How cool is this? ... KnifeSeek.com Launching

CKD

Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
24
I've decided to "try" to bypass my usual long winded speech on this one and get right to the point. However, it's very hard for me to work around the clock on a project and not give in to a certain amount of natural "soapbox-ism" when we announce something of this magnitude.

A short while back, we made an announcement hinting about a new project that we were in the process of building that we said would begin a new movement toward the organization of all this custom knife industry related information that we seem to be creating and compiling through our company, atlantavirtual.com. This is both relating to the clients we manage personally, and also affects the future organization of information retrieval in the knife industry.

In truth, we have quite a number of clients in this industry that we either host or manage web sites for, many of them using our community maintained sites to, in fact, sell their available work through on a daily basis. And, like any serious minded service provider, we are constantly looking for ways to improve the condition of our clients, relating to the viability of their online efforts, whether they are stand-alone operations or take part in the processes we provide to help elevate their efforts online. However, what I'm here to say, and uncover today, is something that affects us all, both site owners and general net users browsing around in this industry.

Regarding this, and speaking from a position of someone who manages quite a bit of this particular industry's information flow and traffic, I want to give you all a first look at a product that we've just developed that we're very excited to launch. Basically, this product has one goal in mind, and in purpose ... "information organization" for the online knife industry.

Imagine the day that you can look to one source and type "folding knife" or "$300 bowie" or even, "dymondwood scales" and find the most recently published information, from sites all over the world ... perfectly organized, fast and clean. Well, before all you jump in and say, "we can ... all you have to do is type Yahoo.com, and do a search ... blah, blah." Remember one fact, we already have most of the top keyword placements sewn up, with sites like this one and a few others in the mix, so I'm here to say that the system I'm describing to you has that type of search and retrieval blown away, considering the relevancy of the information you need and the freshness of it, as well.

Ok ... so enough lip ... what is it?

Well ... KnifeSeek.com is the URL and title of the site. And, it's basically the world's first search engine relegated to information retrieval in this specific industry. We built it, we serve it and you can be guaranteed that it works as expected. It's from AtlantaVirtual.com.

I'm here to invite everyone who owns a website relating to the knife industry, or who knows of one owned by someone who's site information should be included in the engine database (owner must submit) to get involved with the project. The cost is free, the process is painless and the consequences of not being included could be enormous in time.

In the next 90 days, we'll be feeding sites into the system by the hour. The engine is trained to index every word on every page it finds within each crawled site ...

Come check it out ... you'll see!

http://www.knifeseek.com

<BR><FORM action=http://www.knifeseek.com/cgi-bin/search/search.pl method=get target=_blank><BR><DIV align=center><table width="150" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><td><div align="center"><font face=Arial size=1><b><a target=_blank href="http://www.knifeseek.com/"><img height=43 alt="Visit ... KnifeSeek.com" src="http://www.knifeseek.com/graphics/KS_appletlogo4.gif" width=140 border=0></a></b></font></div></td></tr><tr bgcolor="#333399"><td><div align="right"><font face=Arial><font size=1><input size=9 name=Terms><input type=submit value=Find name=submit></font></font></div></td></tr><tr bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><td><div align="center"><font face=Arial color=#ffffff size=1><font color=#000000>Knife Industry Search Engine</font></font></div></td></tr></table><BR></DIV><BR></FORM><BR>


Thanks for your time!

Alex

Alex Whetsell
Atlantavirtual.com
 
I hope you make good progress on this project. I am familiar with the technology, but you have a ways to go. I put in

turnbull damascus

and got two list of makers' links.

Charlie Dake

got no returns. I guess you have just catalogued the CKD directory. These tools have the power to go out and search the links of the links and so forth. I think this could become a very powerful tool and wish you the best of luck.


I'll be coming back!
:D
 
Thanks men! That's right, we're feeding it URL's as we get them submitted to us through the submission tool on the KnifeSeek site. The data depth will expand rapidly. I was considering holding off on the announcement until we had more data/sites fed in, but part of the reason for the original post was to get the invite out.

We're not actually training the crawler to go grab industry url's from the net in general. Our system requires that the webmaster personally submit their own URLs initially. The reason for this is that we want to make sure that the data it generates is from active net users who own sites related to this industry and are valid participants in maintaining the data, and not just random invalid site data. We are reviewing each site to make sure that it is content related because the crawler we use will index every word on the url it encounters.

