The Dirt, Version 2.0
ASLA has launched an updated version of its popular Dirt blog, which allows readers to leave comments, search entries by category and keyword, subscribe to several RSS feeds, and use a calendar of previous Dirt postings.

When ASLA relaunched The Dirt on February 18, 2005, making it its own publication rather than a section of LAND Online, it brought the Society, perhaps unwittingly at first, into the blogosphere, where it soon began a virtual dialogue with other design-oriented blogs, such as Archinect, ArchNewsNow, Land+Living, and others. Over time, The Dirt evolved and began to include some of the aspects of a true blog, such as RSS feeds and short, pithy, and sometimes humorous entries that brought readers a sense of a story while inviting them to investigate further through links to other sites—we even went through another design change. However, like Pinocchio when he simply lost his strings, The Dirt still wasn’t a real blog. All that changes today.

Today, ASLA relaunches The Dirt for a second time as a fully functioning blog giving readers unprecedented interaction with an ASLA publication. Here’s what you can expect from the new Dirt:

Share, comment, and print

The first redesign of The Dirt included the ability to email friends and colleagues a link to the main page of the publication. This was a good way to let people know about The Dirt in general, but it was of little use for those trying to note specific entries in the blog—especially if the recipient didn’t open the email until several weeks later, when other posts would have hopelessly buried them. The new Dirt fixes this by allowing readers to send individual posts to their colleagues directly from the post’s footer. Simply click on “send,” fill in your email address, your colleague’s email address, and an optional note, and click “send entry.”

The new Dirt also allows users to comment on individual posts, a new feature for us, but one that makes blogging such a valuable form of communicating. Readers who agree, disagree, or can add new information to a post can now simply click on “Comments” in the footer—or the title of the entry—read comments left by other readers and add their own comments.

The comment form includes two important safeguards for preventing comment spammers and inappropriate postings. First, comments must be verified by filling out a CAPTCHA (the weird letters behind the strange background). Secondly, all comments are emailed to an editor who must approve them before they’re posted. This will ensure that all comments are on topic and posted in the right spirit. Also, the sidebar of The Dirt has a running list of all recent categories, which readers can scan to see if any comments interest them. If you see something you like, simply click on the comment, and you’ll be taken directly to the blog entry it refers to and the comment string.

Finally, the footer of each entry has a button called “Open as a PDF.” This will convert the entry into a .PDF and allow readers to print and save it as they wish.

Find that entry

One of the big problems with The Dirt has always been tracking down entries after they’ve been posted. Under the old system, users could only browse and scroll hoping they’d find it. The new Dirt offers four ways to track down an old entry. First, readers can search entries by keyword using the “search entry” box. Second, readers can browse entries by clicking on a date on the calendar (dates with postings are shown in white). Third, each entry will now be given a category, which users can browser in the “Archives by Category” section. And fourth, the 10 most recent entries will be listed on the left-hand navigation bar

Enhanced RSS
Due to technical problems, the RSS feed on the old Dirt was often spotty at best. The new Dirt will not only have a completely reliable RSS feed, we’re also adding enhanced feeds for true RSS junkies. As categories develop on the new blog, each category will be given its own RSS feed. Interested in west coast landscape architecture, green roofs, and climate change? Subscribe to those feeds as they develop and you’ll be able to view all the news from The Dirt on just those categories.

More to come
With the roll out of The Dirt 2.0, ASLA web staff have committed themselves to bringing the principals of Web 2.0—generally understood to mean Internet-based services that allow users to collaborate and share information online in different ways—to the Society and the design and construction community at large. In the coming weeks and months, The Dirt will serve as a hub for these applications, as web staff leverage existing tools, such as Flickr, Del.icio.us, and Platial, to add new features to the blog and develop our own tools to help members better communicate and get the critical information they need to improve their firms.

If you have any questions or comments about the new Dirt or the ASLA website in general, please contact Web Editor Dave Connell.