It has been quite a while since we had a site update and there have been lots of changes so I thought it would be a good idea to fill you all in on the latest happenings in the Listverse world. A lot happens behind the scenes that hopefully you, our readers, don’t realize but benefit from. So read on and get up to date!
Traditionally on my birthday (August 31) I write an extra vanity list about myself. Previously I have done a list of my favorite books, films, and lists. This year I want you to tell me what to write my list on. I will take all suggestions and pick my favorite (it is my birthday after all!)
After three years of running we finally decided to start managing our own ad campaigns (well, at least some of them). We are now able to serve adverts based on geolocation and a variety of other variables. This will help us to provide adverts that are more intuitive and of interest to our readers. An extra benefit to doing this is that some ad serving should be faster and less clunky.
We are considering offering a special premium type of user account at Listverse. For a small monthly fee (most likely 5 – 10 dollars) premium users would have access to three extra lists each week – lists written by both me and paid premium content writers of my choice. In addition, these users would see no adverts on the site. Non premium users would continue to get their usual seven free lists per week – so this would mean an addition of content for some and no change for others. It would be entirely optional. I am very interested in hearing what you all think about this option and whether you would become a premium user.
You may have noticed that we are running a survey on the site. This is entirely for demographic information as advertisers often like to know more about the audience of a site. We could use cookies to track you all and gather the information that way (as many sites do) but I hate that idea and am sure you all do too. The best solution is to let you disclose what you want to us. The information is completely private – we don’t even get to see your IP address – just your answers. The survey request will only appear once per person so if you ignore it, you won’t see it again. And thanks to all those who have participated so far.
We now have a facebook fanpage! Previously our only presence on facebook was through my personal facebook account. If you haven’t already liked the fanpage, do so now. You can also find us on Twitter and on youtube.
Our site redesign is almost complete! Zack and Alex have been working extremely hard to bring us a stunning new site which brings us up to date with some of the latest trends on the Internet (specifically, social networking). The new design is very different from what we have now but care has been taken to ensure that it is an easy transition. It has a whole new color scheme as well as a few new features. We are sure you will love it.
Our publisher has expressed an interest in doing a third book of lists – the subject of which I can’t disclose at present but it is one that I think you will all love given the popularity of lists in the category. That would give us a trilogy of Listverse books which is very exciting. Our publisher is also running a special offer for listverse readers right now – you can read about that next:
The Ultimate book of Bizarre Lists is now complete and ready to go to the printers. At this stage it is looking like it will be larger than the ultimate book of top 10 lists (our first book) which is over 700 pages! In preparation for the launch of the new book, our publisher is doing a special offer. If you review the first book (and promise to review the second one when it comes out), they will send a free copy of both books to you when the bizarre book launches in November. There are ten sets of books to give away so the first ten reviewers will win the prize. Once your review is complete, send me an email and tell me what name you wrote the review under and your name and address for delivery of the books. Here are the pertinent links:
The Ultimate Book of Top 10 Lists
The Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists
You can also purchase the first book or pre-order the second if you don’t want to write a review.
Cool site changes listverse! but i wish there is minimum cost of money when paying as a premium user, it's like membership to an online game. BUT, changes are cool, the site is in condition, thumbs up James!
as a suggestion for the b-day list, make a list verse based list , like top 20 most retarded comments etc .
Premium content is a great idea to bring more knowledge to those who want to pay a little for it and in return you make more money and can make a better site for everyone.
As you can see, anyone who doesn't like the idea is against it purely because they can't pay for the content and thus feel that no one else should get the option of receiving more even though they themselves won't lose because of it.
It is a greedy and moronic gesture that you should pay zero attention to.
I have seen maybe three people in the comments (you being one of them) who have said premium content is a good idea. Perhaps there’s a few more out there who haven’t voiced a positive response yet, but do you honestly think that the minor additional revenue gained by such a small percentage of overall customers would offset the onslaught of negative backlash by everyone else enough to justify it as being a good business decision? Yes we are customers even when the content is free, as we are eyeballs for the ads. You can blame the complainers as being “greedy and moronic” all you want, but in the world of marketing a business, “the customer is always right”, even if they are wrong. So to ignore them, as you suggest, would be business suicide.