Alex
 
WARNING! Something fishy here! I went to knifeseek and submitted my knife page http://www.sonic.net/~quine/knife.html and my throwing knife page http://www.sonic.net/~quine/thrower.html. I did this as a <i>favor</i> to them, to support their effort, not because I give a damn whether I'm indexed on their site or not. I got an email back from them declaring that my submissions would not be indexed on their site unless I installed an applet (from them of course) in a "high traffic area" of my site. Sorry folks, this sort of thing really pisses me off

<b><i>flame on:</i></b> I provide my pages not for commercial purposes but as a hobby, and for the sake of providing the knife and throwing knife community with some additional resources. My knife page is nothing to speak of compared to many many others, but my knife throwing page was the first page on the subject on the entire Internet and remains one of the premire pages (if not the premire page) on the subject of thrown weapons in general and knives in particular. <b>I don't need knifeseek, they need me</b> for the sake of completeness. Nobody, I'll say it again <i>nobody</i> has a right to tell me where I put a link to them on my page, if I must put a link to them on my page, or what that link should consist of or look like! If knifeseek doesn't want to index my page because I won't run their applet or put it where <i><b>they</b></i> want (the <i>nerve</i> of them) that means there's a big hole in their claim (or future claim) to index all related and significant sites on the subject, and their claim is (or would be) therefore a <b>lie</b>. The problem is theirs, not mine! Again, if they want to be the "great indexer" of knife sites on the net, then they need me. How dare they tell me that if I don't do what they say they won't index me... Oooh! I'm trembling! <b><i>flame off</i></b>

Sorry... This sort of hubris riles me...
 
Matthew,

No offense partner, but I'm not sure where you came up with your theory about what KnifeSeek is and who it needs ...

You obviously didn't get it from the "FIRST PARAGRAPH" of KnifeSeek's homepage when you came over to get listed, as it's "abundantly spelled out" and "totally" clear about what this program is about. I think the idea we had in mind was to help people like you pre-qualify yourself before you signed up.

I've written a web page or two ... generally the important stuff is at the top. But, it still requires that you read it.

For all those who care to watch, I quote (Homepage):
http://www.knifeseek.com

" KnifeSeek™ is the world's first and only major search engine portal specifically designed to retrieve and display focused knife related content and data from the internet. KnifeSeek's search engine technology will soon be continually indexing over 1,000+ individually operated and community driven web sites, dedicated in some way to the general knife industry. With it's search applet located on each participating web site in the index, KnifeSeek™ will take content retrieval to an all new level."
-----

Now ... here's the letter you received that you're acting up about. I want this to be read in it's original form, because I don't come back half cocked. I really don't like getting flamed either, especially when people make arguments about things they failed to research. This is the auto-reply message that goes to the submitting party upon listing their URL to the KnifeSeek engine, just to make it all perfectly clear, protecting those that do understand what this is about.

-------
Dear new KnifeSeek.com member,

Thank you for your recent URL submission. Please read below for important information about KnifeSeek.com membership and monthly re-indexing policies.

KnifeSeek.com is an internet search engine designed to provide industry specific content to it's users, through a shared distribution and retrieval system. In order to participate in KnifeSeek's search engine listing program, all members compiled in the search engine must have the search engine applet code placed on their site in a high traffic area. Upon submission of your URL, your site will be fully indexed within 24 hours. However, a KnifeSeek employee will manually review your site for knife related content and to verify the below applet code placement within 5 additional days. In order to participate in KnifeSeek's monthly search engine indexing updates, the KnifeSeek.com search engine applet code (below) must be placed on your site to be located by our search engine crawler as it compiles your page data. Multi-page placement will increase your indexing position.

Failure to place, or future removal of the KnifeSeek applet code will cause your site to be removed from the search engine system. This is an automated process and you will receive no warning notices that this has occurred. We must stress that this program is open to all industry related sites, based on content. However, participation requires mutual traffic sharing based on the search and retrieval of data within the system and membership. KnifeSeek will re-index your website every 30 days to gather and organize current data. This information will be immediately available to all viewers using the search applet.

Code here:
Member help area link and password here:

Thank you!
Yada Yada

------

Then, just like we promised throughout the process, your site was immediately indexed and available in the searches (100 pages worth, to be exact). "High traffic area" means "don't place it on a remote or non-linked page" ... make it available to visitors, so they can use it when they need it.

OK ...
If the above doesn't work for you, then you have the option to be absent from the program, which you have by your unwillingness to allow the search applet to be displayed on your site.

Trust me, we'll remove you immediately ... with no fanfare.

However, I'm still wondering how you thought the content retrieval would be performed or how we would distribute the access to the search applet to everyone around the planet who needs a place to find all of this information. Were you thinking a TV ad like Yahoo, or something? This is a community information sharing system ... not Yahoo!

Next time ... try reading before you slam people and their work!

Alex
 
You know ... Matthew ..

Didn't you say you were a database designer / software developer somewhere ... or did I find that through KnifeSeek's results on you? Hmmmm ... next! Give me a break.

As a matter of fact, I think we'll leave your site in the KnifeSeek system for 24 hours before we remove you. I can't think of a better example than yourself of how powerful and capable this tool really is ... nothing talks quite like performance.

Anyone caring to give it a run for it's money, type our software developer friend's url http://www.sonic.net/~quine/ into the applet above and see what it returns.

