Hi everyone, it's our one month birthday and what progress we've made.

As I write this, we've got 67 members and over 200 posts in seven forums. The feedback and emails we've been getting are letting us know that this is the site you've all been looking for - and it will only get better from here, too!

To date, we've had around 14,000 page impressions, an average of over 3,000 per week since launch, which I think is not bad for a site which hasn't yet hit the main search engines (search engine submission - now, there's a black art if ever there was one ;-)

We're in the process of speaking with a number of contributors to arrange a series of excellent articles on things like training and consulting in the call centre industry, which should hit the site fairly soon.

We've also made progress with the internet's first call centre chatroom, although at the moment it's operating as a 'who's here?' room. We will be scheduling a series of online chats (at a pre-agreed time) in the next month or so to talk about various industry issues and also to make your acquaintance.

Anyway, I can go on, but won't. What I will do is extend my thanks to everyone who has supported us in this, our inaugural month, and hopethat you will stay to see this site grow into something even better over time.

All the best,

John

It's 16th June, and tomorrow will be our two month birthday, and I'm delighted to report that we have more than doubled in size in the last month - we have 156 registered members (+133%), 418 posts (+109%) and we're getting large numbers of hits around the clock. Progress continues!

New facilities introduced in the last month include the enhanced resources section (which now allows members to add their comments to articles - so far we've only added a motivation section, but we'll be adding morereal soon now), email invitation service, enhanced the appearance of the forums and stabilised the site (we had some random crashes which reared their ugly heads as we started to get more traffic to the site).

Once again, thanks for your continued support, and please recommend us to your colleagues and friends - we're making steady progress and I'm getting lots of positive vibes from the emails and posts I read - please consider this to be your site and keep the suggestions for improvements coming in!

John

It's 18th July, and we've passed our three month point. The site is definitely reaching it's adolescence now - the facts:

18 July (last month's figures in brackets)
659 posts (418) - +57.6%
225 members (156) - +44.2%
Hits: roughly up by 40%

Once again, we have steady progress, although there are signs of a slow-down in new topics, although several old favourites remain active.

New facilities introduced in the last month include the book review section, revisions to the registration process, a new forum (Q&A), email notification for replies, an 'unanswered questions' view, a 'member post history' view and other things which I currently have forgotten about.

Yet again, we at CallCentreVoice thank you all for your continued support, and hope that the site is at the very least meeting your expectations. I'd like to urge you all to continue to recommend us to your colleagues and friends - to sustain our steady progress we need to expand on our membership base and nurture and develop the valuable content which you all kindly provide.

A very big thank you to you all, and I look forward to our next month!

John

Agree with Vedula's idea about a "fun forum"!

Bob

Well Done John! I must say that i am really impressed with the site, I have visited nearly every day since i have joined a cpl of weeks ago.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Dean Saunders

It's 16th August, and we're now approximately four months old. Things are going well on the site with plenty posts from our 'regulars' coming in. The stats (as compared to last month) are:

16 August (last month's figures in brackets)
897(659) posts - +36.1%
275 (225) members - +22.2%
Hits: roughly up by 30%

Once again, we have steady progress, although the initial rapid growth has stabilised somewhat as we saturate with the 'floating' call centre net-types :-)

This has been a month of steady growth and building stability into the various aspects of the site. Therefore, we haven't actually added much in the way of new facilities, although some browser-specific bugs and performance-sapping code was revised.More importantly, we have been developing a few relationships with suppliers and advertisers to ensure the longer term growth and financial resilience of this site.

Once more, we at CallCentreVoice want to thank you again for being here to take part and help grow this site into the community you all want. As before, please keep recommending us to your colleagues and friends - the biggest hurdle we face is letting people know that this community exists!

A very big thank you to you all,you've been a great lot; let's make the next month the best yet!

John

It's 17th September, which makes this site five months old. A comparitive toddler as these things go, but growth has been promising.

17th September 2001 (last month's figures in brackets)
1205 (897) posts - +34.3% (+36.1%)
331(275) members - +20.4% (+22.2%)
Hits: roughly up by 30% (again!)

