Site Update: June 2010

Okay – I realize that officially it is not June yet, but it will be in two days so it seemed an apt title to a much needed site update. Read on for the latest in Listverse news.

We have officially engaged the talents of Zack Sultan to redesign Listverse from scratch. Zack has done great work for other significant companies and his designs are exceptional. You can see his freelance portfolio here. Zack is very enthusiastic about the redesign and we are extremely pleased to have him on board. If you want to make a donation to the site revamp – which will make the site far more intuitive, faster, and more attractive, please make a donation via paypal. Use the donation button below to make a donation of any size:

Due to the very high demand for better editing, we have welcomed to our team a great editor who, for the last few weeks has done a great job of editing our latest lists. Her username is dickensgirl and every list that appears on the site is now checked through and edited by her. Many thanks go to dickensgirl (Joanna) for her great work thus far.

We are on the verge of launching a new Listverse service – weekly podcasts. The podcasts will primarily be lists that already exist on the site, but from time to time we will include lists that are completely new. Unlike other sites who use automated computerized voices to produce their podcasts, we will be using the services of a real voice actor. There is – as to be expected – a cost in bringing said voice actor on board, so do consider using the donate button above as it will help to pay for our podcasts.

We have mentioned this on our last few admin updates but it is worth mentioning again (along with the next two items) as we are going to be focusing more in the new design on social networking. There is a listverse appreciation group on facebook which you should all definitely join. It already has over a thousand users so let’s all join up and get chatting! Furthermore, I have a personal facebook account and I am happy to add any listverse fan (or even a listverse enemy if such a thing exists) to it. So if you want to support listverse on facebook, join the group, and if you want to be my friend, add me! Here are those URLs again:

Listverse Appreciation Group on Facebook
My personal facebook account (I add all listverse fans without question)

Unbeknownst to many, listverse has a twitter account. It is updated daily with the latest list from the site and occasionally we add a link or a comment that interests us. If you are a twitter user, you should definitely subscribe to the listverse twitter feed for the latest in Top 10 Lists. You can find listverse on twitter by clicking here.

Listverse has had a youtube account for two years. For two years that account has been empty. This month we decided to change that. We are now going to be using our youtube account to show you the videos that we most love and to add clips that enhance the site. The new site changes will include our youtube account so be sure to sign up now to get in on the action before it begins. You can find listverse on youtube by clicking here. We have recently added a few clips that relate to our Top 10 Incredible Recordings, so be sure to check it out.

Most here will probably know that we have a book out – the Ultimate Book of Top 10 Lists. On November first, our second book – the Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists will be launched. Pre-orders are already available and the book will contain not just lists from the site, but a huge number of lists that will be available only in the new book. So if you especially love our bizarre lists, pre-order the Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists so you can be sure to be the first to get a copy. And while you are at it, if you haven’t already, pick up a copy of the first Listverse book. If you already own a copy of the Ultimate Book of Top 10 Lists, please go to Amazon and add your review and rate the book.

We recently began trialling a new commenting system – one that allows indented comments, comment ranking, and self-editing. The response has been overwhelmingly in favor of the system and so we are happy to announce that it here to stay. It should be noted that occasionally you might see the old commenting system – this occurs when your network speeds slow the loading of listverse pages. For most people this will not be the case.

The Listverse forums have undergone some minor background changes. The most significant is that we can now open them up for new subscribers without admin consent. The Listverse forums provide a way to get to know other listversers in ways that are difficult on the main site. You can join in on forum games, general chit-chat and get news updates. So if you aren’t already a member of the listverse forums, why not sign up now?