Do it soon though ... :cool:

Alex
 
Matthew,
I can assure you that there's nothing fishy about the KnifeSeek project. You would be hard pressed to find a man with more integrity than Alex. It's hard for me to believe that one man can give so much freely.

One of Alex's many endeavors is the Custom Knife Directory and the CKD Forums.
CKD members can:

Create profiles with pics and bio's, along with links to our sites, and store them on Alex's servers for the world to view -- FREE

Advertise and sell our knives (makers and dealers) on the CKD main website -- FREE

Post pics and sell our knives (makers and dealers) on the CKD Forums -- FREE

Sign up to receive the CKD newsletter -- FREE

When EzBoard started breaking away from free forums and blasting us with ads, it was immediately taken care of. Were the members asked to pay or help pay for an ad-free board? Nope. CKD flips the bill. And it ain't chicken feed either, based on the number of hits they're getting now. There was no fanfare about it either. It was paid for with no mention of it to the members and no thanks expected -- though those of us who realized what had been done for us certainly did speak up with much gratitude.

When some of the members wanted to do a collaborative "pass-around" knife and wondered what the heck to do with it when finished, Alex immediately said that when it was finished, the CKD would buy it -- no questions of what it would cost.

Over the last couple of years I've grown to trust Alex like a brother. When he say's he'll do something, he does it, and he gets it done fast. He's an extremely talented web designer and graphics artist, a heck of business man, with a warrior's spirit, and I'm proud to call him my friend.

I just signed up with the new KnifeSeek portal and the 41 pages of my site were indexed in 1 second. I pasted the tiny KnifeSeek applet code in the navigation area of my homepage, which took about 2 more seconds, and I'm done. Now visitors to my site will have access to the power of KnifeSeek, and I know they'll appreciate it.

This is about the same thing as providing reciprocal links with other makers. It's no big deal. For example, I get hits and requests from people who have visited Jerry Fisk's website and found a link to my site from his. In turn, folks who visit my site can jump to his if they want to check out the work of a real master. It's a good thing. It's almost like free advertising.
 
I will happily second everything that Terry just said. Alex does not have a sleazy bone in his body, and his word is solid gold.
 
This is about the same thing as providing reciprocal links with other makers. It's no big deal. For example, I get hits and requests from people who have visited Jerry Fisk's website and found a link to my site from his. In turn, folks who visit my site can jump to his if they want to check out the work of a real master. It's a good thing. It's almost like free advertising.

1. You know we've all been doing this on the web for a long time. Reciprocal links are a courtesy, not something one <i>insists</i> upon, nor commands (of the other site) where to place it. Most people have a "links" page. My pages are nothing but "links" with commentary. They are free! I put links to other people's sites not because they link to me, but because I declare myself a <b>Internet resource</b>, and I can't be a complete resource if I refuse to link to a signficant page (in my subject area) just cause that site administrator has no link to me. Furthermore, reciprocal links are not code. If all that was asked of me was to place a reciprocal link somewhere (at my discretion) on my page I wouldn't be saying any of this.

2. I know I've fallen behind in the search engine race, but a few years ago, I was near the top of just about every public search engine on the net that existed at that time (Yahoo, Netscape, WebCrawler, InfoSeek, Lycos, Excite, etc). <b>Not one of them</b> ever insisted I put <i>even a link to them in my pages</i>, not to mention an applet! They all managed to index me just fine thank you as did a site called 101% (now out of action) all without applets. The theory behind this is very simple: If you announce to the world that you "have it all", then you have to have it all, even if some of the all neglects to reciprocate.

3. I've written web crawlers. One of the beauties of the web is that you don't need code at each node to get the data.

4. I did read the opening paragraph of the knifeseek web site, but just breezed by the implication concerning the applet. It wasn't really clear (to me) until I got the letter (published above). I'm not saying Alex isn't a great guy. I don't know him, and I'm sorry if my flame was harsh. But his first post at the top of this thread had a sort of "this will be a complete resource" sort of ring to it." I would be happy to participate in such a venture (and I did, right away), but in reality it is really a "we'll put you on board only if you run our code" sort of venture. This ought to be made more clear from the beginning.

5. I'm glad to know that many of you know Alex and that he's really a good guy. Always nice to meet the good guys, even through a misunderstanding that can eventually be cleared up. But I also make resources available to the whole Internet for FREE at my expense, and advertising free! I have <i>never</i> insisted that another site operator reciprocate a link unless the site in question was purely commercial, and I have certainly never dreamed in my wildest imagination of telling (or even suggesting) to another site admin. where to put said link.

Enough said. I apologize for the suggestion that there was something "sleazy" going on with Alex's site. I withdraw that accusation. At the same time, I still think that what he wants in return ought to be made more clear up front in bold face.
 
Back
Top