Once again, we have steady progress; stifled somewhat by the heartbreaking events of last week, which understandably saw the lowest number of new topics and replies to existing topics of any week to date. For that reason, we haven't made our target of ever-increasing growth, and this is reflected in the growth of the number of posts and members falling from 36% and 22% by a couple of points to 34% and 20% respectively.

In terms of new facilities, 'Voice has seen lots of changes in the last month. There was the launch of the improved chatroom, profile editor and unified forum view, amongst other things. Initial feedback has been very positive, although our pride in our accomplishments has been diminished by the recent events and therefore we've not really done much in the way of new features in the last week or so. More importantly, we have stalled the launch of the Digest until November. However, we will definitely be going ahead with the Digest, so don't worry!

On a general note, we are seeing continued over-advertising on this site despite kind warnings not to persist. We want everyone to realise that we provide these facilities on the understanding that they not be abused. Advertisements should be for call centre and telecoms related events, services and products only. Advertising should be confined to the appropriate forum, and we've recently reiterated where such posts should go.

Our final word on this matter is to keep it relevant lest we start actively deleting irrelevant and troublesome posts, and removing the post priviledges of any offenders. We really don't want to have to do this, but feel it better to take the hard linewith offenders than risk upsetting the majority of our members who do respect the 'house rules', which are there for everyone's benefit.

Again, everyone at CallCentreVoice would like to thank you again for taking part and helping grow this site. As always, we love to be recommended, so please keep spreading the word to your colleagues and friends!

Let's make the next month a more positive and uplifting month than the previous one. We can overcome even the worst tragedies if we stay strong!

John

It's 18th October, which means that this site has now been available to the world for a whole six months. Wow, it seems like so much longer, but really it is still early days for the site.

18th October 2001 (last month's figures in brackets)
1330 (1205) posts* - +34.3% (+10.4%)
375 (331) members - +20.4% (+13.3%)
Hits: roughly up by 20%

It goes without saying that the last month has been a difficult one for most members of this site; for this reason, the general activity experienced a bit of 'the doldrums' for most of the second half of last month. This partially accounts for the lower than normal growth in both posts and members. Also, the 'Voice Administration team spent some time 'pruning' some old duplicateposts and irrelevant advertisements, which actually amounted to around 50 posts in itself, so in a sense the 'doldrums' I mention weren't actually as acute as some people seem to believe. Nevertheless, September wasn't a good month.

In spite ofthis, we have made some progress, although it isn't the happiest of 'updates' I've yet had to write. However, I'm sure things will improve as we have had a fair number of experienced and enthusiastic new members join, and new blood invigorates the discussions, so I think next month will be a better one.

In terms of new facilities, September was a 'behind-the-scenes' month, with additional administration facilities being added and some mild moderation policies introduced as a consequence of someabuse by a particular individual. The Digest, which was delayed due to holidays, the September 11th incidents and some technical reasons, is being rescheduled as I write this. With a following wind, it should appear before the end of the year, as should a cosmetic update of the entire site (see this thread if you'd like to suggest any improvements which would improve this site for you). So, watch this space!

As an aside, we're offering a free 'Voice brolly to anyone who wishes to take up the mantle of 'Voice Recruiter and help us keep 'Voice as the best call centre and customer service discussion site on the 'net!

As ever, thanks to you all for taking part and helping grow this site. As you know by now, we thrive on recommendations, so please keep spreading the word to your colleagues and friends!

John

The figures for the percentage increases are swapped around - the figures in brackets are this month's percentage changes, not the un-bracketed ones - my mistake!

John

It's 19th November, which means that the seventh month has passed.

19th November 2001 (last month's figures in brackets)
1494 (1330) posts* - +13% (+10.4%)
465 (375) members - +24% (+13.3%)
Hits: roughly up by 33%

This last month has seen a general increase in posts, not reflected as such by the above statistics (due to some administrative pruning of adverts, old posts and so on). A more accurate reflection of our continued success is the increase in the registered members - a growth of a quarter in one month is very promising indeed. However, there is a story behind that: since introducing the 'register:confirm' style of registration, we've on occasions lost potential members - either they didn't receive the confirmation emails, or misunderstood that they had to confirm their registrations, or simply forgot - and we recently sent 'reminder' emails to those who'd registered but not confirmed. This resulted in a bigger-than-normal increase in registrations (as unconfirmed registrations don't appear as 'members'). However, even taking this into account, we've seen a staggering increase in members and it can only mean that the 'word on the street' is that CallCentreVoice is the place to be!

