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Egyptsearch WEBSITE project… taking information to the next level
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Narmer Menes: [QB] [b]BETA VERSION[/b] - I put this up today: (it doesn’t work properly at the moment, links are all over the place – very BETA!) http://ourworldhistory.org/ - homepage (with VERY little content) (try the search engine!) http://ourworldhistory.org/articles/our_medical_debt_to_Africa.htm - an example article – uploaded quickly before being proof read. At the moment it’s a shell site, but you know what they say, seeing is believing. Very little/no content yet, pending the contributions to be made. I have already purchased the domain name and the hosting and I’m willing to make further financial commitments, pending a response from people who I hope will become contributors. I think the name 'ourworldhistory.org' is generic and memorable. It doesn't suggest bias, and I'd assume it would hold a favourable position in general on search engines for queries like 'world history' etc. [b]Functionality[/b] The site itself is semi-functional, don’t expect much from links and navigation, nothing is set in stone as I’m hoping to take input on the best way to lay out the site and make the information most accessible. However, the search Engine on the site is FULLY functional, and its specific to Egyptsearch and OWH (obviously OWH is empty, but it solves the ‘searching ES problem’ USE IT AS YOU WISH, it works great!), the content is dependent on contributors, so I want to see how many regulars would be willing to take the extra step and be a part of this project. The site is able to be multimedia rich, linking to videos etc. [b]Community[/b] I’ve built basic community functionality into the site allowing for members to join and contribute, leaving comments and feedback on articles. Layout Content-wise, the site will be broken into papers & articles. Papers will be detailed thesis, or semi-dissertations, aimed at academicians. Articles will be more like magazine pieces, aimed at quick consumership and the general public. Articles will be open for comments, whereas papers will be closed to general reply, users will have to rebut via email. Other than that, the site’s layout [b]Motive[/b] I have mentioned before about the importance of having a credible web presence for information to be accessible to a wider audience of consumers/students/researchers and educational institutions. However, I openly acknowledge that people come up with un-pursued idea’s quite a lot of web forums, so the silence/deaf ears that seem to follow is expected. However, I’ve decided, in order to move things along, to put my money where my mouth is and take the first step in the development of this project in the hope that others will follow suit. There are several quality contributors to Egyptsearch, who really need to think about formatting their work to publishable standards, and I am hoping I can tempt these members of the board regarding the following collaborative proposition. Some Background to motivation behind this project There is a proliferation of false material on the Internet regarding African History and antiquity in general, the race of the Egyptians, although an important milestone to cross is only the tip of the iceberg. A quick google search on such terms will show most of you that the African origins of the Egyptians, although becoming increasingly popular is far from being the status quo amongst the general public. [b]The Problem[/b] Many Africana websites are poorly designed blogs thrown together by enthusiastic youths and/or extremely detailed papers posted by genuine scholars (who unfortunately don’t have the skill/time to create an accessible website), and unfortunately lack the funding to get a website built properly. A solution I happen to be a website designer (amongst other things) by trade (as well as a qualified teacher), I also have access to some very good web authors who would charitably, or for a small fee help to develop a proper e-Zine style site that would be a priceless resource to the general public and an important step towards the wider acceptance of African civilisations amongst the general public. I will personally fund and maintain this project for as long as humanly (and financially) viable, until it really takes off. This includes domain name (already purchased), hosting, administration, formatting and the starting point for SEO optimisation. An illustration of ‘credible web presence’ theory in action Check out the following website: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/matrix.asp [b]3 questions immediately spring to my mind:[/b] 1. who the heck is Barbara ‘case closed’ Mickleson…? 2. why has she become an authority on this subject? 