Site Update + Win a Macbook Air

Today I realized it was time for a site update. Before I post updates I always check to see the date of the last one to make sure I actually do have news to share. I was horrified today to see that the last time I posted a personal update message was February this year. Obviously nearly six months have passed since then. Far too long.So without further ado, here is our latest update.

In two weeks I am going for a short holiday to South Korea for cooking lessons (if you didn’t already know it I am a Korean food fanatic). To ensure that we have a great and diverse range of lists to publish over that time we are running a competition. This is our biggest competition ever. Two Macbook Airs are up for grabs. To win one of two Macbook Airs you need to send us a list that is good enough to publish on the site. All lists sent in through the submissions form will be considered so long as they are at least 1,000 words long (100 words per item), and are unique to the site – they must not be previously published on another site, and they must be 100% your own writing. All lists meeting that criteria will be considered. But wait… there’s more. EVery comment during the month of August and September (including those on this list) will be entered into a competition to win Apple’s latest iPad – the highest spec possible. So get posting and get commenting! Oh – and read further down for a chance to win a copy of our books. The competition will end on the last day of September. Your list doesn’t need to be published during the competition period to be considered.

Nearly a year ago we developed our new site. As part of the upgrade we switched our commenting system. The new system is much faster to load but requires a page-load after every comment. This, I think, has resulted in a small reduction in comments. Would you prefer that we return to IntenseDebate comments which require no re-loading but slows the page load by one second or two or would you prefer that we stick with what we have now? IntenseDebate also allowed you to comment from a Facebook or twitter login. As has always been the case I want your feedback to determine the future of the site. If you want instant comments and can cope with the addition of a second in page load time I will restore IntesnseDebate comments. If you prefer faster load times but a forced page re-load for every comment, we will stay as we are. Additionally we can replace the entire commenting system with Facebook comments. Please tell us what you would prefer in the comments.

We were recently approached with an offer to buy Listverse. This is the sixth attempt of a large company to buy the site. As with the previous attempts we turned them down. The greatest thing about Listverse are its contributors and commenters. We said long ago that we wouldn’t sell you out and our intention is to stick to that promise. The owners of the site yesterday are the owners today and the owners this day next year. We will not sell the site out regardless of the money offered. So why are we mentioning this? Because we want you to know that your contributions (via comments and submissions) are so valued outside of Listverse that even the big players want to be involved. And by big players I mean BIG players – companies that are household names. We will not sell so long as we have a passionate community who intend to stick by us as much as we intend to stick by them.

Google plus has recently launched its private “invite-only” social network. Personally I prefer it to Facebook and think that once the floodgates are opened everyone will flock to it. Nevertheless it is still an invite only system and commercial sites (like Listverse) are not allowed to have public accounts. In the interim, if you are a Google+ user you can add me personally to your circles, or, if you are not a member and want to become so, I have unlimited invitations and will invite you if you post your email address in the comments below. If you are especially concerned about spam or privacy you can email me directly with your email address ([email protected]) or you can send me a message on Facebook. For clarity here are our most important social networking addresses – I accept (or circle) all Listverse fans (both to my personal and commercial accounts):

Jfrater on Google+
Jamie Frater on Facebook
Listverse on Facebook

Just to clarify – I will invite all Listversers who request so to Google+ and accept their Facebook requests to my personal account.

What do you think of the site? Do you like the style of Listverse, do you like the color scheme, the interface, the interaction with other users? Do you want to see improvements? If you have any idea of how you would like to see the site improve over the next year please tell us in the comments. If you are still experiencing bugs (which we hope is not the case!) tell us also. We have been running for just over four years now and want to continue for another four – your feedback is what will make this happen.

Over the last year I have not been especially visible in the comments. For that I am sorry. While I spend hours every day preparing lists and posting them, various issues (some personal and some commercial) have prevented me from having the time to really pay as much attention as I should to the daily lists and comments. Fortunately things have slowed down a little in the last month so I intend to take a much more active role (as I did in the beginning of the site) in the daily running of Listverse.

NOTE: this position is now filled. At present we have a great editor who does a good job every day monitoring our lists and making necessary changes. But recently the fact that I am living in New Zealand has uncovered a flaw in our system – we need an editor who lives in my timezone (or close to it) who can do a first run on articles. In other words, I need someone in New Zealand (preferably in Wellington) or Australia who is willing to do a first edit on lists before our brilliant US editor (Joanna) takes over and ensures that we have weights and measures correct and US spelling (which is our preference here). If you live in NZ and feel you can be the first level of editing please contact me. The only requirement is that you be a native speaker of English with a high level of literacy skills. My preference is for someone close to my location (Wellington, NZ) but I will branch out if needs be.

Recently we started a new site (to compliment Listverse and our sister site Cogitz). This is our first real introduction of both of them. We are hoping to branch out and the concepts behind these sites seem the best to supplement Listverse. Please check both out and tell us (via the comments) which you would prefer to see updated daily. Cogitz is an attempt to take us a little deeper into the bizarre articles we have published in the past, and Mythverse is based on our Fact & Fiction category- dispelling the myths we all believe.

On September 3rd I will be arriving in South Korea for some culinary classes. The first four days will be taken up with cooking and meetings with government officials (who are organizing my visit). I would love to have a Listverse meet up (aka soju blowout), if we have enough Korean fans to make it worth the while. If you live in South Korea and can organize this for the 7th, 9th, or 10th of September please let me know. Essentially I want you to work everything out (venue, etc) and I will advertise it via the site, Facebook and Google+. I will be staying in Insadong in a private apartment for those days but will travel anywhere I can get to in a taxi or metro. If this meet up is a success I will travel to the US next year to do the same there. This will be an “all are welcome” event.

In item 10 (our competition entry) I mentioned a chance to win a copy of our books. The first thirty people to write a review of our first and second book will receive a free copy of both books as well as our third book (I Call Bullshit) as long as they promise to review that when it comes out and they have read it (we are presuming you read the first two). All you have to do is write a review – positive or negative) of both our previous books on Amazon and email me ([email protected]) with your reviewer name, street address and real name. As soon as “I call Bullshit” comes out this year, you will receive a free copy of all three direct from the publisher.