Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Internationalization Snapshot - Collectors from All Around the World Using Colnect in 50 Languages

Colnect is a huge site dedicated to all collectors around the world. With this trend involving many people of different nationalities and origin, Colnect has made an array of national languages spoken and used all throughout the globe readily available to all its collectors. The availability of such feature has given way for non-English speaking collectors to switch to foreign versions of Colnect. This created a tie that binds all people in Colnect who do not have a common language of communication.



The internationalization of the website contributed greatly to the access of a common interface enabling collectors to do transactions smoothly. Through this feature, swapping can be done without the hassle of communication barriers such as language differences. We commend the commitment and dedication of our translations manager Jens Bruno Wittek who has done an exceptional job to this internationalization.

Through a unified goal and purpose, Colnect continuously receives a hand from its people from different countries. Our immense gratitude goes to these volunteers who are contributing non-stop to make Colnect a better place for collectors.

Monday, August 30, 2010

YouTube Machine Transcription or 'What was that?!'

Colnect has recently published new videos on YouTube. These are simple videos explaining about our website for collectors (stamps, coins, banknotes and more) from all around the world. As Colnect is available in 50 languages, it's important to upload subtitles for the different languages. Although we already created the English subtitles, curiosity made us look at what YouTube's automated "Machine Transcription" have produced for our videos. The "Machine Transcription" tries to do an old, yet daunting task of speech-to-text.

How surprising and hilarious were the results revealed. Many words allegedly transcribed had little phonetic resemblance to the audio. Obviously, the "Machine Transcription" is sometimes much worse that actually having no subtitles at all. Here follows an example.

First the video:



And now a screen shot of some of the funniest so-called "Machine Transcription":


Enjoy highlights such as "Number of Clinton's each" which seems to refer to "See the number of items each (collector has for every category they are active in)". Can you guess the original for "what the offer free trade" used to be? This one is easier, it was "What they offer for trade". The last example would be "it's what the up for and what they want". We're still unsure but it might relate to "(View a member's profile with a click) and see what they offer and what they want". Quite similar, isn't it? :)

So, to conclude, be extremely wary when using the machine transcription for anything other than some good laughs. Oh, you're welcomed to joke about the accent in the video ;)

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Quarter Million Phone Cards on the World's Biggest Phone Card Catalog

The unceasing growth of phone cards on our phone card catalog has now reached one fourth of a million. It is available in 50 languages, and it is the WORLD'S BIGGEST phone card catalog! Collectors on Colnect use the catalog to manage their own personal collection. There are nearly 20 million items on collector lists on Colnect! The catalog's growth is possible due to the endless efforts of our phone card coordinators. We would like to thank and commend them: Ignacio F López Vico [iflvico], Trudy Hoogenboom [trudyh], Komdej Chulapprawut [komdej], Eyüp Güçmen [kolleksiyon], Jorge Pablo Villegas [Jorgepablo2005]. Colnect is presently and continuously working ways to extend more available resources for your collecting convenience. Check our phone cards catalog today.



250,000 PHONE CARDS TO CHOOSE FROM!

Our phone cards originate from 231 countries around the globe. Our assortment continues to grow as new available phone cards spring up to our catalog. It's nearly 30,000 freshly added phone cards since we last announced 222,222.

Are you a phone card collector with no Colnect account? Colnect is welcoming more phone card collectors to sign up in Colnect. Join the frolic of collecting. You will know why collectors stick with us.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

14,141 Collectors Connect and Collect with Colnect

Colnect reached a new milestone - a huge union of collectors now 14,141! Colnect is, with no doubt, an inevitable fever around the planet. Join the craze of collecting and connecting only with Colnect. We announced last July about having 13,131 collectors. We've grown a thousand more collectors in just a month time. Colnect is looking forward to grow a bigger number of collectors. Together, we'll reach higher milestones.



By reaching this mark, swapping and trading your collections are more fun. More collectors joining means more collectibles available. We are certain that we will grow bigger fractions in the months to come. Are you a collector? This is your chance to try and experience Colnect. Know why more and more people join our community.

Not a member? Click here to sign up.

With Colnect's never ending promise to bring you only the best service, we're proud to say that this will not be possible without you, our precious collectors. Tell your friends to collect and connect with us. Only from your best collections' manager, Colnect. :)

Friday, August 20, 2010

1,001 Bank Cards Added to Bank Cards Catalog

Have you ever fancied collecting various bank cards all over the globe? Worry no more! 1,001 bank cards have been added by Colnect to its bank cards catalog. Colnect gathered a roster of bank cards for you to feast on. You can now add more and more and MORE bank cards to your collection! Bank cards are just so fun to look at, aren't they? We know you want these bank cards now it's your chance to have them! This is a great news to all bank card collectors.


HAVE YOUR PICK NOW!

We are certain how important it is to complete your album full of bank cards. Many thanks to Hendy Florez, our bank cards database coordinator, for making this wonderful addition possible. Don't miss the chance to complete your collection. We always have a lot in store for your collection desires. Each bank card comes with a unique appearance that will keep you asking for more. Select from a variety of card colors and origin. You asked for it, now we'll give it.

Colnect's continuous pursuit to help you enrich your collection never stops. Now, you can boast a number of bank cards. Connect with bank card collectors around the world and take your sweetest pick. Tell your friends about this wonderful addition to our catalog. Spread the word. Enjoy collecting!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Collectors Connect to Colnect with Facebook

Facebook is becoming a huge trend in the modern world. So starting today, you can sign up an account in Colnect using your Facebook account. Collectors can now create an account in Colnect fast and hassle-free. Just click on the Facebook login icon then grant permission to access from Facebook when signing up for Colnect. After that, you're good to go. There's no need to fill out a lot of boxes because everything will be done for you.


