The State of MindSay and Our New Year's Resolutions

In parts of the world, it’s already 2008, but for the MindSay team, we still have a few hours to go, so we figured we’d publish some of our own “resolutions” for the new year, as well as update everyone on "the state of MindSay."  

OUR 2008 RESOLUTIONS

1. Better Responsiveness

A few recent blog posts that came to my attention gave me the impression that a lot of people don’t really know how to get in touch with us about issues on the site.  Whatever the reason, I just thought I’d take this opportunity to remind you that you can always email us, but to get an even quicker response, just send me (Adam) an IM.  It’s publicly posted on my blog/profile for a reason.  Most of our best ideas come from conversations with members, so we really do want you to get in touch with us.

2. Continue a “Hands Off” Approach to Moderating Content

One thing that I think sets MindSay apart from other blogging communities is that we’ve always been very hands-off in terms of moderating content.  Short of blatant pornography, hate speech, or situations in which we’ve been forced to take down content due to copyright infringement, we pretty much let anything go here, which is why we’re called “MindSay” (say what’s on your mind).  We’re not a big corporate entity that answers to advertisers or investors – just two guys that enjoy running a fun and open blogging community, that make some beer money in the process if we’re lucky.

3. Expand News Coverage

In our opinion, MindSay News has been one of our better product launches in the last year or two.  While it’s relatively simple compared to some other undertakings, it has been a great way to start new conversations and get more contributions from the community at-large.  In 2008, we’ll hopefully expand our coverage (a wider array of topics that will hopefully interest more users) and perhaps even bring on a couple writers to help keep things fresh.

4. Keep it Simple, Stupid

Since launching “version 3” all the way back in 2004 (wow, time flies), changes to the site have been very gradual and measured, and we’ve kept our interface relatively clutter-free.  I think that’s part of the reason we have so many users that have stuck with us for our nearly full 5 years of existence.  While other sites might offer a few more features or sexier designs, our objective is to keep people in touch and foster new relationships, which, I think the site still does a great job of doing.     

5. Play a More Active Role in User Participation

This is kind of a vague idea, but I think we should try and become more engaged in organizing user events – online or off.  A lot of users already do this on their own – from voting on “album of the year” to “secret Santa” activities and lots of other things we’ve seen going on around the site.  But, since we run the place, we have the ability to drop a plug on the homepage, in a newsletter, or on our blogs and help get people more involved in these types of activities.  Along the lines of resolution #1, if you have ideas, please get in touch and we’ll do what we can to help!

THE STATE OF MINDSAY

In one of the recent posts I saw, the user implied that they really had no idea who was behind MindSay, how stable it was, or whether or not we’d be around one week, one month, or one decade from now.  To address those issues, a few comments:

1. MindSay was co-founded by Adam Ostrow (aostrow)  and Brian Klug (dustball)  in 2003, with the help of Brian’s talented girlfriend Jen (jen).  As we enter 2008, it’s still the same exact team.  In addition to MindSay, we all work full-time jobs.

2. MindSay is profitable and at no risk of going out of business.  Through advertisements, we make enough money to cover our server costs and then some.  

3. If we were ever on the verge of shutting down (.000001% chance this happens in 2008), we would give everyone an option to download their blogs and do whatever else possible to keep people in touch.  I hate to even mention this because it’s so unlikely, but people ask, and I just want to re-assure people we’re not insensitive a-holes.  We know how much time you’ve invested with us in building your blogs and friend networks, and there is no way we’d ever let that simply disappear.  

4. Some people are curious as to the size of MindSay.  At last check, we have around 160,000 registered users, and as we noted recently, we’re quickly approaching a total of 5 million comments, which is pretty cool.  There are something like 1.5 million blog posts!  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We thank you for continuing to use MindSay and wish you, your family, and friends a healthy and happy new year.  Comments welcome.

Sincerely,

Adam, Brian, Jen, and the cats …