May 22nd 2009 12:43PM
It's A Hobby, Not A Job
Hi Everyone!
This week, editor crowbar will provide some background about the role he plays as an editor for the directory.
Emily
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Editing is one of several hobbies that I indulge in when I'm not working in my real life business. My business doesn't have or need a website anymore. It was a nice tool at the time, but I found it to be unnecessary. Good service and word of mouth are much more effective.
Let me tell you about my hobbies.
Editing has been a hobby for the last 8 years. I applied out of curiosity - on a whim. After I was accepted, my first thought was "What have I gotten myself into?" The place was huge, the amount of information about editing was mind boggling, and I felt like a flea on a football field with no idea of what to do next.
I soon found out that nobody was going to lead me by the hand or crack a whip, and that I needed to be proactive in learning the ropes, though there were plenty of editors willing to help. All I had to do was ask.
Being accepted as an editor doesn't make you an editor. It is just the starting point to becoming one. It is a hobby. You are a volunteer, and your time is your own so you can proceed at your own pace.
Some editors choose to stay in this first small category, and other editors expand their editing permissions to larger areas as their interests expand, as I have. It's totally up to each editor.
Another hobby I have is water gardening. I knew nothing about it, but it looked pretty cool, so I grabbed a shovel and started digging. This led to editing:
http://www.dmoz.org/Home/Gardening/Gardens/Water/
http://www.dmoz.org/Shopping/Home_and_Garden/Water_Gardens/
Then somebody mentioned something that sounded interesting to me. I took a look, got hooked on a new time-consuming hobby, and applied for permissions to edit two more categories, which I was granted at:
http://www.dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Roleplaying/Massive_Multiplayer_Online/World_of_Warcraft/
http://www.dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Massive_Multiplayer_Online/Trading_and_Auctions/Goods_and_Services/World_of_Warcraft/
Of course, I also edit all of New York State and everything else within the United States categories, as part of my hobby.
http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/
http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/New_York/
My point is that editors join the ODP (DMOZ) and stay as a hobby, not as a job. My business is my job, and editing is a pleasant hobby that I do when I have the time, and even then, I have to decide which hobby will get my time and how much of it.
I want to find really interesting and helpful sites for other water gardeners and other World of Warcraft players, and I use multiple resources to do this. Sometimes I look through the suggested sites submitted by the public; other times, I follow the links found on existing listings or do a search for specific terminology using search engines.
Some users think that our job as editors is to list every suggested site; however, this is not the case. We aren't a listing service. Our goal is to build useful categories with unique content for the benefit of information-seekers. We welcome high-quality, relevant site suggestions that provide real value to information seekers, but we don't guarantee placement of any site in the directory. The ODP is not a business, but an organization of volunteers editing in areas that are of interest to them, and giving away the results freely, no charge. We do not provide a service to site suggesters, we build categories for people looking for information.
The difference between a search engine and a directory like the ODP might be that a search engine can find specific information very quickly, but a directory can give you a spreadsheet of all the information laid out to choose from - a broader view of the topic.
This week, editor crowbar will provide some background about the role he plays as an editor for the directory.
Emily
- - - - - - - - - - -
Editing is one of several hobbies that I indulge in when I'm not working in my real life business. My business doesn't have or need a website anymore. It was a nice tool at the time, but I found it to be unnecessary. Good service and word of mouth are much more effective.
Let me tell you about my hobbies.
Editing has been a hobby for the last 8 years. I applied out of curiosity - on a whim. After I was accepted, my first thought was "What have I gotten myself into?" The place was huge, the amount of information about editing was mind boggling, and I felt like a flea on a football field with no idea of what to do next.
I soon found out that nobody was going to lead me by the hand or crack a whip, and that I needed to be proactive in learning the ropes, though there were plenty of editors willing to help. All I had to do was ask.
Being accepted as an editor doesn't make you an editor. It is just the starting point to becoming one. It is a hobby. You are a volunteer, and your time is your own so you can proceed at your own pace.
Some editors choose to stay in this first small category, and other editors expand their editing permissions to larger areas as their interests expand, as I have. It's totally up to each editor.
