All around the net, I've been seeing lots of buzz about Mark @ 45n5's top "Make Money Online" list. osWorld is actually on there, even though I don't really class this blog as a make money online blog…

What a great idea…

My first reaction was "great idea" - then came to realise that the metrics are going to problematic on the Top 100 script - as they are easily gamed…my suggestion (along with many other bloggers suggestion) was to add in a metric totalising the number of feed subscribers…

The RSS list!

This post, by Marc Eilbeck, does just that. Marc has taken the 45n5 list and gone through each blog noting the number of feed subscribers. It's this list that shows more value (at least to me).

Monetising the Idea

Another post that caught my attention was this one, over at netbusinessblog. What caught my eye was this;

Create a list of popular blogs in your niche. If you are knowledgeable about your niche, you should know a good number of those blogs. Also, you can ask your readers for suggestions.

Then, create a metric to rank the blogs. Mark uses a combination of PageRank, the Technorati link popularity rank, and Alexa traffic stats. Also, he automated the rankings by doing some coding. This is a great idea that will save you a lot of time.

If you’re not a programmer, hire one at Elance. Alternatively, you can learn programming by going through online tutorials.

Also, make a way for bloggers to submit their blogs. Put your email on the linkbait or create a contact form.

Of course, I could not pass up the opportunity to have a play with some code, and perhaps make a little bit of money

Introducing the osWorld Top Sites Script

I made a little video which shows how my script works. I use two metrics;

1. Google PR
2. Technorati Rank

On top of this, I incorporated "Thumb Nails" of the top X sites! As well as User Voting. It's my opinion that User Voting will go a long way to righting the bias of having a high PR or high Technorati and so on.

I apologise for the lack of sound - my microphone appears to have packed up. For those who prefer not to watch the full video (it's about 3 minutes), here are the highlghts;

• 0:01" Admin Summary Screen. In here you can Add, Edit or Delete Urls.
• 0:27" Adding a Url is easy!
• 0:41" Page Rank and Technorati Rank are automatically populated.
• 1:20" Showing the public page - you can see the thumbnail, PR, Technorati
• 1:50" User vote for a site. On the next page load that site moves up or down the list!
• 2:25" You can also re-order the results by PR or by Technorati!

I'm making the script available at low cost. Who would want such a script - well, in my opinion, anyone who wants to create a "top list"of any niche.

It's not just for "make money online" lists. It could be used for "top 50 crochet sites", "top 10 bass fishing sites" and so on.

In my script, you can turn off PR, you can turn off Technorati, you can turn off the thumbnails. You can have top 1 or top 1000 or any number in between. heck you can have more than 1000 if you want. You can set how many links have thumbnails…you can even set how many stars you want to use for voting!

So, going back to netbusinessblogs ideas;

create a metric to rank the blogs

Check! My script has Page Rank, Technorati, and User Voting.

automate the rankings

Check! My script polls PR and Technorati Rank automatically. Then on a nightly Cron to make sure the data is fresh!

make a way for bloggers to submit their blogs

Check! There is a nice big "Add Url" button specifically for this.

Any interest?

So, who is interested in such a script? Early movers can get this script for just $20 (paypal), on the proviso that the actual download will not be ready until tomorrow (20 Sept), as I am presently writing up the User Manual.
The requirements of use are as follows; PHP5 website hosting account. MySQL database. Ability to amend 1 text file (config file).

If the script does not work on your PHP5 hosting set-up, I'll do my best to fix up any errors. If I cannot get it working, you'll get your money back, guaranteed.

For those with PHP4 hosting, this script WILL still work - however you won't be able to use the PR and Technorati Rankings. It'll be just User Voting, which in itself, is not a bad thing.

A little testimonial

…its about the best looking toplist script I've ever seen…