Dutch-ness resumed
We're going to be in a national newspaper, the NRC Handelsblad, tomorrow. I've seen a copy of the article; it looked very positive. Also, when run through Babel Fish (Google doesn't do Dutch), it looked insane. (Typical sentence: "Pubers, muziekliefhebbers, students, zakenlieden, homos, vips, jobseekers or singles: all they have their own network sites.")
UPDATE: Here it is. Very positive. (And it gave us a pretty big bounce. Let's hope we can hold it.)
Oh, we hit 250,000 users. But no big deal. We all know that registered users isn't the same thing as regular users or paid users. When we hit 250,000 paid users I'll blog about it, from my teak and platinum moon-yacht.
Labels: dutch books, moon-yachts, press
posted by Tim at 2:58 PM
18 Comments:
So how many paid users DO we have? Or are you not willing to divulge that information?
That's actually the only "metric" we know about and don't reveal on the Zeitgeist or wherever.
hi Tim - from a fellow entrepreneur, congrats on 250K uniques. It's a big accomplishment that most sites never get to. You're doing something right. :-)
I just became a paid lifetime member after one year of being a free member. Once you hit 200 books it's kinda hard not to enter more... people will come around!
you should try to get on WNYC, NY Public Radio! They did this great thing today on book suggestions and it has over a hundred comments.
Hi Tim,
To unconfuse you a bit: the sentence means: "Teens, music lovers, students, business people, gays, VIPs, jobseekers or singles: they all have their own network sites".
I guess you can add 'book lovers' to that list ;-)
I forgot to say in my previous message, if you want I can translate the article for you. If you want me to just send it to yvette at dutchgenealogy dot nl.
No, I'm set. It's not too hard to see the meaning underneath.
I had to smile at the "homos" part. It's untranslated, but it pretty odd in context. Those homos and their social networks!
The article is to find on the web now: http://www.nrc.nl/media/article750590.ece/Een_kijkje_in_andermans_bibliotheek
Hi everyone,
The article in NRC Next was very positive, indeed.
As soon as I'd read it, I went to the website and I think it's great!
I immediately joined, although I'm not a paying member.... But that can change, since I have far more than 200 books. For now, I only added some of my all time favourites. I'll probably will be needing extra space on my virtual book shelf within the year just as alea did...
The NRC article indeed was very positive and attracted me to this site. Thank god! I love it.
I will tell my friends at my bookclub and am sure this will get you extra members. This brings me to my question. Where is the "tell a friend" option. I am pretty sure i saw it somewhere but cant find it anymore. Driving me crazy :D Why not put it under the header: extra/tools
Good idea. Did it.
I am an editor at the NRC newspaper and I edited this piece, whereafter I went straight to this site and I have been uploading books all weekend. I think it's a brilliant tool.
Bart
Thanks. I heard that someone at the paper became a fan. Let me know if you have any issues with it.
Ooh, I love the bookshelf at the market in that photo. The storage! The graceful curves! Mmmm...
I hope this translation does not constitute a copyright violation:
A peek in other people's book collection
Thousands of readers are active on network sites for bibliophiles.
By our editor Elske Schouten
Rotterdam, Aug. 9 Lovers of all kinds books exchange tips and experiences with readers on the Internet. „I have become a bit addicted to it.”
Teenagers, music lovers, students, businessmen, gays, vips, job seekers or singles: they all have their own network sites. Since about a year book worms may also connect on line with each other.
Several social network sites for bibliophiles have been set up. The largest is LibraryThing.com, a site where you can manage your whole book catalogue, and can get in contact with other readers. Other examples are Anobii.com and Shelfari.com, which is partly owned by on line bookshop Amazon.
The founder of LibraryThing is Tim Spalding, an American web designer who studied classical languages. On the phone, he says that he started the site to catalogue his own book collection which contains many rare editions. Now the site has 250,000 members. „When I started, people said: shouldn’t you rather do something like that with music? But books are still very important.”
