Pat on the back to…ourselves
7 September 2007
I know there is nothing more self-indulgent and therefore boring for a reader of this blog than me saying how good one’s own search engine is but blogs.com.au surprised me last night in a very good way.
Usually when looking for the latest blogs posts from the last 24 hours I use Sphere or Technorati. I know that seems terrible that I don’t use blogs.com.au as much as I could but I am realistic about the limitations of our search facility.
It is powered by Google Co-op. So I had thought the powers that be in the Googleplex only update their index of regular web sites every 12-24 hours so I didn’t think blogs.com.au would a useful tool to get up to the minute search results.
I was thankfully proven wrong after I saw a spike (600+ requests in the last 24 hours) in searches for the terms “The Chaser” and “The Chaser arrested” on the back of the wonderfully reckless hilarity that resulted in the boys getting put in the nick yesterday.
While I knew Aussie bloggers would be blogging about the event, I just didn’t think the search facility was good enough to find them yet. I felt the people searching blogs.com.au for “The Chaser” and “The Chaser arrested” would be have been wasting their time and wouldn’t find anything recent or relevant until maybe today.
Out of curiosity I did a look up on the terms being searched by our visitors and was surprised to find an abundance of results some as fresh as 44 minutes before I conducted the search.
This is great to see and shows that the Google Co-op powered search engine that is blogs.com.au is a great way to find even the most recent posts by local bloggers.
That is more than enough self administered ego stroking for one post. As you were.
Call out for government blogs
4 September 2007
Not specifically looking for politicians who are blogging (we’ve already got 117 in the directory) but are wanting to know of actual state or commonwealth government department blogs. We only have one in the entire index and that was added today.
So if you know of any Australian government blogs posts the URL in the comments and I’ll add it to the search index and directory.
Thanks.
Anthony
Blogging is as Useful as Talkback Radio
2 September 2007
Sydneysiders can go to a DebateIT event next Wednesday night to discuss Blogging is as Useful as Talkback Radio:
When: Wednesday 12th September, 2007
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Museum of Sydney
Corner of Phillip & Bent Street, Sydney
Time: 6.00pm - 7.30pm
Cost: $50 (inc. GST)Speaker(s): Graeme Philipson, Founder, Connection Research; Chris Gilbey, CEO, Vquence Pty Ltd; Tony Walker, Manager, ABC Digital Radio; Hugh Martin, General Manager, APN Online Australia
Moderator: Catherine Fox, Deputy Editor, BOSS Magazine
People interested in attending should visit the Slattery IT web site to register.
Search index growth, number of search queries and traffic stats
1 September 2007
I received a request from a journalist yesterday for some statistics about blogs.com.au. While certainly nothing incredible to look at here yet, I’ve posted the numbers at The Local in case anyone else had an interest.
Blogs listed in the search index at the start of each month
April - 912
May - 1445
June - 1894
July - 2107
August - 2314
September - 2561
Note: While we’ve nearly tripled the number of Australian blogs that we know of already, I really would like to get to 10,000 by the end of the year. If you read a local blog but can’t find it by doing a search then please add the blog to our index.
Web Site Traffic Statistics
In March this year before there was a search engine feature or The Local, the domain name parked on a empty holding page received 363 unique visitors. In August, the 5596 unique visitors to blogs.com.au generated 29,454 page views.
Note: Page views don’t include search queries conducted off-site.
Search Engine Usage Statistics
In August, the total number of search queries performed was 8710.
Sleevage - Blog of the Day
31 August 2007
With the first day back into our routine of giving out a virtual pat on the back to great bloggers being a Friday, I get to feature another Australian music blog. Yay!
I’m very happy to say that a blog about the best album cover designs, Sleevage, is the latest to be acknowledged as our Blog of the Day.
Sleevage is produced by the team at Soap Creative who won a Webby Award earlier this year for their BannerBlog project.
