Alumnus devises Web site
Kelly Kiesel
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: News
He could be the next Larry Page or Sergey Brin, Google co-founders.
Truman alumnus Chris Turner created Regator, a blog search engine that landed on a top 10 list of major technology sites in early August.
Turner's work began in October of last year with the help of his sister, Kimberly Turner, and brother-in-law, Scott Lockhart. Chris used his five years of computer science experience to assist him, as well as his degree in painting to create the mascot for Regator - a cartoon alligator.
Regator has been compared to Google and DIGG, although the difference is that Regator works strictly with blogs, Chris said. A blog is an online journal in which the owner maintains and continually adds entries. Regator first limited its site to real estate blogs, but then decided to add to it to attract more people. The self-funded site currently contains about 3,400 blogs from a range of categories.
Once the team learned the basics, the ideas began to invent themselves, Chris said. Starting out with open source software was key in maintaining a low budget for his new business.
Jon Beck, professor of computer science, said software like that used by Regator should be available to businesses that want to create Web sites without paying fees for the program.
"The idea behind open source software is that it should be freely available to be used, copied and modified by anyone in society," Beck said.
As Editorial Director, Kimberly determines which blogs to present on Regator. She searches for blogs that are well-written, contain few spelling errors and are updated frequently. The blogs must also be topical so that they easily can be placed into a current category.
"One day I may be searching for outstanding blogs about astronomy, the next day I could be reading about beekeeping or celebrity gossip," she said. "There's a lot of variety, and it keeps me on top of what's going on in the world."
Students also are targeted by the newly redesigned site, Kimberly said. One blog section is designated for academics and includes subjects such as linguistics, astronomy and sociology. She said these and other topics provide students with research opportunities.
Truman alumnus Chris Turner created Regator, a blog search engine that landed on a top 10 list of major technology sites in early August.
Turner's work began in October of last year with the help of his sister, Kimberly Turner, and brother-in-law, Scott Lockhart. Chris used his five years of computer science experience to assist him, as well as his degree in painting to create the mascot for Regator - a cartoon alligator.
Regator has been compared to Google and DIGG, although the difference is that Regator works strictly with blogs, Chris said. A blog is an online journal in which the owner maintains and continually adds entries. Regator first limited its site to real estate blogs, but then decided to add to it to attract more people. The self-funded site currently contains about 3,400 blogs from a range of categories.
Once the team learned the basics, the ideas began to invent themselves, Chris said. Starting out with open source software was key in maintaining a low budget for his new business.
Jon Beck, professor of computer science, said software like that used by Regator should be available to businesses that want to create Web sites without paying fees for the program.
"The idea behind open source software is that it should be freely available to be used, copied and modified by anyone in society," Beck said.
As Editorial Director, Kimberly determines which blogs to present on Regator. She searches for blogs that are well-written, contain few spelling errors and are updated frequently. The blogs must also be topical so that they easily can be placed into a current category.
"One day I may be searching for outstanding blogs about astronomy, the next day I could be reading about beekeeping or celebrity gossip," she said. "There's a lot of variety, and it keeps me on top of what's going on in the world."
Students also are targeted by the newly redesigned site, Kimberly said. One blog section is designated for academics and includes subjects such as linguistics, astronomy and sociology. She said these and other topics provide students with research opportunities.
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Kimberly
posted 12/05/08 @ 10:20 AM CST
Thanks for the write-up, Kelly! Just to add one thing, the voting for the Open Web Awards is still open, so students and faculty who visit Regator and like what we've done can still vote for us using the blue box on the right side of Regator. (Continued…)
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