Technorati
Encyclopedia
Technorati is an Internet
search engine
for searching blog
s. By June 2008, Technorati was indexing
112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media. The name Technorati is a blend of the words technology
and literati
, which invokes the notion of technological intelligence or intellectualism.
Technorati was founded by Dave Sifry
, with its headquarters
in San Francisco, California
, USA
. Tantek Çelik
was the site's Chief Technologist.
Technorati uses and contributes to open source
software. Technorati has an active software developer
community, many of them from open-source culture. Sifry is a major open-source advocate and was a founder of LinuxCare
and later of Wi-Fi
access point software developer Sputnik. Technorati includes a public developers' wiki
, where developers and contributors collaborate, also various open APIs.
The site won the SXSW 2006 awards for Best Technical Achievement and Best of Show. It was nominated for a 2006 Webby Award
for Best Practices, but lost to Flickr
and Google Maps
. Technorati was recognized as one of the “2010 Hottest San Francisco Companies” by Lead411.
that authors have placed on their websites. These tags help categorize search results, with recent results coming first.
Technorati rates each blog's "authority," the number of unique blogs linking to the blog over the previous six months.
" postings, which then claimed to track 27.7 million blogs, did not take into account MySpace
blogs, of which she said that there were 56 million. As a result, she said that the utility of Technorati as a gauge of blog popularity was questionable. However, by March 2006, Aaron Brazell pointed out that Technorati had started tracking MySpace blogs.
In May 2006, Technorati teamed up with the PR agency Edelman
. The deal earned a lot of criticism, both on principle as a result of Edelman's 2006 fake blog
scandals. Edelman and Technorati officially ended the deal in December 2006. That month, Oliver Reichenstein pointed out that the so-called "State of the Blogosphere" was more of a PR-tool and money maker for Edelman and Technorati than a reliable source, explaining in particular: a) why Technorati/Edelman's claim that "31% of the blogs are written in Japanese" was "bogus", and b) where the financial profit for the involved parties was in this.
In May 2007, Andrew Orlowski
, writing for the tech tabloid
The Register
, criticized Technorati's May 2007 redesign. He suggested that Technorati had decided to focus more on returning image thumbnails rather than blog results. He also claimed that Technorati never quite worked correctly in the past and that the alleged refocus was "a tacit admission that it's given up on its original mission".
In August 2008, Technorati acquired the online magazine, Blogcritics
, for an undisclosed sum of money. As a result, Blogcritic's founders - publisher Eric Olsen
and technical director Phillip Winn - became full-time Technorati employees. One of the first collaborative ventures of the two entities was for Blogcritics writers to begin writing descriptions of Technorati tags.
In April 2009, Blogcritics underwent a complete site redesign and switched content management systems.
In 2009, Technorati decided to stop indexing blogs and sites in languages other than English in order to focus only on the English-language blogosphere
. As a result, thousands of sites in various languages are no longer rated by the Technorati service.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
search engine
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
for searching blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s. By June 2008, Technorati was indexing
Web indexing
Web indexing includes back-of-book-style indexes to individual websites or an intranet, and the creation of keyword metadata to provide a more useful vocabulary for Internet or onsite search engines...
112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media. The name Technorati is a blend of the words technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
and literati
Literati
Literati may refer to:*Intellectuals or those who read and comment on literature*The scholar-bureaucrats or literati of imperial China**Literati painting, also known as the Southern School of painting, developed by Chinese literati...
, which invokes the notion of technological intelligence or intellectualism.
Technorati was founded by Dave Sifry
Dave Sifry
Dave Sifry is an American software entrepreneur and blogosphere icon known for founding Technorati, a leading blog search engine. He also lectures widely on wireless technology and policy, weblogs, and open source software....
, with its headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Tantek Çelik
Tantek Çelik
Tantek Çelik is a computer scientist of Turkish-American descent and was the Chief Technologist at Technorati. He is one of the principal editors of several CSS Specifications....
was the site's Chief Technologist.
