Where the action is

Hi All,

Just another quick update. As mentioned before this blog is suspended for now.

Instead all of the action will be on DailyJ

ALSO
Anyone who wants to contribute to Nipponster development can check out the new Nipponster Lab on the JapanLabs social networking site!
See you there!

Focus

To better focus efforts on creating a better search engine I am suspending this blog.

(ok, I know that sounds counterintuitive, but let me explain)

I need to focus resources and time where they will produce the best results.

Writing two blogs (this one and DailyJ) is too much.

So future Nipponster messages will be posted on DailyJ instead.

Move to Wordpress inevitable

Just wanted to let everyone know that I will be moving this blog from Blogger to Wordpress.

Since launching DailyJ as a wordpress blog back in September 2007 I have fallen head over heels in love with wordpress.
(A special thanks goes to Jamaipanese for suggesting it over blogger)

And although I have a deep love for things Google (and think the Blogger tagging features are swell) I must make the switch.

Wordpress just gives the user so much more control.

Dreamers Never, Ever, Give Up

This blog post, written well over 6 months ago, resonates with me today even more than it did then. With the launch of DailyJ and the re-launch of Japanopedia I spread myself rather thin and neglected Nipponster. At the time of this post part of me felt like throwing in the towel and today too part of me feels like throwing in the towel. I have reached this point five or six times with Nipponster in its brief two year existence. But I have always pushed on. Nipponster has always persevered or reinvented itself. And today is no different. So here it is; an oldie, but a goodie:

Dreamers Never Give Up

Thursday, August 30, 2007

I have to be honest, sometimes I feel like giving up...

Trying to affect change and carry out a vision is hard work!

That's what we are trying to do with Nipponster.com

We are trying to make the web a better place for Japan-enthusiasts

But it is not easy.

I did not think that it would be.

But I did not expect it to be this hard.

The main problem boils down to how to create buzz about our mission.

How can we get lots of people behind it?

How can we make them passionate about revolutionising Japan-related content on the web?

How do we get people involved in projects (like making a free comprehensive Japanese text book)?

We don't know the answers yet.

And we could always use your input.

But one thing is for certain...

We are dreamers.

And Dreamers never give up!

-Tori

Nipponster in 2008

Where will Nipponster go from here?

That is the question we have been considering lately (well, always really).

We feel that Japan-related search is an important new field and expect it to grow, especially in 2008.

Admittedly, Nipponster is currently not even close to meeting the potential for this field.

The ability to search across the various mediums and niches of the web and quickly return only Japan-related results is the goal.

This will call for the launch of new search tools, refinement of current tools, and passion for the mission.


Onward we will go.

Improvements to the Nipponster Japan Toolbar

In keeping with our efforts to continually improve the Nipponster Japan Toolbar we have just added two new features! Take them for a spin and let us know your thoughts.

1, We have added a "JapanSoc It" button that allows you to submit a URL to JapanSoc (a digg.com-clone for Japan-related news).

2, We've added Nipponster Video Search to the search box. So now you can search the major video sites for Japan-related videos... right from your browser!

Two easy steps:

1. click on the black arrow in the search box
2. select "Nipponster video search" and click go

The new "Hot Search Archive" is here!

Ok. Finally we have finished the new Nipponster Hot Searches! Whew...
That was a lot of work. And it still needs work.

I thought that the entries from the old hot search archive would be easy to move to the new one but alas that's not so :(

We will have to manually re-enter them...

But no worries because having the new archive makes up for everything!

Let us know what you think of it!