Breaking News System

I posted this in another thread but dont want it buried in a Matt thread.
Wanted to wait till it was done but I guess the time is right now.

Started working on a database driven news page. All the entries will allow a link and a description... categories, dates and contributor.
The idea I had was a person could come in.. see the latest news, search news by date, by contributor, by keyword or category.

That way it can grow over time and old information will be easily accessible.

Have the databases laid out but was just trying to find the time to finish the web front end. I have a system I already built for an Economic Development company (oh the irony) and just need to pair it down as it's an overkill.

If anyone is interested in being a contributor PLEASE let me know.

I can do all the code but my time to gather the news is limited these days.
With any luck this will be a value to people from any forum.

(sorry for the double posts but didnt want this buried).
Alex

What do you need this person to do? Just put links in to news stories everyday?

Yep... essentially.
I will build the categories and the whole interface. Its going to allow multiple users and will have the ability to sort by category, date, author, etc.
Actually simple interface though.

Paste URL. Paste description (if there is one)... pick category... save
Done.

It will be available OUTSIDE the forums so anyone and everyone can see it. Though it will promote the forums obviously.

Actually I have more done than needed. The work from my other system will be pairing it back some. Its running with 12,000 links in it now for ED stuff.

Was going to wait till I was done but the BN page imploding seems to have jumped me AGAIN in timing.. lMAO...
fate is a real PITA sometimes :-P

cool! what a great idea of a searchable database. I am a fan of that form of organizing. It really does make a huge difference trying to find information. Thanks you Alex. I am laughing at the irony of the timing of it. Seems to be keeping up the momentum....

How many people do you need? I don't know if I could do it everyday like clockwork. If I'm not alone, it wouldn't be too bad, as the work in finding links could be a shared thing, ya know?

Just once I would like to be in front of the train... not under it :-P

I will probably have it finished before the 1st of the year. But with anything else, without contributors it may as well not exist.
Another reason why i think it would be best served OUTSIDE the forums.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by portals

How many people do you need? I don't know if I could do it everyday like clockwork. If I'm not alone, it wouldn't be too bad, as the work in finding links could be a shared thing, ya know?

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Thats EXACTLY the idea!
And also I figure contributors will also bring their own styles of news gathering to it. That in itself could be interesting and useful.

The idea is to let everyone help each other. Not sell freeze dried food on the page. Just so everyone is clear... This will be available for free and I wont get a penny from it. Forum exposure will be the only tangible benefit. That and keeping with what I set out to do... keep the support system in place for everyone.

Will try and step up getting it done if I know I have contributors that will throw some effort into the hat.
:-)

Well, I've never done anything like this, but I'm willing to give it a try. Just let me know by PM when, where, and how you want it done!

This is a great idea!
I am willing to help if you aren't too strict about when and how often you expect contributions.
Life here is never static so "deadline" is a naughty word. :eek:

I wont be removing contributors for lack of input. I understand better than most about being under-resourced.
That's why I want to build it so there are multiple authors.
Many hands - light work kind of thing.

Sounds like a great idea. I'd be happy to add new articles when I come across them.

Excellent.
Please post here if you're interested in contributing. I will be working on the code for the existing system this week and next and should make a nice new years addition.

Count me in. I don't mind helping out when I can.

Count me in, too!
I'm a news junkie, so I'm sure I can round up a few good nuggets to bring in.

I don't even want to try rigorous duties with my fallible iPad, hope I can just continue post links in the forums.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Uncle Huey

I don't even want to try rigorous duties with my fallible iPad, hope I can just continue post links in the forums.

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Just (moments ago) got a 300page training material on FMPRO application development for Ipads... lol


I'm melting... melting... what a world, what a world.......

I would be willing to help. Many of my FB friends are news junkies, and often post stuff that I'd like to share.

Touch screens have great potential, don't get me wrong,b ut they've got a ways to go before they're ready for prime time.

