UNIONDALE, NY -- Reinforcing the quality of the internet's oldest directory, BOTW.org recently finished its newest round of hiring: thirty+ experienced editors, including some of the best and brightest leaders from the glory days of the Open Directory Project (DMOZ.org).
The new team is a hand-picked squad, with many names well known in the directory industry. It includes 6 of the most active "metas" from the days ODP took its baby steps; laisha, kfander, furbis, mitch, kctipton, former DMOZ Admin bldarter, plus many other long-term editors well known for their active leadership and editing roles: robjones, compostannie, alucard, spectregunner, desertjules, and dozens more.
Affectionately referred to within BOTW as "The Nerd Herd", the new crew will initially focus on architectural improvements and beefing up categories with additional relevant resources. The addition of so many of the players instrumental in building a well-known directory to prominence is a bold step toward helping Best of the Web reach out to meet new goals in size and quality.
Since 1994 Best of the Web has focused on providing users with great content for their areas of interest. Pioneering the website awards industry in 1994, at the turn of the century BOTW shifted gears and began organizing sites in a comprehensive directory style. Now with well over 100,000 categories and approximately one million sites, BOTW has positioned itself as a top contender for the title of the web's most respected directory.
The recent addition of DMOZ editors will only help in the pursuit of that goal. "I'm honored to have them involved with the project" says BOTW president Greg Hartnett. "This group has been working on building a quality directory ever since Al Gore invented the internet. Their years of collective experience bring a wealth of knowledge to Best of the Web."
Providing users with quality resources that are relevant to their area of interest has always been at the core of BOTW's mission. Best of the Web CEO, Brian Prince comments, "We have always been a bit obsessive about providing the user with the highest quality, relevant resources - whether that user is a surfer, a site owner, or a search spider. We're excited to bring on a crew that shares the same commitment to quality."
The first two rounds of recruits will play an instrumental role in the future development of BOTW initiatives. While current efforts are focused on build out of the web directory and blog directory offerings, future projects will benefit as well. "With their unique set of talents, we'll be able to more effectively pursue additional opportunities" added Prince. "I fully anticipate the newest editors will have immediate and long term positive impact on everything that BOTW is, or will be involved with. BOTW's future as a world leader in the categorization of quality, content-rich media depends on the extraordinary talents of our people. This crew will contribute a lot to our continued success."
About Best of the Web
"The Internet's oldest directory," Best of the Web got its start in 1994 by empowering the burgeoning online community to nominate and vote for best-of-class websites in a variety of categories. As the Internet grew in popularity, Best of the Web evolved into a comprehensive directory categorizing content-rich, well designed websites. Today, whether the topic at hand is choosing a college, refinancing a mortgage, or researching a science project, Best of the Web provides one of the largest and most comprehensive human-edited directory resources available on the web.
For more information, visit botw.org.