October was quiet - I was on holiday for the first couple of weeks and so wasn't here to oversee much in the way of new development. We're working on a 'cosmetic' redesign which is planned for mid-December, along with the long-awaited email digest and some new facilities. We're still inviting suggestions for improvements to the site, so see the link in the previous but one reply for a link to allow you to add your wishes to the wishlist!

You know the rest by now: Many thanks go to the Academy.... whoops, wrong speech. You've been a great bunch, and things are going well! Keep up the good work!

All the best,

John & The Admin Team

As ever, the monthly waffle...

18th December 2001 (last month's figures in brackets)
1608 (1494) posts* - +7.8% (+13%)
551 (465) members - +18.5% (+24%)
Hits: roughly up by 25%

The winter slowdown is upon us; a slight decrease in postings, as the party season approaches, paints a less impressive picture than the fact that our membership numbers continue to rise dramatically - which is great news as it means that the word is getting out that this is the placeto be for call centre and customer service discussion and debate. The postings are also slightly misleading as we've been carefully pruning some of the older, outdated topics and also cleaning up the advertising forum. We do this to ensure that what topic we do have represent up-to-date and interesting, informative discussion.

The cosmetic redesign, new registration process, etc. are still planned for early next year - expect to see them by the end of January. Since the site is beginning to attract a greater number of members, which in turn has generated some useful feedback, we've listened to your ideas and plan to incorporate many of those ideas and improvements over the next few months.

As ever, thanks to everyone who contributes to help make this site the premiere call centre and customer service discussion site on the 'net. Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year - and we look forward to seeing you all soon!

All the best,

John & The Admin Team

22nd January 2002 (last month's figures in brackets)
1790 (1608) posts* - +11.3% (+7.8%)
646 (551) - +17.2% (+18.5%)
Hits: roughly up by 27%

Happy New Year to all of the 'Voice members - it's now January, it's breezy and cold, but with this being a new year everything is looking optimistic. CallCentreVoice membership numbers continue their impressive increases, which is fantastic news as it means that the word continues to get out there!

CallCentreVoice v1.10 is set forrelease in the next few days; much has changed (cosmetically) but the overall model remains as you like it - the feedback that we received was generally in favour of keeping the simple but powerful, mainly text-based interface and concentrating on ironing out a few minor interface quibbles. Can't wait to launch it! It's looking VERY good indeed!

Once again, thanks to everyone who contributes to help make this site the best of its breed! I trust you all had a great Christmas and new year let'smake 2002 a good 'un!

All the best,

John & The Admin Team

18th February 2002 (last month's figures in brackets)
1972 (1790) posts* - +10.2% (+11.3%)
804 (646) members - +24.5% (+17.2%)
Hits: roughly up by a third

Once again, it's that time of the month when I get to sit down and see how the good ship 'Voice is faring on the stormy seas of the internet...

Well, good news all round this month - we relaunched with a new look and some extra functions and facilities, including improvements in several key areas. We're definitely beginning to gather momentum, as our increased posts and especially our membership numbers demonstrate. In fact, the posts are misleading as we have been pruning a lot of old and outdated topics from the early days of 'Voice, so the membership figure, showinggrowth of a quarter in just one month - less, in fact! - is the most exciting part.

Let me take a moment to thank you all again - together we will continue to forge the world's greatest, most impartial and useful resource for this industry. Look forward to seeing you there!

John & The Admin Team

17th March 2002 (last month's figures in brackets)
2103 (1972) posts* - +6.7% (+10.2%)
945 (804) registered members - +17.6% (+24.5%)
Hits-in-the-month: roughly up by 15%

Another good month for 'Voice, we saw the launch of our sister site, NewBusinessVoice, and a major update to the architecture of the site, which was quite a lot of hard work (and several significant outages) for the CCV Team, but we pulled through!

