history blogs. If you're reading this and have a history blog of your own, please do me a favor: go here and get this widget, and put it on your blog. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Many thanks.
Labels: Jeremy Young
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4 Comments:
Unknown on 4/13/2008 11:55 PM:
Sorry to hear that -- you would have made an excellent one, and would have been able to give your readers at multiple sites an inside look at the convention process.
Have you considered trying to get yourself credentialed as a blogger at the DNC? I think you'd have a pretty good argument, considering your involvement with the campaign and your regular contributions at three prominent blogs (okay, two prominent blogs and this one).
Wow - sounds cool. Have to check it out when I get some time. And energy. I just got back from running to be an Obama delegate. I lost, but I did awfully well for being late to the campaign volunteering primarily in small circles.