AniBroad: My New Project

2009-12_abl

After months of careful planning and kept secrets, it’s time to reveal the secret of the “wave” project (with has nothing to this with this Wave, FYI). As of now, “Operation: Wave” is now known as AniBroad. AniBroad is a(other) website for Anibloggers to get their blog across the blogosphere.

The concept of AniBroad is simple: it’s a blog directory for Anibloggers, new or vets, to find new blogs to read or just to network with via blogroll exchanges. It is also a way to get extra traffic in addition to search engines and other methods of internet traffic.

With respect for my favorite sites: Otaku.fm, JapanSoc, OtakuStuff, and anime shrine directory sites like the Anime Web Turnpike, and other blog aggregators, AniBroad does not intend on competing, but rather help out others who are unable to reach additional audiences due to unusual circumstances. In other words: there are not enough websites for promoting blogs on Otaku-related content directly…

The project came to life a year and a half ago, a little after the launch of CEN.TAKU.ME. I originally wanted it to be a site like Digg or Reddit (using Pligg)—with a little “community inspiration” from Entrecard. But seeing a few other sites like this already (JapanSoc and OtakuStuff), I didn’t think another was necessary at the time.

Instead of an article voting site, I decided to start from scratch. But knowing very little about PHP and MySQL and refusing to use clunky directory software with lack of customization, I put the project aside. After coding the “Sherbet News” WordPress theme, learning about PHP in the process, I decided to give the project another try.

The reason it took so long to announce AniBroad up until now was not only because of procrastinations (AWA, catching a cold, gaming, getting a job, etc), but because I didn’t think it would be ready after just a few months, and the fact that I was limited in coding abilities. The procrastination paid off, however.

The project is about ~~70%~~ 75% complete. When AniBroad is live, it will be a beta launch, but limited to about a dozen users as there are a few features that may not make it at launch, but users should get a little boost in exposure in the meantime. ^^

The launch window? Late January or early February, if everything goes well. Screenshots may be posted later.