I spoke with Alanna Webb of Lovestories.com. who spoke on the Lovestories site explosion, the new anthology made up of poems from the site, confirming that the site has exceeded all expectations.
"We've actually achieved what many companies haven't, even after throwing a lot of money into the project. We surpassed one million page views one month before our first anniversary and two million views a month before our second anniversary." And it goes on! The site grows by 10% monthly and is currently being visited by a half million surfers per month. Lovestories.com hasn't gone unnoticed. It is a favorite link on MSBET's website and has recieved a worthy mention in other publications. Approximately 60,000 poems are available for viewing and 150-200 more are added daily.
Lovestories was created when Alanna wanted to own a site instead of just creating them for others. "I started Lovestories in September 1997 after completing an 18-month website project for a corporation in New Jersey. I decided that I wanted to create a site that I could control 100% myself. I wanted to forge my own destiny and create a site that people would really enjoy visiting." The numbers prove that many are really enjoying the visit. She credits the drawing power to the allowed creativity the site grants the poets to express. "Poets write, get together and actually form a community."
She also sites the importance of any webmaster or editor to not only read the feedback of the visitors but to implement them in the design of the site such as no frames and short text. "We keep improving, we don't go stagnant."
Although she is sole creator and editor, Lovestories.com does recieve some help from programmers, contractors and volunteers. There are plans to add even more people in their next phase of operation.
Alanna has always enjoyed English. "..if I had not earned a degree in Chemical Engineering,I probably would have become an English teacher."She also confesses to being a life long romantic and embracing a dream of one day writing a romance novel. In her own words, through creating Lovestories.com is a roundabout way of fulfilling that dream.
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