Technorati uses and contributes to open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software. Technorati has an active software developer
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
community, many of them from open-source culture. Sifry is a major open-source advocate and was a founder of LinuxCare
Linuxcare
Linuxcare was founded in San Francisco in 1998 by Dave Sifry, Arthur Tyde and Dave LaDuke. The company's initial goal was to be "the 800 number for Linux" and operate 24 hours a day...
and later of Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
access point software developer Sputnik. Technorati includes a public developers' wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
, where developers and contributors collaborate, also various open APIs.
The site won the SXSW 2006 awards for Best Technical Achievement and Best of Show. It was nominated for a 2006 Webby Award
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
for Best Practices, but lost to Flickr
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
and Google Maps
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
. Technorati was recognized as one of the “2010 Hottest San Francisco Companies” by Lead411.
Technology
Technorati looks at tagsTag (metadata)
In online computer systems terminology, a tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information . This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching...
that authors have placed on their websites. These tags help categorize search results, with recent results coming first.
Technorati rates each blog's "authority," the number of unique blogs linking to the blog over the previous six months.
Reception
In February 2006, Debi Jones pointed out that Technorati's "State of the BlogosphereBlogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
" postings, which then claimed to track 27.7 million blogs, did not take into account MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
blogs, of which she said that there were 56 million. As a result, she said that the utility of Technorati as a gauge of blog popularity was questionable. However, by March 2006, Aaron Brazell pointed out that Technorati had started tracking MySpace blogs.
In May 2006, Technorati teamed up with the PR agency Edelman
Edelman (firm)
Edelman is a global public relations firm with consumer, finance, healthcare, technology and industrial practices. It employs over 3,600 people in 53 offices around the globe. Edelman was founded in 1952 by Daniel J. Edelman and is today led by his son President & CEO Richard Edelman...
. The deal earned a lot of criticism, both on principle as a result of Edelman's 2006 fake blog
Fake blog
A fake blog is an electronic communication form that appears to originate from a credible, non-biased source, but which in fact is created by a company or organization for the purpose of marketing a product, service, or political viewpoint...
scandals. Edelman and Technorati officially ended the deal in December 2006. That month, Oliver Reichenstein pointed out that the so-called "State of the Blogosphere" was more of a PR-tool and money maker for Edelman and Technorati than a reliable source, explaining in particular: a) why Technorati/Edelman's claim that "31% of the blogs are written in Japanese" was "bogus", and b) where the financial profit for the involved parties was in this.
In May 2007, Andrew Orlowski
Andrew Orlowski
Andrew Orlowski is a British columnist for the online IT news and opinion website The Register.-Early career:In 1992, Orlowski started an alternative newspaper in Manchester, England called Badpress. He has also written for Private Eye magazine...
, writing for the tech tabloid
Tech Tabloid
A Tech tabloid is a type of news media that mainly concentrates on technology news: science, IT, semiconductors, telecoms and related issues, but also takes on a less formal and more humorous approach than traditional technology publications such as EE Times or EDN...
The Register
The Register
The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
, criticized Technorati's May 2007 redesign. He suggested that Technorati had decided to focus more on returning image thumbnails rather than blog results. He also claimed that Technorati never quite worked correctly in the past and that the alleged refocus was "a tacit admission that it's given up on its original mission".
In August 2008, Technorati acquired the online magazine, Blogcritics
Blogcritics
Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site—a self-proclaimed "sinister cabal of superior writers"—was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn...
, for an undisclosed sum of money. As a result, Blogcritic's founders - publisher Eric Olsen
Eric Olsen
Eric Olsen was the founder, editor-in-chief, and publisher of broad-based online critical magazine Blogcritics and author of local Cleveland blog Cleve-blog. He is also a widely read and influential blogger...
and technical director Phillip Winn - became full-time Technorati employees. One of the first collaborative ventures of the two entities was for Blogcritics writers to begin writing descriptions of Technorati tags.
In April 2009, Blogcritics underwent a complete site redesign and switched content management systems.
In 2009, Technorati decided to stop indexing blogs and sites in languages other than English in order to focus only on the English-language blogosphere
Blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
. As a result, thousands of sites in various languages are no longer rated by the Technorati service.
External links
- Technorati Home Page
- Technorati's own blog
- Technorati management team official page, reference for much of the above
- Giga OM's entry on the end of the Technorati-Edelman deal
- Technorati's 2008 State of the Blogosphere Report