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23 commentsThursday, June 5, 2008

Why Can't a Directory Be a Directory?

Here's a useful one...

Web directories don't exactly have the reputation of being helpful resources for finding information. Most have become endless pits of links, and wading through them to find anything useful is next to impossible.

Then there are the human-edited ones that tend to be more useful, but are aimed more at the submitter promoting their business than they really are towards the user who is there to find information. Often times these directories offer paid links, further proving that they are really there for promotional purposes.

Why can't a directory be there to be simply that - a directory? A directory of useful information to the common person who wants to find helpful resources.

"Who needs one of those when we have Google, Yahoo, and so many other search engines," you might ask. Quite frankly, no matter how much emphasis search engines put on relevancy, let's face it. If you want to find a collection of useful resources on a particular topic, you will be left wading through pages and pages to come up with them.

The eBusiness Directory at directory.webpronews.comSince you are obviously a WebProNews reader, there's no question that you're interested in eBusiness, and that is why we are introducing the eBusiness Directory, a directory that is dedicated to indexing only useful links to sites within the niche of eBusiness. This directory is a single place to find all of the resources you need to successfully run any aspect of an online business, from marketing to programming.

Like all directories, it is a work in progress. We are open to submissions, but only sites that we feel will be truly beneficial to you - the user, will make the cut. We aren't selling any links. The eBusiness Directory will not sell out. We are dedicated to keeping this thing as useful as possible, and not cluttered with a bunch of junk.

It will be very strictly human-edited. Do not expect your link to appear in the directory unless it is truly top-notch. There are boxes throughout the directory containing hand-picked links to sites we feel will be valuable to the user, but even these are not paid. Submission is 100% free.

Due to the fact that the directory indexes only sites under the eBusiness niche, and because we are focusing on quality, the amount of listings will be limited. We see that as a good thing.  Some directories, like the old Yahoo! Directory for example, are often useful at first, but become less useful as they are bombarded with submissions, but that is the beauty of keeping this one related to a niche.

Don't think it will be too limited, though. There are many sub-categories within the niche of eBusiness, and we intend for this directory to cater to all of them, and like all directories it is a work in progress and will continue to expand.

To aid the expansion of the directory, please feel free to leave us feedback. I will personally read it, and suggestions will be considered by myself and the WebProNews team of designers and developers.

If you feel that your site is truly of use and a cut above the rest, please submit it.  If you want to find good information on eBusiness, go to the eBusiness Directory at directory.webpronews.com, bookmark it, check back often for updates, and most of all, USE IT!

About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Twitter: @CCrum237

You're right about the

You're right about the uselessness of most directories - just links to terrible sites with no other purpose than having an extra link for the website.

Google is pretty much a directory tool which can be searched through, like you said. I hope the WPN directory is a cut above.

Some are not to bad..

I agree that directories have to be more then just a directory to survive in this day and age of websites. If directories don't involve some-kind of point system or game with management and the ability to get paid from surfing it wont be very popular in the long run and will have a high bounce rate.



What if the directory was half social networking and half directory?



Thats how http://www.arperture.com is. You can comment and rate sites giving them a bigger edge in  search results. I could list more but that link has them so just visit and check them out.



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