Happy Christmas!

This is just a quick post to thank you all for your support for Plebble over the last months and to wish you a very Happy Christmas. We hope it’s restful...

It’s been a great period for us since we went live in August. We now have about 10,000 different people per month visiting the site and we’re having some really interesting ratings/comments. That number’s set to grow when we launch our publicity campaign in early 2008.

Plebble’s leader board has already highlighted some businesses that are obviously providing great service. Essex-based classical music mail order business, Colchester Classics, has been top of the charts for a number of weeks. It’s obvious from their ratings that nothing’s too much trouble – and that, as a result, they’ve got an extremely loyal fan base. Independent wine merchant, Caviste, is a recent entry – in at number 2. They’ve also recently been named in The Guardian’s Shopping Directory (‘the ultimate guide to Britain’s finest independent shops and suppliers’) which seems well deserved based on their ratings. Third is BBC.co.uk (the most popular website in the UK) and 3 John Lewis brands (Waitrose, Ocado and John Lewis) appear in the top 25. To view more best and worst performers on Plebble, please click here: www.plebble.com/analysis.php.

Finally, if you haven’t rated your own Christmas shopping experiences yet, please get online and do it! (Here’s the link: www.plebble.com/rate-it.php) Remember, the more ratings you give, the better Plebble gets, so please do find time in your day to rate. If you bought online, did the stuff arrive on time? Did you go to local, independent stores or big chains? Which was better? Any horror stories? Anyone you want to thank for going the extra mile? Please let us know...

Anyway, have a great Christmas and see you in 2008.

James and Will

Plebble Beta?

A few people have asked us why Plebble didn't launch a Beta version first. We did in a way - Plebble is always Beta in the sense that we always want our users to test the site and tell us how we can improve it. Plebble is for everyone - ie 'a true e-mocracy' - so everyone can input into it. Besides, lately we've been seeing Beta branding being used by some people as a marketing gimic rather than a genuine attempt to get feedback from a site's 'early adopters'.

So, if you've got any feedback or thoughts on the site, please let us know. Also, if you notice any bugs (hopefully you shouldn't but you never know), please tell us so we can get them fixed...