Momentum is gathering as mentioned last month, as we can see by the 141 new registered members we gained in the last month. This is really exciting and great news for the site, as it shows that people are flocking here from all around the world, and we're well on track to break the 1000 member barrier in time for our first anniversary.

As ever, thanks to everyone for your continued support, great contributions, informed articles and patience whilst we sorted out our technical buts. Next month sees the first anniversary of the 'Voice site, so it will be a major milestone. Tell all your friends, we'd love to see more members and more discussion!

All the best,

John & The Admin Team

Tomorrow, CallCentreVoice is one year old exactly. In a short while, we've grown to become the foremost call centre community in the world. Our growth figures show this, and as ever here they are for the previous month:

16th April 2002 (last month's figures in brackets)
2272 (2103) posts* - +8.1% (+6.7%)
1142 (945) registered members - +20.9% (+17.6%)
Hits-in-the-month: roughly up by 22.5%

In the last month we have reached and shattered the 1000 members' barrier. In fact, for good measure we also shattered the 1100 members' barrier! 197 new members joined CallCentreVoice in the last four and a bit weeks. That's nearly 7 new members EVERY DAY, which is fantastic. Postings continued to climb, although the usual pruning brings that number down a little.

So, from everyone here at CallCentreVoice, a big thank you to all of our members and expect to see some exciting changes here in the community in the next few months as we start to spread our wings further and add momentum! I really hope to see everyone there, so in the meantime, keep posting, send us postcards from your place of work and go out there and use the things you've learned and report back!

Best wishes,

John & The Admin Team

Well Done John and Team. I think this is a fantastic site and visit every day. Hope it continues to prosper and improve.

Kevin

Hi John,

Congrats. The new look CCV is infact very Helpful and will is a grand success. Hey Keep up the Good work.

This is best communication channel for all the people in the call center industry, to which all will agree...?

Now you have completed a YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All the best!

Having past our first birthday, the site continues to grow steadily:

16th May 2002 (last month's figures in brackets)
2500 (2272) posts* - +10.0% (+8.1%)
1330 (1142) registered members - +16.5% (+20.9%)
Hits-in-the-month: roughly up by 25% (!!)

Again, another month of enthusiastic and rapid growth; 188 new members joined CallCentreVoice in the previous month, which is only slightly down on the incredible 197 of last month. That's still averaging a little over 6 new members EVERY DAY, which is still an impressive figure. Postings continued to climb, despite extensive pruning of a lot of the old advertising posts and removal of some duplicate posts.

So, all in all, another positive month, and with some luck we may even hit 1500 members by mid-June. Here's hoping!

Best wishes,

John & The Admin Team

Another great month, lots of new members. Here's the stats for you stats fans...

16th June 2002 (last month's figures in brackets)
2695 (2500) posts* - +7.8% (+10.0%)
1509 (1330) registered members - +13.5% (+16.5%)
Hits-in-the-month: again, up by 25% (!!)

A good month of steady growth; 179 new members joined during the month, which shows that things are still growing steadily. We'd like to wish each one of these members a warm welcome and hope that you all find the site useful.

We're well on target to hit 2000 members by the end of the year, and 2500 by our second anniversary (in April 2003) so fingers crossed, everyone!

Best wishes,

John & The Admin Team

Here's the report for the period 17th June to 16th July. The last month hasn't been as good a month - a lot of you are probably out basking in whatever passes for a summer wherever you are (folks south of the equator excepted) but still promising. Here's the breakdown:

16th July 2002 (last month's figures in brackets)
2847 (2695) posts* - +5.7% (+7.8%)
1666 (1509) registered members - +10.4% (+13.5%)
Hits-in-the-month: up by approximately 20%

A steady month, if not spectacular - we'd like to welcome the 157 new members who joined us during the month - hope that you all find the site useful!

We're still very much on target to hit 2000 members by the end of the year, and 2500 by our second anniversary (in April 2003). However, we could do with a few more interesting (non advert-related) conversations, to inject a bit of debate back into the proceedings. I've been spending a great deal of my time firstly working on NewBusinessVoice (click here to see what we've been doing) and then preparing my home prior to sale. So, I've been busy, but I'll be back with some juicy topics real soon now!

Best wishes,

John & The Admin Team