I built a simpler way to navigate Al Donovan’s massive archive of Dilbert comics dating back to 1996. My browser interface allows you to flip through daily strips using your keyboard’s left and right arrow keys.
I built a crowdsourced Dilbert search engine using Google AppEngine to make comic archives searchable by text. I invited readers to help transcribe strips, creating an exportable database for fans to find specific quotes and themes.
I indexed two years of Dilbert strips in three weeks by crowdsourcing transcriptions via a Google App Engine tool. This community-driven approach is significantly faster than my previous solo attempts at digitizing comic archives for search.
I indexed 15 years of Dilbert comics, totaling over 5,500 strips, through a collaborative crowdsourcing effort. I discovered that a few dedicated contributors are far more effective than the long tail for building large-scale content databases.
I spent years hand-transcribing every Calvin and Hobbes strip to build a searchable text index. After a massive traffic spike from Reddit and MetaFilter, I received a copyright takedown notice and had to remove the archive.
Comments
anonymous22 May 2007 11:26 am:
Awesome. How did you do this?
Amit17 Dec 2014 7:30 am:
Hey Anand,
The link doesnt seem to be working anymore (or, at least, its point to C&H, which I just don’t mind, but remembered your Dilbert browser but could not find it anymore).
Comments