If you have an iPad and a you want to see how close we are to touchscreen nirvana, get SplashTopRemote, and control you desktop computer over wifi. It's fun!

Yep- have already used the remote desktop to control Winbox servers on IPAD :-)

But dont want to hijack my own thread :-P

I'd be up for it...here and there...I'm an obsessive news reader.

How tech savvy do you have to be to contribute? I can participate in forums, get Warcraft running, and download my camera, but don't ask me to do anything more technical than that :P

Having said that, if it is set up for dummies, I'd be happy to help, too.

I'm in, if I can be. I'd love to contribute some relevant news articles.

A question... how are articles being vetted for truthiness?

There's a lot of sites out there that have things that very much look like, but ought never be confused with actual news items.

I will build a thumbs up/down link into the system along with a report article link.

I don't want to sound like I am trivializing it but I will only go so far into researching/vetting.
If I was starting a news company that would be different. But this is just a tool I have built for like-minded people to share important and relevant news.
I am hoping self-policing and the quality of a few contributors will float to the top over time.
:-)

I can probably add a few links a day. I always scour the web at breakfast time, while the chickens are out scratching and I'm sipping coffee.

Code is coming along. Should at least have something I can start seeding with one or two contributors by the weekend.

Holiday madness has slowed me down a bit.

Testing an in-thread integration. Using old Economic Development data....

Want to make sure everyone can use this 'within' the forum as well as outside.
<iframe src="http://208.125.219.124/scnews/links/public.tpl?action=showdetailsoff&catvar=5188899050 3411" height="600" width="800"></i><br /></iframe>

I figured out a way to allow people (contributors) to actually include links they provide into their own blogs if they want :-)
So add links here and your blog can pull the links automatically just like this thread will be updated each time the links get updated... instantly.
Some kinks to work and have to get the rest of the interface done first.

Should be pretty good when done.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by badkitty

How tech savvy do you have to be to contribute? 1. I can participate in forums, 2. get Warcraft running, and 3. download my camera, but don't ask me to do anything more technical than that :P

Having said that, if it is set up for dummies, I'd be happy to help, too.

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1. yes
2. I dunno
3. nope, not that either

I wish I knew how to do more to contribute but Im not very good with computers.

That said, I want to thank Alex for setting this topic and forum up for us. Anne

OH WOW...... this is wonderful! I see how useful this could be!

Ok if i click a link heading it opens up a list of other links with a short description... then if i click those subheadings my page opens another tab and goes straight to the original information page.... i think that is terrific! You are JUST TOO GOOD! Love it!

in the finished version it will be sorted by date (today's news) but you will be able to filter on :
Date (yesterday, etc)
Contributor (you want to see just John's links)
Category (just show financial stuff)
Rank (based on number of thumbs up)
Most Popular (each click will add to a tally for each link)
Also, I 'think' I will be able to provide a way where contributors can 'import' only their content into their blog like i did above for all the links.
That will have to come last though.

I really like the idea of multiple contributors working on this though. It should open it up to some useful stuff.
;-)

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Have worked out a way where individual categories could be embedded in an outside blog or forum :-)
The selection below grabs just federal Gov. links from the test database.
This could be categories or contributor.
Looks like it will work.



<iframe src="http://208.125.219.124/scnews/links/single.tpl?action=showdetails&catvar=013754553214" height="400" width="800"></i><br /></iframe>

Hey Alex, that looks great! wow!
what a cool idea.
It's like an encyclopedia!
is there going to be a link to it on the front page or something like that?

Well the idea is that there will be a separate landing page for the entire collection. Something like News.SilentCountry.com or something. That way you can see the news without being in the forum.

But for each contributor that wants to, I can provide a quick code snippet that they can include on their own blog that automatically calls their submissions. Enter it once and see it in multiple places kind of thing.

But you're doing a hell of a job! Really feeling bad we crossed timing on this.

I *would* like there to be a link at the top of the SilCo page, though. Handy. :)

There will be an easy link :-)
Dont worry about that.

:-) :-)