Site Update: Where To From Here

We had such a positive response from our last site update that I thought it might be a good idea to post another – especially as I am keen to get some feedback on various issues relating to that update.

I would like to announce that we have the first of our new admins on the main site – oouchan – who the regulars will be familiar with. She has taken her place with our other main site admins rather well over the last week. So congratulations to her and thank you for accepting the job! As was previously stated, we will be announcing another admin in the near future – stay tuned.

In the last update I took the opportunity to give a plug to the educational society I am currently undertaking lessons with – the International Society of Scholastics. The Society has just launched a new site especially for their online classes and you should all check it out. Classes begin within the month and those of you who sign up will have the joy (perhaps) of being in classes with me! I will be taking Physics, Latin, and Material Logic (having already completed the Formal Logic class). While not yet accredited, if you complete all of the society’s classes, within four years of online studies you will have the equivalent of a PhD. Not bad for studying from the comfort of your own home!

After the comments we got on the last update regarding redesign, it seems that most people want an update rather than a complete overhaul. This is good to know as it obviously means that we are on the right track for the most part with the design we have now. So – I have two questions regarding the redesign that I need your feedback on:

1. What website designs do you love the most – give us links but focus on design rather than content, and
2. Should we run a competition for a new design (in which you will all take part in picking the winner) or do you trust me enough to just employ a design company?

We have had a few emails recently to complain about viruses. The majority were initially in regards to 2leep – the new link sharing program we were using. I am happy to say that we have dropped 2leep in favor of a larger and more professional company – MarketGid. These links should all be safe to visit at each page is manually checked before being added to the list. For those who might be confused – I am referring to the bottom two lines of links in the “Further Reading” at the bottom of each list. There have also been some issues with the popunder servers which have been dealt with. As always – please let us know by email ([email protected]) immediately if you experience any untoward behavior from our links or advertisers.

A constant problem for us – and no doubt other sites – is that many of our articles link to youtube and over the space of the last three years, a lot of those youtube videos have been removed due to “copyright violations”. It would help us immensely if someone could come up with a solution to this problem. What we want is either a method to replace all the videos with new youtube videos, or an idea of how we can host the clips ourselves. If you have the time to spare and are willing to go list-by-list through our archives to replace the removed videos, please email us ([email protected]). Oh – and before I forget, don’t forget to check out my friends awesome “posh” version of The Tide is High. Katey will be one of the guests at the event in item 1 – so be sure to sign up!

Currently we post a top 10 list every day. Some sites – like cracked.com – do the same thing, but due to having a fully paid working staff, have articles and other posts of interest. In the past we had a “your view” article which posed a difficult question and asked you all to speak up. Do you think that the introduction of new articles (a-la cogitz.com) would be a welcome addition to the site, or do you think we should focus entirely on top 10 lists?

Are you a motivated writer who is not getting the audience you deserve? We are open to applications from writers who are able to write at least 4 lists a week on topics that are of interest to other listversers. We have tried the approach of taking paid writers on in the past which eventually failed – but if you really think you can write a list that is unique, interesting, quirky, and amusing, please let me know. Send in a sample of your work and let me know what hours you can do each week and we can discuss things further. But do please note – you must have English as a first language and be able to write at least 1,000 words per list. While we have published lists by non-English native speakers in the past, they always require an immense amount of editing work – that is something we wish to avoid.

In our last update we mentioned our facebook address – and the fact that everyone who asks me to be a friend will be added as a friend. As a result of that list I have added over 200 new friends – and enjoy reading your updates every day. This is just to remind you all that if you haven’t added me yet, do so now. I really enjoy reading over everyone’s daily trials and tribulations – especially when they are from other listversers. Here are our addresses again (and please don’t forget twitter!):

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

Not only has the Ultimate Book of Top 10 Lists been a great achievement for us here, it has been a top 10 best seller in the trivia section of Amazon since it was released. In advance of our second book, I would like to run a little competition for the next month. For the next 30 days, one commenter on each daily list will be selected for the prize of a copy of our book. At the end of the thirty days I will post an update which names the 30 winners. This is a prize pool of over $300. I would also like to remind those of you awesome enough to have already bought a copy of the book to POST A REVIEW on Amazon. There are, as yet, only four (which are greatly appreciated) – but please – if you own the book, write about it on Amazon.

The site has now been going strong for two and half years. It seems that the time is ripe for a “meet”. As most of you know I am in New Zealand (Wellington to be exact) – and I would like to get the ball rolling on a regular “real life” meet up of listverse fans. I have started a facebook event for a site meet up in two months. If you are available on the night, can cope with copious amounts of drink, and want to meet other listversers – including me – then sign up. If we get sufficient numbers the event will go ahead and we will post a list of photos here. I expect all our Kiwi listversers to be there and maybe some from overseas will join us. Sign up here.