IB October Statistics - A Rebound, Site Problems, No Game
As noted herein, IB rebounded nicely in October from the very dismal September. The new Game (which resulted in September's downfall) was promised by the end of October but didn't happen. More details are located Here, including the move to Facebook. Site problems continue to plague the Site, albeit in a different form than before. From the comments in This Thread, it appears that there are major problems with the Stamps, with Users having more or less Stamps that they are entitled to which would also trickle down to a Point problem. There needs to be a complete audit of all accounts to get this situation back to where it should be.
Two of the four groups received three (3) Sets as Free/Fresh deliveries, and the other two groups received two. A new Badge was discovered during the month, the Golden Grown Badge which is for making 500 Gold Deliveries. The "coolness" that was promised on June 5th still hasn't happened. Here's the results for October:
Total Sets released in October was 10, a 43% increase from the 7 Sets released in September. The October releases consisted of 4 Gold, 2 Silver and 4 Bronze Sets.
The Token value of all Sets released in October was 30, a 100% increase over the 15 Token Value in September.
The Average Token Cost per Set was 3.00, a 40% increase from the 2.14 average in September.
The Average Sets released per week was 2.50, a 43% increase from the 1.75 sets per week released in September.
This Chart tracks the above Statistics since the New Icon Buffet went live.
At the end of October there were 142 Free Delivery Sets outstanding, containing 2,305 Icons. These included 1 Diamond (.70%), 35 Gold (24.65%), 36 Silver (25.35%), and 70 Bronze (49.30%) Sets. The total Token Value of all Sets outstanding was 363 at the end of October with an average Token Value/Set of 2.56.
There is now 1 Member with over 90,000 Points, 1 Member with over 70,000 Points, 1 Member with over 60,000 Points, 2 Members over 40,000 Points, and 7 additional Members over 20,000 Points. If you want to get into the top 50 of all Members you will need over 11,830 Points, up 2,120 Points since last month (who says there are no Tokens out there). Up to date User Standings can be seen Here courtesy of Aaroncampbell.
Previous Monthly Statistical Reports are located Here:
September
August
July
June
May
April
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robbyrice on Nov 01, 2007
just a thought, wouldn't the "coolness" that Josh mentioned back in June be the new game?
iconmaster on Nov 01, 2007
While I commend your thoroughness, treating our creative output like a stock market tends to make the work rather less fun for the people behind the icons...
MaskedJedi on Nov 01, 2007
I don't know. I like these updates. i mean, IB is kind of an economic community. It's kind of similar to Wall Street.
Though, and I think I speak for all of us, I greatly appreciate the sets, and the time and work you spend on them. They're truly phenomenal.
seanhussey on Nov 01, 2007
Yeah, you've created your own little economy, complete with resources, assets, supply, and demand. It's not far off.
mik on Nov 01, 2007
I like dyar's stats. Strategy & economy are part of the game here. And they're not critical, they're factual and show commitment. I hope the chefs can learn to love them eventually, and that dyar will continue to share them.
danielsemper on Nov 01, 2007
I also enjor Very much top read every 1st of the month the Stats of the last month.
It is a exceptional work dyar, keep on going !!!
So # of sets/month until now were:
October 10
September 7
August 14
July 10
June 12
May 14
April 18
One recommendation if it helps. The graphic could be done in Google Docs: Spreadsheets, which is the online Excel light version, with the option to share it but only you will edit it.
jsfreire on Nov 01, 2007
Well done dyar. One more time you do an exceptional work.
iconmaster on Nov 01, 2007
That's very true about the economy that's developed. Still, I'd much rather IconBuffet be evaluated on the quality of its offerings rather than the quantity. For example: September was supposedly "dismal," yet it saw the release of the truly epic Legend of Modena, the angel-riffic Marseilles Celestial, the tasty Tower Grove Pizzeria, and the learned Shasta Classroom.
Should all that work be pooh-poohed because we didn't pass muster on somebody's spreadsheet?
gswd on Nov 01, 2007
I'm fighting the urge to really rant, but I will say that just because the housing market is in a "slump", it does not mean that they are not still building some truly fantastic houses/condos. However, all we see on the news is the abysmal housing market.
So, IB life imitates real life, and Dyar seems to be our CNBC.
KatieK on Nov 01, 2007
Legend of Modena is simply loverly, and nothing will ever change that.
Tell me about the housing market. I just bought a townhouse in Seattle. Ug.
elnitido52 on Nov 01, 2007
Stats arrr... great!
Thnaks matey!
Btw, We arrr... 300 Pirates alredy...
seanhussey on Nov 01, 2007
Certainly the work put into each set isn't (and shouldn't be) pooh-poohed. It's fantastic stuff.
But the point of the game/site, whether this was on purpose or this was just how it has evolved, is to have as many sets, points, friends, and deliveries as possible. Nobody gets any measurable value from having a set that's prettier than another. When you're talking buy/sell/trade for rewards, the sets themselves become, in a way, currency.