3. why is this the MOST referred to page regarding this subject, when in actuality, her opinion is as valid/invalid as mine on this topic? The answer to all 3 question is that she has the backing of an established website, which acts as publisher/editor to give her opinion credibility, a factor that, in spite of the combined brilliance of some of the Egyptsearch contributors, has failed to give credence to the research that has been done by many members. [b]The Motive[/b] A published article in a website becomes a credible, linkable, reference point at the centre of webbed network. In that it can be quoted from as a PUBLISHED resource, used by students, the general public and even academicians. It serves benefits over blogs, forums and groups in that articles become authored materials, and in that alone carry a form of publishing. It also removes the unprofessional aspect of trolls, career-debaters, dissenters and faux-debunkers posting rebuttals directly on your research. (Although, the option to reply to an article is optional), it will happen in a more controlled, self regulated environment, and postings deemed to be unconstructive (circa. Hammer, Afronut Slayer, holic..etc) can be filtered out/ignored/blocked relatively easily. [b]Benefits to Egyptsearch members[/b] 1. It makes published information accessible to the general public 2. It makes information citable resulting in its proliferation (on the Internet and beyond). 3. published articles accessible to education institutions 4. provides an outlet for improving searches referring to AE via popularity and SEO 5. Finished papers can contribute towards qualifications 6. Benefit to the wider African community 7. Collaborate with existing Africana, world history scholars 8. Ability to expand horizons beyond debating. 9. Provides a reference point to minimise repetitive requests for previously ‘lost’ research. In fact, prevents lost research altogether, as articles/papers will be indexed and searchable. [b]Medium Term Plan?[/b] 1. Collect donations to fund original research 2. improve Search Engine Optimisation for key searches such as ‘the race of the Egyptians’, ‘who were the Egyptians’, ‘Ancient Egypt’..etc.etc (currently dominated by Wikipedia and poorly written websites). [b]Long Term Plan?[/b] Fund training, scholarships, doctorates for key contributors to be able to pursue qualifications and provide more qualitative research for African-centred historical approach. A kids version of the site, tailoring the information for KS2/KS3 (primary and secondary age) consumption, taking an image rich visual approach to introducing Ancient Egypt/Africa/World History to students. Employ full time administrators/contributors who can control, update, collate and write directly for the institution. [b]Aspiration (Vision) for the future?[/b] Fund research and independent excavations (ie. Dr. Yosef Ben Jochannan) in the wider African context, such as Nubia, Sudan, Sahara and Central, West and South Africa. [b]What’s needed to move this forward...[/b] Members of Egyptsearch to show their willingness to be a part of this project, I am also trying to source of African centred scholars to act as contributors, and perhaps gain permission to reproduce already published works on the site, to make them more accessible. It will mean: • Finalising ORIGINAL papers with citations and bibliographies • Or writing ORIGINAL articles covering subjects in less detail • Providing images to support your articles (where appropriate) • Providing idea’s for the development of the site (what features etc, do you think would contribute to it’s accessibility and success. • Providing contributions to the development of the VISION of the site. Papers can be formatted professionally to include images, citations, footnotes, quotes, and be accessible for the general public to copy/paste and proliferate at will. I will be doing the formatting/spell checking and general editing for members that don’t have this strength. In fact, I will need to format all articles appropriately for the web anyway, to give them consistency, etc. Articles can be as long or as short as the author deems necessary. As the editor I will be providing changes/advice on how to make the articles accessible to the wider web audience, and also how to keep the articles a suitable length. Obviously, any changes to articles will be agreed between myself and the authors. The anonymity between Egyptsearch and actual author names in the website will be fully respected if that is the wish of the contributor. On a personal note, [b]I was hoping the likes of Brada, Explorer, DJ, Dana Maniche, Mark, Wally, Zaharan…etc [/b](sorry if I forgot mention you, so many credible researchers, who regularly post original articles would be willing to get on board). I’m going to try and get contributions from established scholars in the field to get the ‘papers’ area off the ground. IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This site will in no means be a replacement to ES, in fact, the continuation of ES will be essential for the success of the site, creating new area’s of research. It's not a forum, the discursive nature of this site is shouldn't be compromised. Think of it as a way to archive, put a full stop (so to speak), on matters that have been addressed and make it accessible and published. All I can do is build the site… I need your contribution now, however, to move this project forward… this is a collaborative project... so... are you involved? [/QB][/QUOTE]
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