DirectoryBlog.WebProNews.com

There’s a good chance that my wife and I will be having a baby this week, and that means I will be M.I.A. for a little while, so wanted to let everyone know before it goes down.

There should still be some posting here on the blog while I’m away, so don’t let my absence stop you from checking back.

I know it’s hard to wrap your mind around not being able to read my words for a little bit, but the human race has endured tougher times, so don’t fret. I’ll be back like John Matrix (yes, he said it too).

In the meantime, keep those submissions coming. Someone will be filling in for me on approval, so they won’t sit in limbo for too long.

First and foremost, this blog is meant to keep you informed of the latest updates to the WebProNews eBusiness Directory.

But an article today from Michael Brito got me thinking. Is this blog too boring? The plan was always to share insight, observations, and opinions on other things besides our directory as well, but the core focus to this point has been what we are doing with the directory.

To show you that this blog is not just an ongoing press release, I pledge to write about other things from time to time to try and keep the blog worth reading even when there isn’t a significant update to the directory in progress.

So let me start by telling you a little bit about myself. This may still be boring, but we’ve got to start somewhere.

I have been with iEntry for over 5 years. Much of that time I spent writing and managing content across a whole bunch of sites and email newsletters, coordinating with authors in marketing, business management, and tech categories. Between this and working for a company covering the eBusiness industry, I have learned a lot in this time and since the beginning of this year, I have been writing for our site SmallBusinessNewz, and occasionally for our flagship publication WebProNews.

I have also been managing the eBusiness Directory (obviously) as well as the Small Business Directory from SmallBusinessNewz.

I have been married for about two and a half years, and I have a baby girl due any day now (if I am suddenly absent for a while, that’s why).

I am an avid movie and novel fan (particularly the horror genre). I like a wide range of music genres from Converge and Led Zeppelin to EPMD and Madonna (with a whole lot in between).

I am a fan of sports in general, but football (American, not soccer) is the only one I consistently get really excited about. Ironically, I am a Detroit Lions and Notre Dame fan. Insert mocking laughs here. I am originally from the South Bend area, which explains my Notre Dame fanhood, and I have been a Lions fan since childhood and remain loyal to a team that despite it’s greatest efforts has not alienated me yet.

I love eating fried chicken and discussing trends in snacking, candy bars of the 80s that have since disappeared, etc, but my biggest interest now has become parenthood and raising a child in this crazy world.

That’s probably the most personal information about myself I’ve ever shared on the Internet. I am a human and this blog like the directory is produced by one, and not a robot.

I will continue to post all updates to the directory here, but that will not be the only thing I talk about. Directories in general will still be a focus much of the time. But don’t be surprised if I talk about something totally different sometimes.

Update: I’m aware of how cheesy the picture of me in this post looks, but it’s a getting-to-know-you session right?

We have created an icon for those of you who are proud to be listed in the WebProNews eBusiness Directory.

We are encouraging people who have been approved and are listed to display this on their site if they wish.  This is by no means a requirement, so don’t feel like you have to, or say, “heh, there’s no way I’m putting that on my site”.

If you don’t want to display it, we don’t want you to. It’s entirely up to you. It’s there if you want it.

If you do choose to display it, linking it back to the directory would be appreciated, but again, this is not required.

If you want to use it, you can simply right-click on the image and save it.

This is more advice than it is an update on our directory, but feel free to use it as a tip for submitting to ours.

When you decide to submit your site to a directory, any directory, you would do well to make sure your site is ready for prime time. As I’ve been going through submissions, some of them have been placeholder pages announcing that a site will be launching in the future. That’s all fine and good, but don’t expect to be approved in the directory before we can even see what the site has to offer. Submit it when it’s ready to go.

Some submissions will be a blog with one post on it, or one that hasn’t been updated in months (or even years…yes, I’ve had a few that hadn’t been updated since 2006 or better). We and other human-edited directories are not likely to approve something that hasn’t been updated in so long.

Some submissions turn up a “page not found”. Obviously these won’t make the cut. Try to make sure your site is up and running when you submit it to a directory.

One more thing for now. When submitting a site, try to single out the most narrow category your site can fit in. This will ultimately make the directory more useful for users.

For example if you are submitting a site that offers an eCommerce shopping cart software, it would be a better fit for the eCommerce Shopping Carts category than simply the eCommerce category which is more broad. It makes it easier for both the end-user to find what they are looking for, and the editor (me in this case ) to approve.