This blog is a great regular read if you are keen to browse or search some of the world’s most interesting music album covers. You’ll also find out some of the stories about the making of the thing that probably helped form the first thought to judge and discover your favourite band or album.
Congrats Sleevage and I hope The Local’s readers enjoy it.
2007 Australian Blogging Conference Announced
31 August 2007
I was very excited yesterday to read via Duncan Riley that Peter Black from the New Media Law and Policy blog Freedom to Differ has announced the Australian Blogging Conference will be going ahead in Brisbane on Friday 28 September at the Queensland University of Technology.
This conference is very encouraging. As mentioned previously here at The Local, Australia has been behind overseas blogging trends in many ways but this year it seems we are all focused on catching up.
Being Brisbane based, I’ll definitely be attending and hope to meet other bloggers there. A Technorati search shows 29 blog posts already linking to the conference blog so it looks like it will be popular. For people who can’t make it in person, there is already a Twitter channel set up to keep up you in the loop in real-time during the event.
Latest 413 Australian blogs included in our search index
31 August 2007
Sorry about this but because it has been over two months since I last announced the blogs that have been added to the index of the blogs.com.au search engine, today I have a mammoth 413 Australian blogs to list in this update. If looking through Australian blogs is your thing, I hope you didn’t have any work planned today or anything happening on the weekend as it might take a while to have a look at each one.
Also, this will be the last search index update here at The Local. Hopefully from next week our Australian Bloggers Directory will be working and there will be a separate RSS Feed you can subscribe too which will keep you updated of all the new blogs.
Enjoy!
Anthony
http://www.a-reminder.org/music/
http://republicofstyle.blogspot.com
http://www.timchristie.com/blog/
http://aussiethinkinggirl.wordpress.com
http://blogs.technet.com/itproaustralia/
http://msmvps.com/blogs/brianmadsen/default.aspx
http://cameronpope.blogspot.com
http://bethanyjfellows.blogspot.com
http://www.infuzionweb.com/sketches/
http://www.intelligentdesign.com.au/blog/
http://www.intergalactica.net.au
http://www.pacifichighlander.postkiwi.com
http://melbournecitycouncil.blogspot.com
http://blog.smallofficeaustralia.com
http://possumcomitatus.wordpress.com
http://www.allaboutolive.com.au
http://www.intelligentdesign.com.au/blog/
http://americasinterests.blogspot.com
http://www.littlemisspretend.blogspot.com
http://aussiegolfer.blogspot.com
http://paradigmoz.wordpress.com
http://theharshlightofday.blogspot.com
http://www.symple.com.au/syog/
http://www.invertmethod.com/speak/
http://david.australianinfront.com.au/Drog/
http://home.exetel.com.au/davidmwilliams/
http://grapesandcherries.blogspot.com
http://blog.publicisdigital.com.au
http://www.universal-traveller.blogspot.com
http://adelaidebookclub.wordpress.com
http://gayskyhooker.blogspot.com
http://boutique-oz.blogspot.com
http://devinramdutt.blogspot.com
http://www.jay-oh.com/photoblog/
http://littlemonkeytales.blogspot.com
http://bowerbirdbeads.blogspot.com
http://www.toonstudio.com.au/blog/
http://blog.recruitmentdirectory.com.au
http://melbournefoodtales.blogspot.com
http://cucinarebecca.blogspot.com
http://www.mysurfbrands.com/blog/
http://lewisindividual.blogspot.com
http://jamieandrei.wordpress.com
http://thebaleboosteh.blogspot.com
http://sydneywebcam.blogspot.com
http://sydneydailysnap.blogspot.com
http://beforeithappens.wordpress.com
