Have you ever thought about building your own web directory? Maybe you just want to sort out all the links you’ve had stuck in bookmarks forever or maybe you want to share the great links you have found about a personal hobby/ interest with the world.
Creating a directory is easier with software to help you build and maintain it. You can just keep a live bookmark list online, like a portal. But, it is fun to put your links out there and see what comes back when people have the option to add their own links. Of course, you will need to moderate any incoming links. (We all know about spam and spammers).
I want to start with a web directory for Canadian rural and urban exploration sites. I know it will grow from there, I already have the stash of links to do it. But, I am keeping it simple while I work with the software and get the hang of things. Luckily, I am already experienced at editing a web directory. I was an editor at the Open Directory Project for about ten years and I am currently editing the Best of the Web directory (though not getting nearly enough time in there to earn anything from my work yet).
Anyway, a directory is a fun project. Some people will add in the feature to charge anyone a fee for being listed in the directory. To me, that messes with the integrity of the directory. If you only list paying links you will be missing a lot of good sites. Also, the sites who pay to be listed are not likely the very best sources for information on the topic. Often it is still the sites which are a labour of love which have the most information, the best resources and the real time put into maintaining them. I never fully trust any site that looks like an ad farm. I think they are more interested in marketing, money making and SEO than building a great resource.
Some links of interest to anyone building their own directory:
triPHP Directory Discussion