"but in the world of marketing a business, “the customer is always right”, even if they are wrong"
lol. check this out: http://notalwaysright.com/
There are some funny stories about stupid customers, a very miniscule percentage of which I contributed but it's been years since I worked retail so I'm all out of stories.
@Frater re: premium content
It's nice to get extra lists but the thing that makes LV so awesome is the inclusive quality of the site. Not only do we get to read lists – many of which are submitted by readers of the site – but we can also have conversations in the comment threads regarding the list topic (or sometimes topics that have nothing to do with the list). A premium list would lose a lot of that conversation because there would be so fewer number of commenters seeing that particular list.
Just my 2 cents. Although if it's extra revenue you're looking for, just hint us along to which companies pay you every time someone clicks on their ad. I'd gladly spend 5 or so minutes every day doing that as I work
As far as a Frater vanity list…. top 10 embarassing Frater moments??
You are truly clueless Richard
happy happy joy joy! it's been a wild ride kids! thnx for the great lists jfrater & co!!
also,
not to beat this into the ground but i oppose premium content (for all the reasons posted above).
<3
hey jamie,the premium content idea is great,what good is a skill if it cant earn you an extra buck?
We share a birthday
HAPPY BIRTHDAY *****! You should make a list of TOP 10 THINGS YOU DIDDN'T KNOW ABOUT BIRTHDAYS!!
I'd like to see a list of your favourite websites. Not ones you most commonly use like your bank account or email but more obscure and interesting ones like Cogitz.
Having said that can you pleeeeeease post some new articles on there. I really like that site a lot.
I have no excuse from now on to forget your birthday as it is my wedding anniversary.
So to you, Jamie, i wish you all the best on your birthday and i hope that Listverse has many more to come too!!
cheers,
The Mick,
Australia
Happy early Birthday. I'd like to hear your take on various musical genres.
Knock, knock
Who's there?
You ever hear the joke about the broken pencil?
You ever hear the joke about the broken pencil who?
Nevermind, it's pointless.
No premium content..no way!! But..what about the site hanging frequently and delay in page loading..what what?? DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT!! It is by far the most irritating change in Listverse…(intensedebate)
I could not justify paying $10 a month (US?) for a few extra lists. Especially since the quality of the lists can be a bit hit and miss – the ones by Jamie are generally great, but some of the others are poorly written and tedious. I would feel pretty ripped off on one hand if I paid and got the crappy lists, and on the other hand if I didn't pay and all the good lists became premium.
Happy birthday though!
@ Richard – you can’t speak for everyone and say the only people that are against paying are the ones that cannot afford it.
Some have basically said that its just a matter of principal and also I could be wrong but I get the impression athough people like it here paying for it would not be one of their priorities in life.
Personally although I very much like this site, I would stop using it if I felt I was missing out on better quality information regarding the premium.
Listverse is the greatest site ever. It is the site that everybody gets addicted to the first time they visit.
A great source of information and entertainment for everyone. I would hate seeing it go premium.
I am an open source community freak and the word premium ranks in the same category as some
vulgar words which i cannot find the guts to type here. Maybe a list of 10 worst lists on listverse will do for a birthday treat. Dont forget to include the list about talking donkeys. It was the worst ever.
That list was only bad because it was donkey-centric. I'm still pulling for Francis.
Seriously, if there is paid-for content, I imagine a lot of comments from the premium group will make their way onto non-premium lists. Thus, many of the comments will be utterly mystifying. So, actually, nothing will change…
no! not the premium content! ):
Wow! Congratulations, you are one year closer to death. Happy birthday to you and Malaysia(see, your birthday is on the same date as Malaysia’s independence day).
Natural progression; Make a list on your favorite music albums.
Happy Boithday, Jafe. I'm a lowly college student, so there's no way I can afford any premium account. No problem, though, because I'll keep contributing.
Yeeey more religion debates. I cant wait. And dont forget those gun lists. Maybe 10 reasons why tea is so good.
Btw if im not too curious what do you study?
How about a premium membership in which subscribers never have to be subjected to religious debates on LV? I would pay a few bucks per month for THAT.
