Ooh.directory: A Collection of Blogs Hand-Picked by a Human
- One-line summary: A blog directory curated by a real person.
- Price: Completely free
- Recommended for: People who want to find good blogs, RSS reader users
What is this?
Ooh.directory is a blog directory created by Phil Gyford. It’s a site where a person, not an algorithm, directly selects and categorizes blogs.[Ooh.directory] Currently, over 2,100 blogs are registered. It covers a wide range of topics from architecture to web development.
It has chosen the opposite of the AI-driven recommendation era. The site explicitly states “No AI was used.”[Ooh.directory About] It’s built with Django and Feedparser.
Key Features
- Category Exploration: Easily find blogs categorized by topic.
- Recent Updates: Shows blogs that have recently posted in real-time.
- Random Blog: Get random recommendations.
- OPML/RSS Support: OPML download and RSS subscription are available for each category.[Ooh.directory Blog]
My Experience
The clean interface is impressive. Clicking on a category displays a list of blogs, along with their recent post titles. It’s convenient because you can get an idea of the content before clicking.
OPML download is especially useful. You can add blogs in your categories of interest to your RSS reader all at once.
Are there any alternatives?
There are Blogroll.org, blogs.hn, etc. But it’s rare to find a place that categorizes as systematically as this. It is also introduced as a major directory in the IndieWeb community.[IndieWeb]
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is Ooh.directory free?
A: It’s completely free. No registration is required. Just visit the site and browse or search the categories. OPML file downloads are also free. If you want to recommend a blog, you can submit it through the suggestion form.
Q: Can I register my blog?
A: Yes, you can. Fill out the form on the blog suggestion page and submit it. Phil Gyford, the operator, will review it and decide whether to register it. Not all blogs are approved. They are selected based on quality and topic suitability.
Q: What’s the difference from AI recommendations?
A: The curation method is different. AI recommendations analyze click data and patterns, but Ooh.directory registers blogs after a person has read and judged them directly. You can discover a variety of independent blogs without a filter bubble.
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References
- Ooh.directory – Ooh.directory (2022)
- About Ooh.directory – Ooh.directory (2022)
- Ooh.directory – IndieWeb (2022)
- OPML and RSS feeds for categories – Ooh.directory Blog (2023)