Hello.

This blog post is a quick fix for my Technorati claim. Click the link to verify my Technorati profile.

I'm incredibly frustrated with Technorati! It's not updating my blog's information despite numerous ping updates and support emails. This is really impacting my blog's visibility.

I've started gathering hCard stats on topicala.com thanks to pingerati.net. hCards are a machine-readable microformat for contact information that can be embedded in HTML. Pingerati notifies services like mine when hCards are updated. To get your hCard included in the stats, ping pingerati at http://pingerati.net/ping/[your updated url]. I'm excited about the potential of microformats and plan to add more services to topicala as more data becomes available. Learn how to create an hCard at http://microformats.org/code/hcard/creator.

The Ajax Tagger has been updated with a number of bug fixes and improvements. Key changes include using my own Tag Directory for related tags, providing Yahoo search results as RSS in OPML output, and fixing issues with menu item classes, OPML apostrophe escaping, and image selection persistence. Planned future enhancements include a Blogger interface, Kelkoo integration, addressing a cross-domain CGI request security warning, and Del.icio.us OPML integration.

My blog has a Technorati rank of 0 with 236 links from 22 sites. Is this the best blog ever? I hope so!

I'm building a tag directory separate from my main content. This approach aims to enhance indexing and provide a centralized, dynamic display, similar to Technorati. It allows me to tag my directories and offers a new way to present related information. Check it out and let me know what features you'd like to see!

I'm developing Ajax Tagger 2.0 and need ideas for displaying related blogs within the application and its output. I'm also searching for a good search engine (besides Technorati and Google) to find related blogs and feeds. Any suggestions? Please email me or leave a comment.

I've updated my Ajax Tagger 2.0 tool! It now provides related search results and outputs them as OPML, including RSS feeds for search engines like MSN, Technorati, and Google Blog Search. I'm looking for more search engines that offer RSS output. If you know of any, especially for Google or Yahoo, please share!

Wow! Google Blog Search indexed my latest post in just minutes! I was amazed by how fast it appeared in the search results after uploading. I'm curious if other search engines are this quick. Technorati is fast, but I have to ping them. With Google, it just worked automatically. Big kudos to Google and possibly Blogger for the seamless integration!

David Sifry of Technorati reports impressive blogosphere growth, doubling every 5 months and reaching 19.6 million blogs by October 2005. Around 70,000 new blogs are created daily, though spam blogs account for 2-8%. Sifry's data also shows a staggering posting rate, with 700,000-1.3 million new posts daily. While acknowledging Sifry's valuable contribution, I'd like to see more discussion regarding Technorati's API strategy and how they plan to leverage it for future development. Specifically, I'm interested in how Technorati is engaging with the community and incorporating user feedback, especially regarding feature requests on their Wiki.

I've been pondering the use of tags lately, and noticed a lack of diversity in tagging practices. Many use tags for blog promotion or linking related content. I favor the latter, as it aids in content discovery. However, popular tags on sites like Technorati are often too broad (e.g., "books","blogs") making them less useful for finding niche communities. I propose using more specific sub-tags alongside broader ones. For example, if blogging about Asimov's Foundation series, include both "Asimov" and "Foundation Series" as tags. Tools like my Ajax Tagger and tagyu.com can help suggest relevant tags. I encourage everyone to use a wider range of tags to enrich the tag space and improve content discoverability.

My blog, Ping Goat, is having trouble getting indexed by Technorati, similar to the issues I've faced with Tagger.com. It seems Technorati might remove blogs from their index if their crawler encounters unresponsive parts of a site. I'm unsure how to resolve this besides raising the issue publicly, as their email support is very slow or non-existent.

Quick update on the AJAX Tagger 2 development. Priority queues are working well, but might need some tweaking on queue numbers and polling intervals. Querying Technorati for tag counts is proving slow (around 2 seconds per query). Any tips on speeding this up, perhaps by limiting the number of blogs returned? Currently working on improving the related documents results, which now includes counts for all selected tags, not just the last search. Need to refine this area. More updates to come!

I'm looking for user feedback on the next version of the AJAX Tagger. Specifically, I'd like to know if users would prefer to have the option of placing Technorati tags inline with the blog post content, or if they prefer the current method of listing them at the end. Inline placement could be problematic because the Yahoo Term Extraction API sometimes uses phrases not found in the post itself.

I'm developing the next version of the AJAX Tagger and need your input! Currently, it enhances blog posts by linking to related blogs on Technorati. For the next version, I'm wondering if you'd prefer it to link to other sources like IceRocket or even Wikipedia. Let me know where you'd find automatic tag links most valuable.

I'm still confused about OPML. I know it's for sharing blog subscriptions, but I don't see the practical benefit for me or my readers. Even after checking resources and looking for OPML enthusiasts like Robert Scoble and Dave Winer, I'm still lost. Technorati's Blog Finder wasn't much help either. Wikipedia had the best explanation, but I still need to figure out how to actually use OPML.

