IB 2.0 - The Year in Review
It was just about a year ago (March 8th to be exact) that I got an email from the Chefs that the highly anticipated new Icon Buffet v2.0 was open for business. With anticipation I registered with the new site to see what it was all about. Wow, things had really changed. I could see previews of all the Sets I had from the old site in my account and I had 10 Tokens, 310 Stamps and a bunch of Badges. But, I had no Friends. How does this new fangled thing work, and what are all these Stamps, Tokens and Badges about?
I clicked on the Blog Forum Tab and could see some names from the old site had started posting already. It seems that they were as confused as I was. There was a Post by one of the Chefs "so, how does this IconBuffet work?" but it was sketchy at best. Fortunately the Chefs were around to answer our questions. So I started adding Friends from the old site. Someone came to the Blogs and requested a Set and I discovered that I could fill his request and get Points, but I used up some of my Stamps in doing so. Wow, this is neat. But, there was nothing for me to spend my Tokens on since I had all the Sets already. So we all just clicked around adding new friends, chatting and filling a few orders as they came in.
Then on March 20th I received an email that I had received a Free Delivery of a Gold Set Marseilles Value Meal. I remember it well as I was playing online Poker at the time. I immediately folded my hand and sent this new Set out to about 20 Friends that I knew had all the Sets already, a full complement of 10 Tokens, and nothing to spend them on. The Points rolled in and as far as I could tell I was the early Point Leader, but I had used up a large portion of my Stamps already. Thus was the birth of IconBuffet 2.0 as we know it today and the ensuing Icon addiction.
During the first several months the Chefs were on the site daily. Members were suggesting site improvements and the Chefs listened, as improvements were being made weekly. One of the best thing about this site is its Members. Many have shared of their time and talents in writing FAQ's since much of the information was scattered around in Chefs responses to questions. A summary of all the Guides, FAQ's and Tutorials was written and is maintained by tamashii and can be found Here.
OK, so you want some statistics. Here Ya Go. There were 114 new Icon Sets issued during IB 2.0's first Year. Of these 2 were Diamond, 28 were Gold, 27 were Silver, and 57 were Bronze Deliveries. Of the 114 New Sets, iconmaster was the designer of 51 Sets (1D, 21G, 13S 16B) containing 551 Icons; etherbrian was the designer of 61 Sets (6G, 14S, 41B) containing 1,187 Icons; and iconmaster and etherbrian jointly designed 2 Sets (1D, 1G) containing 27 Icons.
This Chart tracks the monthly releases by Total Token Value and Number of Sets since the New Icon Buffet went live in March 2007. From it you will note that the highest month in terms of Token Value of Sets released was in August at 34. May and August tied at 14 for the highest number of Sets released. Excluding the partial month of March, September was the lowest month in terms of Token Value of Sets released with 15, and September and January tied at 7 for the lowest amount of Sets released in a month. You can see all the Monthly Reports for the year by following the Links in This Thread.
Each Member receives one out of every 4 deliveries Free (i.e. you don't spend any tokens to receive the Set). This Chart tracks by Group the Total amount of Set Value each group has received Free since IB 2.0 started on 3/8/07. The totals are: Group 1 - 78; Group 2 - 62; Group 3 - 68; and, Group 4 - 70.
Now It's Your Turn: I've spouted off enough. What I would like is for other members to chime in with your experiences with IconBuffet during the past year. They can be good or bad, but please limit them to past experiences during the year and not predictions of the future.
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robbyrice on Mar 05, 2008
First off, Tamashii's Guide's, FAQ's, Tutorials, Etc, can be found here. Probably the thing that I have appreciated the most about this site is the openness of the chefs. There are present and they listen (most of the time) to what the community is saying. This was actually the first social site that I really got involved with and I have to say that my experience has been a very good one.
JSun on Mar 05, 2008
I must have joined a month after the 2.0 and have no idea what the earlier version was like. I've loved what this site has to offer and think the trading concept is brilliant. I've had people register though my link and then not 'get it' but to each their own :)
I guess recently what I've noticed is the slow down in site activity by members and chefs since Packrat. Which is understandable. That game was addictive! :)
misterhaan on Mar 05, 2008
i joined almost a month before, then forgot about it until a few months later when i got an e-mail saying i had a free delivery from a chef! i've been collecting ever since.
debbye on Mar 05, 2008
i joined two days after the unveiling of 2.0 and couldn't understand why no one knew what was going on! now … i get it.
this is my first community & has my undying loyalty. i love the friends i have, here and the advice and the tech info and the iCons and …
gswd on Mar 05, 2008
In the IB 1.0 days it was the FREE that got me and kept me. With the 2.0, the free is still going to keep me coming back (if less frequently), and the community is always a draw. Even if there isn't a new set, I feel like I need to check in and see what the pulse of the community is. I find out about new stuff here, like Twitter, Virb, and IILWY. There have been good times, and bad times. Laughing times and hair pulling times. But hey, a virtual life is still life, right?
With the Chefs focusing on other things, things have changed here, and is has been noticed/felt and often spoken of. They do not share with us why there appears to be this withdrawal from us. Maybe it is like the Garden of Eden. Maybe we did something wrong and they are mad at us. Oh well, 2 years have gone by for me. I have lots of little pictures that I get to use here and there, and as long as they keep doors open, and the pixels flowing, I will probably still be lurking about in the shadows.
louiemctool on Mar 05, 2008
i remember version one, vaguely. i remember it seemed like a whole lot of work for very little gain, which is probably why i didn't come back often.
then, i remember the ramp up to version two (similar to the pre-packrat huhu, 'cept not as annoying), and that perked my interest.
version two is definitely what got me hooked. this forum is SO much better than the old version. i think at one point i may have had three separate accounts, 'cause i registered and then forgot what my info was... maybe that was pre-V2. hmmm...
anyway, i owe what little fun i have each day to the awesome people i've met and still meet here. i hope this site sticks around for a while...
:)
josh
on Mar 05, 2008
dyar — As always, thanks for all the work that you put into these updates. It's been a wild ride at the Buffet over the last year. I know we've been spending a ton of time with our Rats these days, but we truly are indebted to the IB community for all the love you've shown us over the last year. Thanks!
rowan6894
on Mar 06, 2008
This site has been invaluable to my job. And it's been really enjoyable as well. I had my brief PackRat addiction (practically had to do a 12-step program to get over that one) and now I'm back to good, old IB. Thanks to everyone that has been so helpful.
tamashii on Mar 19, 2008
First, this site is still the most abused bookmark in Firefox for me. I am here, literally, every day that I have access to a browser. I will never leave this place. Ever. Unless I die. And then I will haunt it. Transparent pixels!!!!
Second, I won't get into my first experiences and such with the old site and the 2.0 version we have today. There really just isn't enough space and I ramble a lot. As my wife says, "[I] could make a Knock-Knock Joke last 30 minutes."
Finally – @dyar :: please post a thread dedicated to collecting all the monthly/yearly summaries as just a series of links for each one. I have wanted to include a link in the Guides/FAQs/Tutorials thread that goes to these wonderful fact sheets for some time now.