The Typewriter Database is doing well at the end of the third year of the Five-Year Plan. Traffic has nearly doubled between July and October of 2015, and we’ve blown past 4500 Typewriter Galleries. That’s about 500 fewer than where I wanted to be at the end of 2015, but we could still manage 10,000 galleries by the end of 2017, and I have some plans for releasing TWDB Delta early in 2016. We’ll get to that in a moment, first, let’s take a look at the timeline so far:
The hosting account that typewriterdatabase.com lives on has been around since March of 2011, not that long after I started this blog and got caught up in this typewriter collecting madness in mid-late 2010. At that time, the domain was typerati.com, and I was testbedding some ideas for an online web-based typewriter-collecting game (of some sort), but that idea never gelled, and between April and Nov 2012 I took up the idea of rescuing Dirk Schumann’s TWDB.com website in earnest, leaving this domain fallow while I built the “mirror site” of the TWDB, and cleaned up Dirk’s original HTML files. (TWDB Alpha, as I call it now)
In December 2012, I then built the first truly database-oriented version of the site and launched it in January of 2013. In February, I had completed the Typewriter Hunter gallery editors, and started inviting Beta testers to upload their collections to the site. As you can see, traffic and galleries have increased respectably since that time. The site is a success in Beta, and we’re very close to ending the Beta Phase and entering Version Delta (TWDB Gamma is TWDB Mobile, a dead-end branch that will be replaced by Delta along with the Beta site).
And what, praytell does TWDB Delta look like? Well, it’ll look something very much like this:
Upcoming in 2016: TWDB Delta
Or something like this if you’re on a phone:
One important difference is that it’ll be the same site either in a desktop or phone browser, and you’ll be able to log in and do hunter stuff on mobile devices. There are other significant upgrades in the works as well, so stay tuned! (:
This looks exciting!
The site is a major development in typewriter research and an growing source of facts and fun.
Excellent work! Congratulations! You have been providing a priceless resource for all of us who collect and / or use typewriters. Thanks for all your work.
Now I need to get busy and post the rest of my collection.
It’ll be a Triumph! Go Delta Force!
Nothing but praise, enthusiasm, and gratitude for your efforts!
TWDB has been an invaluable technical resource for me. I get big kick out of reading the discussions – who can forget the SC single-bank Greek? – those discussions provide me with endless hours of entertainment. Thank you for all you do to maintain the site.
Can’t wait to see the next version TWDB site in the flesh – TWDB Delta Dawn!
What the others said! An impressive resource that is widely and greatly appreciated :-)
Your efforts are much appreciated, Reverend.