Informed Networker Blog

Informed Networker has been growing…So much so that we’ve added another server to our setup. This allowed us to diversify the roles (web server, sql server, email server, etc.) amongst more machines. This provides us with better back-end management while providing you with faster performance. We look forward to offering even faster performance in the future as well as many additional new features currently in the works.

We are ramping up. Over the last few weeks we have been extremely hard at work. You may notice some minor visual changes since you last visited us…But the real work has been on the back-end. We’ve created automation and editorial controls that utilize advanced parsing and ajax technology to streamline story submission, editing, and general modifications for our editorial staff - and intend to expand the editorial staff significantly over the days to come.

Expect to see fresh stories arriving daily with better summaries and more interaction. Also - expect new features. We’ve still got a bundle in the wings. Many of these at this time are focusing on the back-end - but there are also significant enhancements coming for the front-end as well.

One enhancement just deployed yesterday is anonymous commenting. We are adding blog-like commenting capabilities. Right now you can leave your name and email instead of logging into an account. Within the next several days we’ll also allow you to leave your website. Write your comment, fill out a reCAPTCHA and away you go - no lengthy account registration process. Not that there aren’t advantages to registering - but we do want to make it as simple as possible for individuals to interact with our stories.

We also are continuing our development on a revolutionary new advertising concept that is unobtrusive, useful, and effective. Also note that we added a giving back page where we have begun posting our contributions to the open source community - including our annotated codebase wiki and most recently an ajax mod which allows for inline editing of stories by administrators.

From a systems administration standpoint, things are cooking along as well. With the ramp up in features, stories, and visitors we are starting to see some stress on our current infrastructure and intend to add an additional dedicated MySQL server within the upcoming week.

We continue to work at a fevered pace to bring you the best and greatest. Tonight I deployed a significant amount of new code to the servers. We are still performing testing and will be handling any issues that may arise as we bring this code live. We expect any issues to be minor and we expect major improvements to become visible over the next several days as this new code is put into use. Most of this code is backend only, thus there won’t be noticeable changes in the interface - just more and better stories.

Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but there is work to be done.

Whew, the days have flown by! I suppose its time for another update. Here it goes:

• We corrected a bug that caused some stories to appear truncated even when viewing the stories’ details.
• Added AJAX in-line title, description, tags, and category editing for admins.
• Started importing from a large core of RSS feeds on technology topics to provide the site with a good base of content.
• Remodeling at the house is completed, which includes a totally revamped office area. Purchased and received (and am using) a new Dell laptop - on the way is an additional desktop to act as a testing workstation.

Here is what is currently in the works:

• While the AJAX editor is awesome, there is another major step we are taking in extending the RSS Import functionality and editorial functionality. This is currently nearing completion and once implemented will result in a major increase in editorial activity.
• Adding functionality that will allow individuals who aren’t registered users to leave comments on stories in a traditional blog format (e.g. name, email, website, comment).
• Adding new ad support functionality that will be non-intrusive, revolutionary, and allow for more comfort on both advertisers and users parts. Also, hopefully, help take us cash flow positive.

Well, that’s about it for now. Know that we aren’t resting - we are burning the midnight oil and cash. Hang in there because we’ve got some great stuff right around the corner.