http://www.poligoths.blogspot.com
http://ambit-gambit.nationalforum.com.au
http://archiearchive.wordpress.com
http://adrienswords.wordpress.com
http://partonwords.blogspot.com
http://communistwombat.blogspot.com
http://www.ozpolitics.info/blog/
http://the-speccy.blogspot.com
http://www.pogothoughts.com.au
http://steveedney.wordpress.com
http://futureofmonto.blogspot.com
http://jswanston.wordpress.com
http://bushtelegraph.wordpress.com
http://sprconsulting.blogspot.com
http://thetimealwayscomes.blogspot.com
http://themusingsofanunemployedmind.blogspot.com
http://www.gippslandhasmorethancheese.com
http://www.the-melburnian.blogspot.com
http://savesavesave.blogspot.com
http://meghamathur.blogspot.com
http://veronicadarling.blogspot.com
http://librarianidol.blogspot.com
http://zerobudgetmarketingideas.blogspot.com
http://www.tonisnellblog.com.au
http://nicobrainless.blogspot.com
http://www.onehundredscenes.com
http://kittendownunder.blogspot.com
http://differentgauge.blogspot.com
http://earthkissed.blogspot.com
http://flashthinker.blogspot.com
http://readatpeace.blogspot.com
http://death-by-tshirt.blogspot.com
http://kimberly-lives.blogspot.com
http://www.jungletraffic.com.au/site/blog/
http://imfamousinjapan.com/blog
http://justanother24hours.wordpress.com
http://tugboatpotemkin.blogspot.com
http://graemebird.wordpress.com
http://tomorrowsentertainment.blogspot.com
http://summerpickles.blogspot.com
http://babybumpproject.blogspot.com
http://www.blognow.com.au/mrpickwick/
http://renegadescience.blogspot.com
http://fembotanist.blogspot.com
http://loveinmelbourne.blogspot.com
http://melbourne-runway.blogspot.com
http://www.imaginif.com.au/~ima33724/blog/
http://mountainash.blogspot.com
http://ubertablet.blogspot.com
http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com
http://curiouserness.blogspot.com
http://letmesleepnow.blogspot.com
http://www.verygoodcooking.blogspot.com
http://tassiebirds.blogspot.com
http://seo-sydney.blogspot.com
http://melbournegastronome.blogspot.com
http://littleglowinglights.blogspot.com
http://thepipingshrike.blogspot.com
http://www.thebookgrocer.blogspot.com
http://www.101usesforajohnhoward.com
http://justinsrants.blogspot.com
http://agirliusedtoknow.blogspot.com
http://mediamcmullah.blogspot.com
http://agedcareact.wordpress.com
http://taurusmarketing.spaces.live.com
http://michael.hardy.id.au/blog
http://www.jamesday.com.au/blog2
http://drawnfromstillwater.blogspot.com
http://www.scribepublications.com.au/blog
http://wildlyparenthetical.wordpress.com
http://www.2thinknow.com/innovation/
http://www.dronesdiary.blogspot.com
http://blog.myspace.com/crankyjules
http://blog.myspace.com/awsome_mofo
http://blog.myspace.com/thehappyblogger
http://blog.myspace.com/angelakatherine
http://blog.myspace.com/rsvpblogger
http://symscovington.blogspot.com
http://sueblimely2.blogspot.com
http://lukegoodwin.blogspot.com
http://www.markowen.com.au/blog/
http://gtveloce.com/blog/addicted2wheels/
http://playgroundmischief.blogspot.com
http://melindahunter.blogspot.com
http://possumcomitatus.wordpress.com
http://www.allaboutolive.com.au
http://blog.littlebundle.com.au
http://nomorestuff.blogspot.com
http://cluttercut.blogspot.com
http://crimitism.wordpress.com
http://www.feministsdontbakebread.com
http://elegantsufficiency.typepad.com
http://currerellisacton.blogspot.com
http://www.briterwebdesign.com/blog/
http://simonreeves.blogspot.com
http://www.bencruachan.org/blog/
http://www.stephanietrigg.blogspot.com
http://clementineshoes.blogspot.com
http://needlesedge.blogspot.com
http://sixandahalfstitches.typepad.com
http://careeredge.blogspot.com
http://mabsonline.blogspot.com
http://trulyitneverends.blogspot.com
http://viewfromthetenthlevel.blogspot.com
