ResearchBuzz: The Big Moved

ResearchBuzz started in 1998 as a companion to the 2nd edition of Official Netscape Guide to Internet Research. When I started it I had no idea it would still be going strong in 2003. I also had no idea that it would have so many resources and

such a great number of great readers.

One thing that became very frustrating to me over time was the fact that ResearchBuzz had date-based archives. Since I did the site by hand, I didn't feel like I could set up and maintain a category listing without a lot of trouble and time (time I'd much rather spend tracking down and writing up new resources.) And then there was the whole matter of the years' worth of archives I'd have to move.

But now, thanks to twenty-two great volunteers and Movable Type, ResearchBuzz has been transformed to a category-based archive; at this moment there are over 1200 items in about 250 categories. Old and defunct resources have been for the most part removed; the articles have not yet been returned to the site.

Here's a brief overview of what's new, what's coming, what I'm wishing for, and who deserves the Big Thanks for the Big Move.

What's New

1. New Archive Structure -- The biggest thing, obviously, is that archives are category-based instead of date-based. You can get the full list of categories at http://www.researchbuzz.com/categories.shtml.

2. RSS Feed Expanded -- Since I'm not doing the RSS by hand anymore, it's now 2.0 compliant and contains more items and snippets. It's still available at http://www.researchbuzz.com/researchbuzz.rss.

3. Non-Newsletter Additions -- Now that the archives are category-based, I will be adding resources that wouldn't ordinarily make it into the newsletter because of their limited appeal. For example, before I would not add to the site or the newsletter a resource cataloging cemetery records from VerySmallTown, NC. Now I will, since I can file the resource under US-North Carolina where it can be found by people interested in that topic. I will not, however, include that item in the newsletter.

4. No Separate Article Section -- Since Movable Type makes it possible to integrate long articles into the archives easily, there will no longer be a separate archive section. I'm sure there will still be article-length items, but they'll be integrated into the regular archives. Only snippets and a pointer to the entire item will be published in the newsletter.

What's Coming

1. Oldest Archives -- Not all of the oldest archives (pre-2000) have been added. They will be added shortly.

2. Mailing List Host Switch -- The main ResearchBuzz newsletter will be switched to a new mailing list host.

3. Articles Added -- The old article section will be integrated into the site. Completely out-of-date articles will be discarded.

Wish List

The wish list contains things I'd like to do/have, but I'm not aware of. If you have answers to anything on the wish list, drop me a note.

1. RSS Per-Category Generator -- Is there any way to generate RSS feeds based on category, besides doing it by hand? A plug-in?

2. I would like to send out notification e-mails to resources when they're going to be included on the site. Can I get feedback on what would be found most useful in such e-mails? A direct URL to the resource writeup, certainly. But should a category URL be included too? Information on the newsletter? Anything else?

3. Is there a tool I can use to let people put my RSS feeds on their site? I was using RSS Monkey but that doesn't seem to be supported anymore.

Big Thanks

If I had had to do this myself there's no way it would have gotten done this side of 2019. But fortunately I had some great help. A big thanks to the following volunteers (these are the ones who gave their permission for me to include their names on the site):

Chris Game
Hilary Leon ( http://www.craftylibrarian.com/ )
Kelly ( http://ispygemini.typepad.com )
Jean Roth ( http://www.nber.org/data )
Sarah Maximiek ( Binghamton University Libraries, SUNY)
Aimee Glassel
Judith Theodori ( http://www.jhuapl.edu )
Joe Cliburn ( http://www.djeaux.com/rss )
Paul R. Pival
Elizabeth Greenfield
David ( http://www.postcardsfromprison.com/prisonblog.php )
Cindy Carlson
Donna Pfledderer ( http://www.vbc-nc.com )
Stuart Greenfield ( http://home.austin.rr.com/stuartspage/ )
Beth Rhinelander
Mario Cavallini ( http://www.sondra.net )
Jeff Moser
Kit Keller, Faculty Mentor, Northcentral University ( http://www.ncu.edu)

Much thanks to Staggernation for the Movable Type plugins. And for that matter,
thanks to MovableType. I can say with some authority that MT carries on cheerfully even after you load
it down with 1000+ entries and 250 categories.

Thanks to the people who weren't volunteers, but offered time and thoughts.

Thanks to everybody who subscribes to ResearchBuzz. You're the reason this keeps on going.

And thanks for reading right now.

Here's to another five years.

Tara

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