about
what's going on here?
this is a tools for tracking interesting blogs and websites via a streaming API.
what is a weblog?
a weblog (or blog) is a type of web site (or page) that is organized much like a diary or journal -- short nuggets of writing added regularly (or not) as a running commentary on almost any subject. other than this time-oriented structure, one weblog may not have all that much in common with the next.
how can i create a blog?
you can great a free blog at WordPress.com.
how can i get my blog listed?
if you run a blog, you can ping this directory (telling it that the weblog has been updated) using the ping form or the other methods listed at the bottom of that page.
how can i get someone else's weblog listed?
see above question, and pretend you run their weblog.
where else do you collect data from?
every hour (or more), lists of updated weblogs are imported from blogger.com.
we ignore some updates based on how an update for a particular blog was last noticed. for example, once a site has pinged us directly, we ignore all updates from these other services for at least three days.
how do you manage duplicates?
for urls that don't include a filename (for example, 'http://example.com'), we make sure that it always includes a trailing slash (so the example becomes 'http://example.com/').
we also automatically filter out duplicates based on whether they are prefixed with 'www.' or not.
this is an area ripe for future development.
i run a similar service, how can we share data?
check out the cloud interface. it allows you to access the live stream of updates processed by our system.
what sort of hardware and software is this running on?
the software is written in php, and uses mysql as its database backend.
the service runs on Automattic's server grid.
neat stuff. who deserves my undying praise for such inspired and gifted work?
first of all, thank you for your kind words. we surely don't deserve such high praise. but what meager amounts are deserved should be directed at jim winstead. if you want to put your money where your praise is, support a good cause.
blo.gs is now owned and operated by Automattic.
i've got more questions. who can i ask?
just use the contact form. we don't promise a prompt reply, but we usually get to things eventually.