http://theorstrahyun.blogspot.com
http://www.australindbaptistchurch.com/thereallifeblog
http://leanneshouse.typepad.com
http://www.countrythreads.com.au/blog/
http://myartismyoutlet.blogspot.com
http://honeysucklecottage.typepad.com
http://stvincentsdarlinghurstmalenurses.blogspot.com
http://funbusiness.typepad.com
http://www.fivefootthree.com/blog/
http://samwisepolemic.blogspot.com
http://www.criticaltimes.com.au
http://mike-servethepeople.blogspot.com
http://do-your-thing.blogspot.com
http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/elac/
http://www.misrule.com.au/s9y/
http://thinkingsofalili.blogspot.com
http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/labrats/
http://carolinkus.blogspot.com
http://wombatswaffles.blogspot.com
http://lateedition.blogspot.com
http://www.tamesapien.com/weblog/
http://www.tamesapien.com/weblog/
http://badapple71.blogspot.com
http://wolfgirlkitty.blogspot.com
http://maireadsmemoirs.blogspot.com
http://www.turningsixty.com.au/tsblog/
http://fergiesfabfotos.blogspot.com
http://peakenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.senatormbishop.com.au/blogs/
http://youbetbabette.blogspot.com
http://mountainash8.blogspot.com
http://river-tales.blogspot.com
http://www.everygoodboydeservesfruit.com
http://emackinations.blogspot.com
http://foomanchoo.blogspot.com
http://foomanchoo.blogspot.com
http://giggleworthyppw.blogspot.com
http://dotandmars.blogspot.com
http://5-streets-eastern-suburbs.blogspot.com
http://thirtytwosecrets.blogspot.com
http://unintentionalobfuscation.blogspot.com
http://miss-behavin–behavinasusual.blogspot.com
http://eastwestandsomewhereinthemiddle.blogspot.com
http://alittleoutoftune.blogspot.com
http://itinerantindigent.wordpress.com
http://www.guiltybystander.org
http://colourmecrazy.australianidolfans.com
http://sunshine-xxoo.blogspot.com
http://sex-in-sydney.blogspot.com
I know. There are heaps of blogs here. Kudos on you for getting this far. Just a hundred or so more blogs to go.
http://www.howtoliveonline.com
http://mediocretravis.blogspot.com
http://genymarketing.blogspot.com
http://virb.com/cybsterdj/blog
http://www.wizardofads.com.au/latest-issue
http://saturdayev.wordpress.com
http://www.everyonedeletestom.com
http://lukerobertson.blogspot.com
http://aguycalledbrad.blogspot.com
http://decadentwesterndog.blogspot.com
http://huntersbest.typepad.com
http://eternalweightofglory.blogspot.com
http://myresearchspace.grs.uwa.edu.au/blogs/
http://lachlanconnor.wordpress.com
http://parramattayankee.blogspot.com
http://themarketer.typepad.com
http://www.cybersite.com.au/blog
http://t20documentary.blogspot.com
http://www.nonvintageapparel.com/blog/
http://www.thecrazyaustralian.com
http://redcordialblues.blogspot.com
http://fingersandthumbs.wordpress.com
http://simonnemichelle.wordpress.com
http://idontlikechocolate.blogspot.com
http://www.perceptric.com/blog
http://xanderandnico.blogspot.com
http://geelongpolitics.livejournal.com
http://booksofpellinor.blogspot.com
http://blogawler.wordpress.com
http://notahedgehog.wordpress.com
http://geoffrobinson.info/blog/
http://kittysdrawings.blogspot.com
http://www.shoesmendhearts.blogspot.com
http://www.beibaby.blogspot.com
http://melbournedreaming.blogspot.com
http://wakeuptiger.blogspot.com
http://enkha-videokilledtheradiostar.blogspot.com
http://givemetheremote.wordpress.com
http://archiphobia.blogspot.com
http://pugglelogic.blogspot.com
http://biladesign.wordpress.com
http://rachelrichter.blogspot.com
http://alistafford.blogspot.com
http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com
http://www.trollhattansaab.net
http://theboomtownrap.perthpunk.com/wordpress/
http://blog.myspace.com/bella_the_dork