Another hobby I have is water gardening. I knew nothing about it, but it looked pretty cool, so I grabbed a shovel and started digging. This led to editing:
http://www.dmoz.org/Home/Gardening/Gardens/Water/
http://www.dmoz.org/Shopping/Home_and_Garden/Water_Gardens/
Then somebody mentioned something that sounded interesting to me. I took a look, got hooked on a new time-consuming hobby, and applied for permissions to edit two more categories, which I was granted at:
http://www.dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Roleplaying/Massive_Multiplayer_Online/World_of_Warcraft/
http://www.dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Massive_Multiplayer_Online/Trading_and_Auctions/Goods_and_Services/World_of_Warcraft/
Of course, I also edit all of New York State and everything else within the United States categories, as part of my hobby.
http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/
http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/New_York/
My point is that editors join the ODP (DMOZ) and stay as a hobby, not as a job. My business is my job, and editing is a pleasant hobby that I do when I have the time, and even then, I have to decide which hobby will get my time and how much of it.
I want to find really interesting and helpful sites for other water gardeners and other World of Warcraft players, and I use multiple resources to do this. Sometimes I look through the suggested sites submitted by the public; other times, I follow the links found on existing listings or do a search for specific terminology using search engines.
Some users think that our job as editors is to list every suggested site; however, this is not the case. We aren't a listing service. Our goal is to build useful categories with unique content for the benefit of information-seekers. We welcome high-quality, relevant site suggestions that provide real value to information seekers, but we don't guarantee placement of any site in the directory. The ODP is not a business, but an organization of volunteers editing in areas that are of interest to them, and giving away the results freely, no charge. We do not provide a service to site suggesters, we build categories for people looking for information.
The difference between a search engine and a directory like the ODP might be that a search engine can find specific information very quickly, but a directory can give you a spreadsheet of all the information laid out to choose from - a broader view of the topic.
1. This is not a complaint....Sorry to use this area but it seems there are no other methods for contact here. About 3 weeks ago I got a site listed in DMOZ at Regional: North America: United States: South Carolina: Localities: S: Spartanburg: Business and Economy: Computers and Internet According to the FAQ's my site should have been searchable in a day or two. however it still is not. The page states it was updated on the 15th of May. I am confused as to why my site name or url is not searchable. Can anyone advise?
Posted at 11:26AM on May 27th 2009 by Brian
2. Hi Emily,
I can imagine that it is a nice hobby beeing an editor. But for a lot of people their websites are more than this and the dmoz listing is quite important to them. For example: I am listed with my website in an french sector of the dmoz, and in german (and I am german) I never managed to get listed, because, most likely, the german section is edited by an compeditor. Who puts his websites in the directory, but for years no new website are listed in that section (for him (most likely) its not a hobby beeing an editor). I reported this as spam/abuse, and after FOUR month nobody has even noticed my spam/abuse report (it is still "new"). The Problem is: It may be an hobby for the editors, but you have to think about your responibilty! You have the power to give some websites quite an advantage. And if something like the spam/abuse-report is not working, the whole thing is very, very anoying for people who earn their money with their websites. Kind regards, Oliver
Posted at 7:59AM on Jun 1st 2009 by oliver
3. What's the best eway to get listed in DMOZ.
Any help is greatly Appreciated.
Posted at 9:18AM on Jun 1st 2009 by SEO Bangalore
4. I tried to become an editor for Hotels but I guess I was turned down because I consult hotels.
On the other hand I know quite a few hotels especially in Frankfurt Germany so I know which entries are old or which hotels were sold and changed names and so on. It's a shame really ;-)
Posted at 1:30PM on Jul 4th 2009 by Carsten
5. I tried to submit our Massage practice in Amsterdam, but I have no clue if it has been accepted. How long does it take to get submission and do they email you if accepted or rejected?
Posted at 7:19PM on Jul 16th 2009 by Mo
6. have never thought about it like that before. Thanks so much for the depth and understanding at which you covered the topic. it's a useful piece of information not only for me but for many others. have read lots on the topic in different books but this piece really gives food for thought
Posted at 8:56AM on Jul 26th 2009 by mike