On LibraryThing your books show who you are. Some members have input their whole book case into the web site. The site uses the data of libraries and bookshops, so that most of the titles can be input easily by searching for the author’s name or words from the title. Since about a week, this can also be done for Dutch books. The site has now also included the data of the Royal Library (Koninklijke Bibliotheek) and bookshops such as Bol.com and Bruna.nl. into the data base.
Shelfari and Anobii do something similar, but are smaller. Shelfari seems to be more targeted on making friends and attracts younger people. According to Spalding LibraryThing is the only site which has alliances with libraries; others would only be using the data of bookshops. Spalding: „Libraries know most about books. Everyone over 25, however, has titles which are too old to be found on Amazon.” Proudly he says that the Library of the Rijksmuseum contacted him last week, asking him to include their data.
Some members of LibraryThing only use the catalogue function. Juliette Jeukens (50) from Oss, for example, says that she had already put her 1,000 titles in a computer file. „I could no longer do without it. I had already twice ordered the same book.” Now she chooses for LibraryThing because at LibraryThing members also write reviews, post pictures of book covers, provide information about the writer and much more.
By means of their catalogues users may contact other readers. There is an innumerable number of discussion groups, for example of people who read the same book at the same time. It is also possible to find members whose collection, partly, overlaps with your own. Or which users have exactly the same book. Just like at other social network sites, you can send other members a message, or invite someone as ‘a friend’. But, Spalding says, LibraryThing is more concerned with collecting books than with making friends. „People come in contact by means of their book collections. It is not like on other network sites: hey, I like your photograph, I want you as a friend.”
Just like Amazon LibraryThing gives book tips. Thus is possible to see what are the favourite books of people who have read The Da Vinci Code, or who are interested in books concerning the same subjects. The site also gives suggestions concerning books which would fit well in your own collection. A bit tongue in cheek are the “onsuggesties”: tips concerning books which you should particularly avoid. Thus a lover of Nabokov’s Lolita had better avoid The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why He Came to Die.
Henk Lensen (68), is the Dutchman with the largest collection on LibraryThing (4,922 books). As a lover of poetry he regularly checks out other members’ interesting collections and receives updates when they add something new. „The other day I discovered that someone had an English-language version of an anthology of Hungarian poetry. Then that gets added to my wish list.”
As can be seen from the many public discussion groups on LibraryThing, the site is very varied, both in age and interests. There are groups concerning comics, groups for people over 60, who discuss the books which they read fifty years ago, or even a group for ‘BBC radio 3-listeners’. „We draw people who are a bit weird”, says the founder, Spalding. „But there are many of such people.” Some discussions are strikingly personal. For example concerning the feeling of being a‘social misfit’. Or a discussion about the pages in the new Harry Potter on which members had to cry.
Henk Lensen has observed that some users almost get addicted to the site. „I feel a bit like that myself. Every day, you will have a look at it.” That has the disadvantage that there remains less time to read” he says.
How does LibraryThing make money?
Up to 200 books LibraryThing is free, for larger collections the site charges 10 dollars (7.25 euro) per year, or 25 dollars (18.10 euro) for a lifetime membership. Furthermore members can order books through the site from Amazon or other on line bookshops, earning LibraryThing a small commission.
In the long run Tim Spalding, the founder of the site, hopes to earn most from the sales of the system which does book suggestions. As he explains, on line bookshops would like to make suggestions on their sites. They can use the system of Amazon for free, but then they must sell books through Amazon. Spalding: „No book seller in their right mind would do so, except those with suicidal inclinations.”
According to him, the LibraryThing suggestions are also better. „You can give better tips based on one's complete collection, rather than then by what someone buys at Amazon.” Spalding says that his company--which was established in May 2006 – is profitable since December. However, he fears that that may change now, as he has just hired five programmers.
Message edited by its author, Aug 11, 2007, 6:03am.
This was so great to read. It's got a couple factual errors in it, but no translation ones I know of :)
Oh, how lovely! It was quite tedious to have to enter all my Dutch books by hand. (The prospect of adding a few hundred more Dutch books suddenly looks much more appealing.)
Thank you! ^_^
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