Happy Birthday!
And on to my two cents about premium content:
For $10 a month I can view unlimited TV shows and movies via either Netflix or Hulu. I know Rupert Murdoch thinks he can change the Internet model by making users pay for content, but at least the WSJ is a financial paper (very useful and necessary information) with an international reputation. Listverse is a blog, a very good blog that I read about everyday, but a blog nonetheless. For what I get from Listverse, 5 minutes of unreferenced but sometimes informative content, is not worth any monthly payment. Sorry.
If you want people to pay for content, you have to step it up because there is a lot of competition for money. You would need to improve the content vastly to compete with magazines who offer similar stories with graphics, polls, videos and other stuff that improves the user experience; and most magazines don't change for content online, so you would have to do it better than magazines.
You would probably need to offer more than a few stories a week to bring in users. Offer an exclusive Listverse membership, which includes extra stories, free books etc…
Good luck with changing your model, but my advice is that squeezing money out of your readers is like getting blood from a stone.
You guys have done a formidable job of monetizing this site. I've been an addict for months now, Listverse has become a not-so guilty pleasure of mindless web surfing as at least I feel I'm educating myself somewhat. Congrats on such a successful site that offers real value to end-users.
Happy Birthday, Jamie.
Suggestions for lists you could write on your b’day :-
10 Favourite lists of Jamie.
10 Commentors Jamie loves
10 Commentors Jamie would like to banish from LV.
10 Lists that Jamie couldn’t unsee once seen.
Moving on, the premium content idea, IMO, is the worst idea in the history of LV. Extra lits are like a bonus for us, we wait & when we see one, there is nothing more delightful. The reasons we love LV are:-
i, Its ‘FREE’
ii, Its entertainin
iii, We can submit lists
iv, Freedom of Expression
After all these years of following LV we come to a point when we have to pay for something that was previously thought of as a bonus from you.
Please … you are like Willy wonka (LOL) for us & we expect free candies & chocos from time to time. Please don’t restrict this chocolate factory for the few. Consider this a plea from the loyal.
And Happy birthday again
Happy b-day Jamie.
I found this site almost 2 years ago, and quickly read all of the archives, and i read the list every day. Often (if i have the time) i'll read a dozen or more lists that i have forgotten or found really interesting. I feel premium content would be a mistake, 1 For the above reason of the matter of prinipal. 2 I do feel that the better content would go into the premium even if you try your best not too(It's human nature to give the best to those who would pay). 3 Some of the lists are not of great interest to me. It would suck if 2 of 3 premium lists of the week were of topics that would not interest me that much, yet 4 of 5 of the free lists did.
What if you had a survey per week to unlock the premium lists? A survey that would not require phone numbers, addresses or other personal info besides email. Put the onus on the advertizer instead of your readers.
That is all.
Happy Birthday Jamie. I’d like to see a vanity list of your special places in the world.
How about a list of your favorite Listverse comments?
I've never paid for premium content on a website, before. I spend less than $10 a month for unlimited steaming films from Netflix, so it's hard to justify a similar price for top ten lists.
Anyway, I love Listverse. It's a great site.
I love the idea of premium content, but couldn't pay over $2 USD a month – maybe $25 a year. I hope you'll take paypal, too!
Listverse rocks!
Happy Birthday, Jamie.
Please don't go the route of premium content. I can only speak for myself, but I definitely would not pay for it and it would probably only be a matter of time before the free content would start to go majorly downhill.
I understand that you want to make some more money off your hard work–you deserve to. What if you put out an entire book of unpublished lists? It seems more palpable to pay 20 dollars for a full book than 10 dollars a week for a web site that none of us have permanent access to. I know a book may not generate as much revenue as a premium version of the site, but it's a better way to ensure that the site itself doesn't become neglected.
Premium content? Haha!
Happy birthday, Jesus of Nazareth.
If you introduce premium content, eventually someone will start leaking it to non-premium content users on another blog. That could cause problems with your advertisers. I would say between that and the resentment it would cause, it's probably not worth it. But shucks, what do I know?
Still love the site, I check it everyday, keep up the good work.