We ask people to take our sets and let them know what benefits they'll receive. (Take the diamond set from me--you'll get a badge! Take these 2 Alexandria sets from me and you'll get a badge AND 100 points!) We tell people, hey, I'll take that set from you because it'll get you more points (the Newbie Welcoming Committee). Heck, even the VIP structure is based on having the resources to get more sets (with the exception of the Diamond delivery, but those aren't VIP-exclusive).
There are some people with whom I talk to frequently that want specific sets and don't care about points or anything else. And I think that's good all around. But when this all started (as version IB 2.0), you even posted about, wow, how whiz-bang-cool it is to collect points and sets and friends and referrals and, golly, look at all the great rewards you'll reap! There wasn't anything in that post about how any of the sets appealed aesthetically. That appeal is a bonus for the wide majority of the most active users, it would seem to me.
Now, again, I appreciate everything that every one of you does for the site. Please don't get me wrong. But when the people who run the site try to sell the premise based on the risk/reward of getting and sending sets without regard to the content of those sets, well, be careful what you wish for.
dyar on Nov 01, 2007
Certainly the work put into each set isn't (and shouldn't be) pooh-poohed.
Where in this Thread was the quality of the Sets ever put down?
gswd on Nov 01, 2007
I would like to thank seanhussey for putting into eloquent words exactly what I was thinking. I would also like to add, regarding the wonder that is the beauty of these icons, that the greatest compliment that you could have is that they are actually being used. You recognized that with the "show off" tab/category for the blog-forum.
seanhussey on Nov 02, 2007
Where in this Thread was the quality of the Sets ever put down?
I don't think it ever was, but iconmaster seems to be saying that we might be missing the point. I would say that, like gswd said, the praise for the icons themselves come in a multitude of other posts.
dyar on Nov 02, 2007
@iconmaster - I don't think anyone has ever criticized the quality of the icons on the buffet nor has anyone "pooh-poohed" your work. Everyone doesn't like every Set, but that is more a matter of personal taste than a reflection of quality.
Quantity comes into play because thousands of people are paying you for the privilege of getting 30 Tokens per month instead of 10. When they end up losing 20 of these Tokens because there is not enough product they will eventually question whether their VIP subscription is worth it. VIP's are important because they pay the bills.
Statistics are important so that people can make informed decisions. The monthly summary provides those that are not here on a regular basis some details about what happened during the month. The Chefs have even referenced these on occasion. You will note from previous reports that both the good and bad is reported. The good thing about numbers is that they don't lie and they aren't biased.
kralyx on Nov 02, 2007
I do think that iconmaster is merely trying to voice his concern -- obsession with quantity over quality. Depending on what you mean by "lying." Numbers do lie, because they conflate each icon's worth into a number. But that doesn't take away the fun of reading dyar's monthly report.
dyar on Nov 02, 2007
But aren't the Chefs the ones who determine the worth of a Set by assigning it a Token Value, and aren't the Chefs the ones who established the entire monetary system on IB?
mrspoomp on Nov 02, 2007
Well said Dyar! The chefs really should just look at this as a factual summary to IB. And truthfully, I think they should see the true homage being paid to the icons. I mean, seriously, what other community would even take the time to develop spreadsheets charting the different badges that can be attained, the possibility of points, etc. Dyar is the Anderson Cooper of IB-- he is just telling us the facts about our beloved community. The facts aren't always rosy; they are just that, facts.
Dyar, as always, I look forward to your monthly round ups and I hope you continue to provide us information-hungry IBers with a monthly state of the union address :)
seanhussey on Nov 02, 2007
Same here. Keep it up! :)
gswd on Nov 02, 2007
I will simply say "w00t", and leave it at that. (for now anyways - I reserve the right to amend any and all comments at a future date and/or time).
josh
on Nov 02, 2007
FWIW — I do enjoy the monthly round up. It's always intriguing to watch the trends.
I will also say that iconmaster and etherbrian put a ton of work into their collections, and are probably not thanked enough (by me personally or the community) for their efforts. So big ups to John and Brian.
That said, I find the stats intriguing.
Back to the game.
seanhussey on Nov 02, 2007
I'm sorry, I call BS on the chefs not being thanked enough:
- You have a community of hundreds of thousands of users whose only reason for coming here is to get the icon sets you produce.
- Some of them even spend money to do so.
- For every set that's released, there is at least 1 post about it, and sometimes as many as 3 or more, where people comment about how much they like it.
- In the first 30 comments on iconmaster's page, 23 thank him for particular sets. He has almost 1700 comments, total.
- For etherbrian, it's 20 out of 30 with almost 700 comments total.
That being said, nobody has ever complained about too much recognition. But please don't misinterpret the success of the site--people like your stuff!
I think maybe some of the recent complaints (about the lack of deliveries, not the server issues) and iconmaster's comment above show a disconnect between the chefs and the users--the chefs want to showcase their work and the users want points and badges. What Group A wants is a means to an end in order for Group B to get what they want. Chefs and users are interchangeable as either Group.