I just learned that getting listed on Technorati's Blog Search requires configuring a claim and adding 20 keywords/tags, even if those tags aren't used on my blog. I question the need for this outdated method, given Technorati already has access to blog tags and cross-referencing data.

This is the fifth installment in my series on the AJAXTagger's failures. A major issue is its lack of intuitiveness. Users couldn't understand its purpose or how to use it without a demo. While it significantly reduced my tagging time, the next version needs improvements. I'm looking for feedback on how to make it more user-friendly, including better visual cues, a clearer UI, and improved documentation. Email me or comment with your suggestions!

In this part of my series on my first AJAX application, I discuss how my initial hopes for AJAX as a solution to bandwidth and UI problems, and for speed improvements, weren't fully realized. The first version, which incorporated Technorati stats and Yahoo's TermExtraction API, was slow due to sequential queries and Technorati's performance. I removed these features because I wanted a fully rendered page, which negated AJAX benefits. The next version will be fully asynchronous, with a request manager for trickle filling and background processing. Check out my AJAX Technorati Tagger to see what I'm aiming for.

My Technorati ranking has finally improved thanks to an incoming link from another blogger! Feeling grateful and a little guilty after past criticism of the service.

While spell-checking my latest blog post, Blogger suggested "Degenerate" as a correction for "Technorati." I found this amusing, given the generally poor quality of Blogger's spell-check. It doesn't even recognize words like "blog" or British English spellings. At least it keeps things interesting!

I'm continuing my rant about Technorati. While my posts eventually get indexed, I agree with Zoli Erdos's point about their terrible communication. Technorati desperately needs better customer support, including a FAQ or knowledge base. Emailing the CEO shouldn't be the only way to get a response. While I appreciate Technorati's free service and API, the lack of support is a major problem.

In this follow-up post, I want to clarify the issue I had with Technorati. While some of the search results I was looking for are now appearing, my main concern remains the lack of communication from Technorati Support. A simple email explaining the situation, such as a blacklisting, a temporary problem, or an indexing issue due to site downtime, would have been sufficient. Despite this, I still appreciate Technorati.

Technorati is experiencing performance issues and support backlogs, impacting users like myself. Despite sending a support request weeks ago, I haven't received a response. While I appreciate Technorati's free service and its positive impact on my blog's readership, they need to address these support issues. I'll continue using the platform regardless.

This post discusses the shortcomings of my first AJAX application. While it successfully implemented Technorati tags, it failed to provide related search functionality, which I believe is crucial for offering readers valuable external resources and further learning opportunities. I aim to address this in the next version by incorporating related searches via Yahoo's API and relevant quick links, enhancing the overall user experience and educational value of my blog.

I'm a big fan of Channel 9, a Microsoft website showcasing developer insights. Their recent redesign is fantastic! They've moved from a traditional blog layout to a more concise "Most Recent" section, putting important content front and center. The new comment section design is also visually appealing, with a unique element that seems to break free from traditional HTML constraints. The addition of a tagging section, similar to Technorati, is a valuable feature, allowing users to easily see popular topics and gauge community interest. Overall, two thumbs up for the Channel 9 redesign – excellent work!

I discovered my Apache server doesn't require file extensions for URLs, meaning both www.kinlan.co.uk/AjaxExperiments/AjaxTag and www.kinlan.co.uk/AjaxExperiments/AjaxTag.html lead to the same resource. This is convenient for using Technorati tags, which often omit extensions.

This blog post discusses the importance of balancing valuable content with helpful features. I currently offer content and features like Technorati tags, and plan to bring back related searches. The AJAX application I built helps create this value-added data, which I believe is key for reader engagement. I'm considering adding more data like citations and related searches, but I'm cautious about information overload. Maintaining these value-added sections is challenging (except for the now-easy Technorati tags). I'd love to hear your suggestions for other valuable data to include!

In this part of my series on my first AJAX application, the Technorati Tag Generator, I discuss its success in streamlining my blogging process. The generator significantly reduces the time I spend creating Technorati tags, saving me roughly 50 minutes per post. While I'm thrilled with this improvement, the current version lacks the Feedster and MSN search boxes present in my initial design. I plan to reintroduce these features in the next version, along with related search previews, to enhance the value and usability of my application. User feedback has highlighted the importance of these features, and their inclusion is crucial to achieving my goals for the project.

I'm excited about Technorati's new REST API for blog post tags! It lets developers display all the tags used on a site, which is super helpful. I've even created a simple tool using the API to show all the tags I've used on my site: http://www.kinlan.co.uk/cgi-bin/SiteInfo.pl. The API is easy to use and provides useful stats. I'm already thinking about how to incorporate it into my next project. Great work, Technorati!