All the great people were born on August 31….including me!
Grattis på födelsedagen!
Urime datlindjen (that’d be happy b’day in Albanian)
I cast a big NO to premium coz I believe in that ole saying from my tribes – (free) sharing is *****y
Surely you must get enough revenue free ads to add a Freemium service? If your podcast is telling the truth then surely your 5 million readers is enough to give you a tidy profit on this project already?
Happy bday James! thats all i have to say ^^
No to premium!!
everything else sounds awesome but i hope the new design isnt too clunky
Sorry gang, I haven't been doing my bit to take over the lists, but I've been busy and can't see an end to that particular problem…I'll jump in and get all take-overish when possible.
Happy Birthday Jamie!
I've followed this website for about a year now, I read it everyday, and like a lot of the lists posted here. I've just been too lazy to create an account
But this Premium Content idea doesn't sound too good. People who would buy it are probably going to be disappointed with several lists, and would think that their money was wasted. Meanwhile, people who can't get it are going to be very jealous and probably a bit angry. Also, the worst thing is that it would split this community apart, which cannot be good for the site
I like the other updates though, cannot wait for Book Three!
Happy Birthday! I posted a review at Amazon.com today of your book. I hope that is what you were looking for!
Anyway, I seem to be among about six people who posted a review so far since this list went up. I am of course absolutely willing to post one about the second book as well and about a third book, too! 
Happy Birthday Jamie!!! All the best wishes are sent your way!!
If I get to choose the subject of your new "fav" list, I think I'd like to know the best trips/vacations/site visits that you have had. Or the opposite—The "worsts".
Happy Birthday! I've been following your website for almost two years now. I think really you should do a list of your Top 10 Favorite Music Albums. It came to my mind because you mentioned in one of your previous newsletters, if I'm not mistaken, that Listverse would have a special section devoted films. I was wondering if you could do the same for music.
NO PREMIUM CONTENT. Website stays free
that will leave out a vast majority of your african followers who do not have Credit Cards
I love this site and I understand that if you choose the free option that nothing changes, but if you are being paid by advertisers, I feel it is greedy to charge at all. If some people get three lists a day because they pay, but I stick with one because maybe I don't have the funds, I speak for myself when I say that if premium content is added I will not visit this site any longer.
And so far from what I have seen, everyone that has said no to Premium on this board is getting negative ratings. That is very suspicious. Keep it free all the way man. That is how you built the reader base you have over the past few years.
I am also going through and giving everyone a thumbs up that has said no to premium so far.
This probably won’t get read now – but just in case – Happy Birthday JF.
I’d like to see a countdown to the new site rather than have it appear overnight. That would be very cool.
Secondly, I’d love to review the book (I write reviews for software titles to add to my extensive skills base) but I bet all the ones have been taken now. Funny there are no comments about it. Anyway, you have my email if you need it.
Lastly, I’m not a ‘joiner’ in any sense, in fact I’m very much a marginal peripheral individual. But yeah, my apprehension towards the paid content comes purely from a search-engine point of view. Nothing would put me off the site more than finding a list I HAD to see pop up on google only to find I had to pay $5 for it. Damn – If I paid four times that amount I could buy the whole book! Having said that, I’d love for the managers of the LV to get the money the certainly deserve. In fact no, ***** that, the Recognition they deserve. What is more important when lying on your death bed JF, the money or the popularity? I’d have world-wide appreciation over money any day of the week. Just my 0.00002 cents.
Make books, not war.
happy birthday i wish all ur dream cmes true,hw abt list of most painful and sadest days in your pass, i realy wanna know how hard you try to come up in ur life
kishi
srilanka
It is obviously your choice as to whether you go ahead with the premium service but there are people like me, a 17yo student, who cannot afford to pay for anything extra like this. It is a great idea for you if you're wanting to make some more money but as an avid reader of the site I'd be concerned that the quality of the free lists would go down and eventually everything would cost
Do people here have no sense of humor?
You people that gave me thumbs down need to go out get laid… =D
i love listverse. happy belated birthday 4rm zimbabwe
Noooooo dont have a premium thing! i and probably others in a similar position would feel as though we were missing out on stuff