One: Online Nevada Encyclopedia

We recently launched a new website on behalf of Nevada Humanities, which has been created to serve as a repository for everything that is uniquely Nevada. You can access the site at http://onlinenevada.org/

Nevada Magazine just published an article on the subject:

Beyond Reading
Interactive Web site tells Nevada’s stories
through its articles, images, and sounds.

Now, thanks to the Online Nevada Encyclopedia (ONE), Internet users can observe the Strip’s 50-year transformation behind the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign in a matter of seconds, spend a day with a fourth-generation ranching family in Gardnerville, and order a drink at the Old Washoe Club in Virginia City. OK, the Web site’s not interactive to that degree, but the Media Gallery allows you to get so up close and personal with the inside of the historic bar that you can view the detail in the pictures on the wall.

The virtual Web site, which incorporates the latest technology in its articles, images, and audio to tell Nevada’s story, officially launched in April. “We wanted an experience that goes beyond reading,” says graphics editor Howard Golbaum, a professor at the Reynolds School of Journalism at University of Nevada, Reno. “It’s the next best thing to being there.”

ONE was featured at the recent Rural Roundup, the Nevada Commission on Tourism’s annual conference. “From a tourism standpoint, we’ve always promoted rural Nevada, but this is a way to show it,” says Edward Estipona, a board member of Nevada Humanities, a publicly funded non-profit organization that brought the project to life. “There’s a lot of great stuff in addition to Las Vegas and Reno.” The site’s purpose is to preserve the Silver State’s history and educate the general public, but Estipona sees a less tangible benefit. “We think it can help break down some of the cultural barriers that have been created in our state,” he says. “It’s always north versus south or town versus town.”

Designed by Twelve Horses, ONE differs from other information sites of its kind, such as Wikipedia, because all of the 300-plus stories are written and edited by professionals. Nevada is one of only six states to have an online encyclopedia, according to Estipona, who says about 10 new articles appear on ONE per week.

U.S. Senator John Ensign and state Senator Dina Titus were instrumental in funding the project. Ensign helped secure a $350,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and Titus worked with the State Finance Committee to match the federal contribution. Several other organizations offered financial assistance. “Budget is the only challenge we see right now,” Estipona says.

If you’re interested in contributing ideas or funds to ONE, contact Judith Winzeler, executive director of Nevada Humanities, at 775-784-6587 or winzeler@unr.nevada.edu.

The strategy was to create a searchable, indexed, and available repository for cultural and historical information pertaining to Nevada. By implementing such an online system, Nevada Humanities would demonstrate their significance as a resource to residents and visitors of Nevada, as well as assist the state in demonstrating all of the unique elements of its history and culture to the public at large.

The site takes advantage of a few key technologies:

• Custom Tag-based Content Management System
• All of the ONE’s articles are stored in a web database and accessed using a tag/keyword based system. All of the directories on the site are “virtual directories” meaning content can be stored and cross-referenced faster and more efficiently. Twelve Horses developed new technology called Mod-CMS specifically for this solution.
• Custom “Wiki” Back-End
• The ONE site administrators have full access to the content management system and can add/edit/delete/categorize all of the articles, authors, links, suggested readings and media from a fully relational web database.
• The design is based on Wikipedia, however ONE’s Editors needed a method to completely control the content and it’s availability to its readership, rather than often inaccurate visitor contributed content.
• Virtual File Directories
• Because content is only a directory away from root and the URL’s are clean, the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of this site is boosted, along with search engine ranking.
• Virtual Reality Multimedia Gallery
• A media gallery was developed to store virtual reality (VR) movies, images, and is planned to also store historic audio files. The media gallery can be accessed from any site category and also from an article page.
• Full-Screen Virtual Reality
• Technology was developed to show the VR movies in their own window and can be expanded to a full-screen view.
• Flash and User-Interface
• A Flash header was incorporated and all major categories are color-coded for enhanced usability.
• Interactive Virtual Reality
• A Special Feature section was added to the homepage to exploit more feature-rich, highly interactive virtual reality movies. These movies can be controlled in their own windows with zoom, full-screen and 360 degree pan attributes.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.