I just discovered the Technorati Tagger application (http://www.ultraseeker.com/tagbuilder). It's decent, converting user-generated tags into XHTML. This represents the simpler half of what I'm aiming to build in my upcoming AJAX application.

This is the fourth installment of my AJAX application development journey. I integrated the Technorati API, focusing on the Tag Query to gauge keyword popularity and refine tag selection for better exposure. While the API was helpful, it lacked features like tag ranking and related tags, and the TagQuery's slow performance forced its removal. Future development will involve optimizing the TagQuery (limiting results or using an asynchronous call manager) and potentially requesting a lightweight metadata interface from Technorati.

The Feedster API has potential, but it's unclear what its purpose is. It would be more useful if it allowed content searches and provided metadata about searches, such as the number of blogs or pages a term appears in. Additional features like showing top searches and providing search result counts could be valuable. The current API requires a private key, which necessitates a proxy script for security. A simpler authentication method like Yahoo's Application ID would be preferred. Despite some limitations, the ability to publish search results as an RSS feed is a nice feature.

My Technorati URLs appear to have been incorrectly formatted, causing parsing issues.

I noticed a lack of referrals from Technorati and discovered my blogs weren't showing up in tag searches. The problem stemmed from my Technorati AJAX application, which was using single quotes instead of double quotes around the href attribute in the tag links. I've corrected the issue by changing the single quotes to double quotes in my application, and hopefully, this will resolve the problem with Technorati. While my application is now fixed, it raises the question of whether Technorati should be able to handle both single and double quotes.

In this first installment of a series about my AJAX application journey, I'm sharing my initial success: learning to think asynchronously. The current app takes user-entered text, sends it to a Yahoo web service (via a local Perl script), gets "interesting" words, and then makes synchronous calls to Technorati for tag counts. This synchronous approach locks the browser, especially with multiple tags. The next version will use a queue and multiple asynchronous XMLHttpRequest objects managed by a thread manager to avoid browser lock-up. This will create a more responsive app where results appear as they become available. Key requirements for v2 include full asynchronicity, XMLHttpRequest management, a generic work queue, background task indicators, and a non-blocking UI. I'm also planning to develop a reusable object model.

My first foray into Ajax was a mixed bag, yielding both valuable lessons and frustrating setbacks. On the plus side, it sparked a deeper understanding of asynchronous coding, cross-browser compatibility (especially between Firefox and IE), and the potential of APIs like Yahoo! and Technorati. It also reignited my interest in Perl and prompted reflection on my blogging practices. However, the application fell short in several areas: it lacked search functionality, didn't reduce bandwidth, had a poor visual design, and wasn't user-friendly or impactful enough to generate feedback or traffic. Moving forward, I'll share my design process and desired improvements, starting with a clear requirements document. I'm eager to learn from this experience and create a more effective application.

I've been exploring how Microsoft's Start.com retrieves data from external web feeds. It appears they use a server-side script to tunnel requests to the remote server, effectively acting as a proxy. This workaround is necessary due to browser security restrictions that prevent cross-domain data fetching in Firefox and certain Internet Explorer configurations. Consequently, my AJAX application will need to handle the additional bandwidth required for retrieving data from Yahoo and Technorati directly, as redirecting XMLHttpRequest calls isn't a viable option.

I've created my first AJAX application, an AJAX Technorati Tagger, which can be found here. It allows users to input text, receive suggested Technorati tags (powered by Yahoo's web service), and generate a list of related keywords. It's still a work in progress with some bugs, but feedback is welcome!

I'm developing an AJAX application to automatically generate Technorati, Feedster, and MSN search boxes with relevant tags for my blog posts. It's a JavaScript webservice queryer that uses results from one service as input for another. Currently, it only supports IE6/7 due to cross-domain data source import restrictions in Firefox. I'm exploring JavaScript code signing as a potential solution. The application integrates with Yahoo webservices, with plans to include Technorati and hopefully Feedster. There are security concerns regarding my Yahoo key. I aim to have a prototype available for feedback soon.

My previous blog post was successfully created using Kinlan's Automatic Tag Generator (powered by Yahoo!'s Web service). I'm excited about this and plan to include a link to the Ajax app in the next post. I'm also experimenting with Yahoo search and Technorati integration. I decided to include tags in this post by popular demand.

Thanks to Scott Rafer for the comment! I'm experimenting with providing topic search results rather than keyword searches to offer broader perspectives on a topic. RSS feeds are there because I like staying up-to-date, sort of like a personalized PubSub. I'm open to change though, so I'll experiment with adding color-coded boxes at the bottom of each post linking to Technorati tags, Feedster, and MSN Search results, all related to the post's topic to avoid tag spam.

I'm trying to increase readership for my blog. I'm adding links to Technorati Tag RSS feeds at the end of each post, hoping it'll connect readers with others interested in similar topics.