http://tree-pretty.livejournal.com
http://nandpsailing.blogspot.com
http://amnisty.livejournal.com
http://coulthardsdownunder.blogspot.com
http://screamingheadlesspenguin.blogspot.com
http://www.markrobertallen.com
http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/brizbands/
http://www.ablaze.org.au/lisatoh/
http://sunset132.wordpress.com
http://www.intraining.com.au/triblog/
http://timsawtell.blogspot.com
http://dave-holbrook.blogspot.com
http://sammylicious.wordpress.com
http://akinainharajuku.blogspot.com
http://lil-lip-pew-shun.blogspot.com
http://thecrazynews.wordpress.com
http://www.igloo.com.au/insight
http://www.searchtempoblog.com
http://atmospherecentral.blogspot.com
http://shutupandfollowme.blogspot.com
http://bimbamsblog.blogspot.com
http://www.reputationreport.com.au
http://rottobloggo.blogspot.com
http://ciaandclare.blogspot.com
http://www.bebo.com/hawrasweet
http://www.uditssood.blogspot.com
http://www.whatrudoingnext.com/blog/
Well done if you clicked through and looked at all 413 of these blogs. Respect.
Yawn The Bulletin’s Bullring coming soon
30 August 2007
No sign of it online yet but weekly current affairs magazine The Bulletin has been promoting a blog called The Bullring in the last couple of print issues.
They’re promising that you can…
Lock horns with the sharpest commentators in the nation’s liveliest election blog.
I know it is way too easy to beat up on traditional media’s sometime feeble attempts at blogging. It is hust that previous Channel Nine (one of their news journos briefly had a blog) and ACP (ugh, TV Week has some blogs that are just as vapid as their devastation of forests version) blogging efforts have been entirely half-arsed so I’m not overly excited.
While The Bulletin already have a opinions section published online lets hope with The Bullring they get it right by following CNN’s lead with Political Ticker and have it set up using a proper blog format (comments, trackbacks, etc).
Posted by Anthony at 05:51pm 30/08/2007
Ummmm yes I’ve been away from blogging
30 August 2007
I sheepishly apologise for my two month sabbatical from blogging here at The Local.
Besides a bout of lowproductivityitis I have been insanely busy figuring our what was needed in this social networking overloaded world then working on building the functionality for blogs.com.au to make finding, searching and discovering Australian blogs easy for our visitors.
Over the next week I’ll do the blog equivalent of makeup sex to put things right. Lots of new posts, some excellent Blogs of the Day, links to the 200+ new blogs which I have continued to add to our search index during my blogging break as well as bringing online some of the new features and a new design for blogs.com.au.
Posted by Anthony at 12:14pm 30/08/2007
Latest blogs included in the blogs.com.au search index (update #23)
22 June 2007
These are the 28 most recent Australian blogs included in the blogs.com.au search engine.
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/zan/blog/
http://teenauthorsqb.blogspot.com
http://gianniwise.blogspot.com
http://bettywormald.blogspot.com
http://codemonkey.dotsrc.org/blog/
http://www.standingthere.com/diary/
http://rubystreet.blogspot.com
http://www.redroomcompany.org/wordpress/
http://www.frogworth.com/blog/
http://brotherespresso.blogspot.com
http://toasttosolitude.blogspot.com
http://phishezrule.blogspot.com
http://ohsobewildered.blogspot.com
http://wordsandthings.blogspot.com
http://pickledeel.blogspot.com
http://bitofspice.blogspot.com
http://galaxyofemptiness.blogspot.com
http://www.inanenigma.blogspot.com
http://temporaryshelter.blogspot.com
http://jabberwockyonline.blogspot.com
Posted by Anthony at 06:41am 22/06/2007
