The Big Word Project
Encyclopedia
The Big Word Project is a website created by Paddy Donnelly and Lee Munroe, two Masters students from the University of Ulster
, Belfast
, Northern Ireland
.
Launched on February 25, 2008, the project is aimed at redefining the English dictionary
with websites. Users can buy a word from a list of over 170,000 at $1 a letter and that word is then permanently linked to a URL of their choice.
In its first week, the project saw thousands of visitors and added more than 2,000 words, thanks largely to a glowing review by the popular blog
Daring Fireball
. But growth cooled; seven weeks after launch, the site stood at 2,345 words. However, an April 21 article in WIRED magazine renewed interest, and on May 22, the word count passed 5,000. As of 29 January 2010, the count was 7,025.
experience and Lee’s knowledge of Ruby on Rails
applications and web usability
. The creators, who are web designers, created a simplistic web 2.0
-style website with few colours and no advertisements.
Paddy is currently researching Viral Marketing, looking at how information is spread through word of mouth and the internet and how certain things can become phenomena overnight. Lee has been freelancing in web design and development for several years and is now concentrating his studies on web usability and web applications. The students wanted to create a mass collaboration
project where a global movement could be made by combining a small effort from thousands of people and research what words mean to different people.
The project made use of a viral marketing campaign and relied on other people, primarily bloggers, spreading the word throughout the internet. The project has been featured in newspapers and magazines in Northern Ireland and beyond.
The site contains a blog following the creators’ studies, press for the project and interesting websites submitted to the project.
The money gained from the site has gone towards paying their student fees.
University of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Launched on February 25, 2008, the project is aimed at redefining the English dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
with websites. Users can buy a word from a list of over 170,000 at $1 a letter and that word is then permanently linked to a URL of their choice.
In its first week, the project saw thousands of visitors and added more than 2,000 words, thanks largely to a glowing review by the popular blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
Daring Fireball
Daring Fireball
Daring Fireball is the web site of John Gruber, an Apple enthusiast and writer. Daring Fireball hosts Gruber's opinions in the form of a blog, and also some of Gruber's software...
. But growth cooled; seven weeks after launch, the site stood at 2,345 words. However, an April 21 article in WIRED magazine renewed interest, and on May 22, the word count passed 5,000. As of 29 January 2010, the count was 7,025.
Origin
The collaborative project was set up as part of Paddy and Lee’s Masters course in Multi-Disciplinary Design and drew upon Paddy’s viral marketingViral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
experience and Lee’s knowledge of Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails, often shortened to Rails or RoR, is an open source web application framework for the Ruby programming language.-History:...
applications and web usability
Web usability
Web usability is the application of usability in those domains where web browsing can be considered as a general paradigm for constructing a GUI.-General:...
. The creators, who are web designers, created a simplistic web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
-style website with few colours and no advertisements.
Paddy is currently researching Viral Marketing, looking at how information is spread through word of mouth and the internet and how certain things can become phenomena overnight. Lee has been freelancing in web design and development for several years and is now concentrating his studies on web usability and web applications. The students wanted to create a mass collaboration
Mass collaboration
Mass collaboration is a form of collective action that occurs when large numbers of people work independently on a single project, often modular in its nature...
project where a global movement could be made by combining a small effort from thousands of people and research what words mean to different people.
The project made use of a viral marketing campaign and relied on other people, primarily bloggers, spreading the word throughout the internet. The project has been featured in newspapers and magazines in Northern Ireland and beyond.
The Site
Once a word is purchased, that word is then 'redefined' on The Big Word Project, no longer having a traditional meaning but linking to a URL of the owners’ choice. The homepage consists of a random selection of 100 bought words and users can click a word to visit the new ‘definition’. Users can search for a word from the list of 170,000 or view them alphabetically. Since January 2010 there is a german version online Das grosse Wort Projekt for the german speaking area.The site contains a blog following the creators’ studies, press for the project and interesting websites submitted to the project.
The money gained from the site has gone towards paying their student fees.