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The New Kid on the Block
When the Disney company decided it no longer had any use
for its troop of Go Guide volunteers, many of them decided
to find ways to continue organizing the Internet. One group
of former Go Guide volunteers banded together to start JoeAnt,
a volunteer-edited directory with many unique features, and
a very relaxed attitude.
C. J. Newton from SEO Logic® interviewed one of the founders
of JoeAnt in January of 2003. You can read our interview with
JoeAnt about JoeAnt's history and culture here.
Submitting Websites to JoeAnt can be done in two ways. The
easiest way is to use the JoeAnt Speed Pass system, in which
you are charged a one time fee of $39.99 for an expidited
review (2 days) of your submission.
You may also submit sites to JoeAnt for free by volunteering
to become an editor. The process is painless and quite easy.
You simply provide some personal information, choose a top-level
category, and you are given an Ant Hill. From your Ant Hill,
you can submit sites in any subcategory of your top-level
category. Each submission is reviewed by a higher-level editor.
As your sites are accepted, you gain more points and work
your way up to more priveleges and duties. There is no test.
There are no qualifications or minimum work requirements.
You must simply promise to follow the JoeAnt Terms of Service
and Editorial Guidelines and submit sites when you can.
In general, JoeAnt is a fun and relaxed place to volunteer
some of your spare time and knowledge.
A Different Kind of Directory
When discussing the specific features of JoeAnt, the obvious
benchmark comparison to the Open Directory will always apply.
For the record, JoeAnt is smaller than DMOZ, and it doesn't
have the long-term reputation of DMOZ or the relationships
with other portals and search engines. The future will tell
whether or not JoeAnt can develop the kinds of relationships
that have given the Open Directory the distribution it now
has.
Websites added to both directories are treated in a very
similar fashion when it comes to basic standards for inclusion
and the crafting of titles and descriptions. Both refuse to
list affiliates and mirrors, and insist on holding sites to
the standard of "unique content." You can expect
to find good titles and descriptions of listed sites either
by browsing the directory or using the search engine. One
advantage that JoeAnt has is that all the sites added to JoeAnt
have been added recently (since it is such a young directory).
Don't expect to find pages and pages of outdated links on
JoeAnt. In addition, the standards at JoeAnt are very consistent,
so you can expect to find a well-written title and description
for almost EVERY site listed. Because DMOZ has been around
for much longer, and has gone through many changes, you will
find many inconsistencies there. Not so with JoeAnt.
JoeAnt definitely stands apart when you consider the search
function of the directory, and it is clear that JoeAnt is
intended to be searched, not to feed other portals and search
engines, though that is an option in JoeAnt's future. In this
way it is quite different from either DMOZ or the Zeal directory,
which feeds LookSmart.
Unique to JoeAnt are the editor quality ratings - every site
is rated on a scale of 1-3, and the rating influences the
search results. Finally, the JoeAnt directory and search results
provide a unique system for showing the user what kinds of
advanced features are available on the sites in the results.
Next to each site in the directory is a graph indicating whether
the site offers the following: Audio, Chat, Downloads, Editor
Site, Games, Membership, Shopping, and Video. This of course
saves room in the description and provides an easy comparison
of site by site features. Next to each listing is also the
editor's quality rating, shown by the presence of one, two,
or three dark red bars (three is best). Finally, next to each
listing is the username of the editor which reviewed the site,
although that is not clickable at this time.
JoeAnt Directory Search Engine Analysis
URL:
http://www.joeant.com/
FREE ADD URL:
Find the appropriate category and click on the "Suggest
a Site" link which appears at the top and bottom of every
category page. You will have to become an editor in order
to submit your site for free, but that shouldn't stop you!
Read this first, and if you're thinking of volunteering,
start here, then fill out this JoeAnt editor application.
THE KEY:
Bring your enthusiasm to the project. There's plenty of room
for those willing to help out.
DIRECTORY:
The JoeAnt Directory is a human-edited directory. As an editor,
you can submit commercial and non-commercial sites for free.
AFFILIATE AND MLM SITES:
The JoeAnt Directory, like the Open Directory, does not add
affiliate sites or MLM sites. In essence, affiliate Web pages
are simply doorways through to ecommerce sites.
SEARCH RESULTS:
JoeAnt search results come from its own directory listings.
The results are derived from the titles, descriptions, and
quality ratings of the sites listed. The rating scheme is
as follows: 1 (Good), 2 (Worth the Trip), 3 (Must Visit!).
The JoeAnt search engine does not offer much in the way of
advanced capabilities at this time. For example, searching
for a specific phrase in quotes does not work. Standard Boolean
searching does not work. Here's an unusual example: searching
for cichlids yields one results whereas searching for cichlid
yeilds no results.
However, the JoeAnt search engine is scheduled to be replaced
in the near future, and will allow Boolean searching.
RELATIONSHIPS:
Currently JoeAnt does not share its directory or search engine
with any other portal. However, when a search fails to match
a specific JoeAnt listing, the results page presents you with
the option to try your search on Yahoo, AOL, Google, MSN,
and Gimpsy (another new kid on the block).
336-408-9075
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