Do you have buddies in Facebook who are fond of collecting? Invite them to connect into our growing community here in Colnect. It is always a pleasure for us to cater to a growing family of collectors. Together, we can grow our collection faster and easier. Let's all get connected. The more, the merrier!

We are continuously finding ways to make things convenient for everyone. With this new feature, it will be easier to connect your friends to join the collection fever in Colnect. Collecting has never been this easy!

Only in Colnect, your partner in collection.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Collectors Welcomed To Presenting Themselves and Their Collections With Videos

Collectors from all around the world present their collection on Colnect. Now, a short video may easily be added to a collector's profile. In this short video the collector can talk a bit about herself and her collection. The video is available to all using a green PLAY button next to the collector's profile picture. See for example Colnect's founder video here.



This new feature is available through an integration with a cool new start up company named VanityVid. Colnect is one of the first platforms which will be implementing their fine product.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Tea Bag Catalog Displaying Over 6,006 Tea Bags

Colnect's tea bag catalog has doubled in size since we last announced its growth and now features over 6,006 tea bags from 66 countries. Perhaps not yet among Colnect's biggest categories, tea bags have developed a significant community of tea bag collectors on Colnect to connect and swap with. We would like to commend the hard work of the tea bags coordinator, Carine De Pauw, who tirelessly works to make our tea bag catalog the best in the world.



If you are a tea bag collector, feel free to sign up on Colnect and upload items from your collection to the site. The current success and future greatness of Colnect rests on the shoulders of devoted volunteers like Carine and YOU.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

2,222 Gift Cards on Our Gift Card Catalog for Collectors


Gift cards is one of the new categories on Colnect, added just a month ago. It has, however, got a great boost and now boasts over 2,222 gift cards cataloged. The list of gift card collectors from all around the world is still relatively small but we hope that as the category grows, more gift card collectors would join in and manage their personal collection on Colnect.

Many thanks Claude Martin [Claude], who has kick-started the gift cards category and is now the coordinator in charge of it.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Collectors Collect and Connect on Colnect - Now With Over 13,131 Members

Collectors from all around the world manage their personal collections and swap with other collectors using Colnect's personal collection management and unique Auto-Matching feature.


Continuing the Colnect tradition of publishing statistics in numbers that are more fun to remember rather than rounded, we're happy to report that there are now more than 13,131 collectors on Colnect. This is nearly a 20% growth during the last three months since we last announced 11,111 collectors on Colnect. We deeply apologize for not announcing when we passed the 12,345 collectors mark but we'll try to do a big one when Colnect surpassed the 123,456 members :)

If you're a collector and haven't yet checked out Colnect, you're most welcomed to join our community and enjoy our unique free services. Happy collecting :)

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Free Stamp Catalog Surpassed 111,111 Stamps

Stamp collectors from around the world work together to create and enhance Colnect's free online stamp catalog. Recently, the catalog has been growing much faster than before and it now has over 111,111 stamps listed from 223 countries. During the last 30 days alone, 6545 stamps were added.

Collectors who contributed information to the catalog deserve the credit for the growth but a special credit is due to Klauss [Lola22] who has been helping tirelessly as our new stamps coordinator supervising the contribution and editing of other collectors.

You're welcomed to help Colnect grow bigger and better by adding missing items on our catalog.
We also welcome new categories on Colnect so if you collect baseball cards, airsickness bags, beer mats, lights or anything else mass-produced, don't hesitate to contact us on Colnect and you may become a category coordinator.

Happy collecting :)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Gift Cards & Casino Player Cards - NEW Catalogs for Collector on Colnect

Collecting gift cards? Perhaps casino player cards? We're happy to announce these two new categories are now a part of Colnect and we've started creating extensive catalogs for these categories.

The new gift cards catalog, started and coordinated by Claude Martin [Claude], already has over 700 gift cards in it.


Casino player cards, given by casinos around the world, had a more modest start by Moti Krawitz [motikr] with over 30 cards in the catalog. With your help we could make our catalogs grow.


What about more categories on Colnect? Be those lighters, baseball cards or any other mass produced collectibles out there, we welcomed these categories on Colnect. If you're a serious collector and would like to head a new category, please read how to add more collectibles to Colnect.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Cheaters / Thieves - Swapping Tips

Colnect does its best to try and prevent cheaters and thieves from abusing Colnect members. Although most swaps are good for both sides, there are some cheaters out there. The following tips may help you avoid some common scams:

Swapping tips



* If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
* A collector with a few or no positive ratings should always send items first. If you're a new member, your best bet is to swap with members who have many positive ratings. After sending a package to a collector, you may give a neutral rating and change it to positive once you receive your package. This will help in preventing mass-cheats. See: Ratings
* Always use registered packages and keep the receipt. If you didn't register the package, it's your responsibility.
* Be very suspicious if the collector's real name or other details are different on Colnect and on the mailing address.
* Alert us about any suspicious offer you receive. This will help keeping other members protected.


For more information, check the Collector Warnings and Ratings Forum.


Recent Warning



The following person has opened numerous accounts on Colnect and got many negative ratings on all of them. If any collector from Serbia would like to report this person to the local police, please do. Here are some of the details used:

Dejan Kostic (or Marina Kostic)
Voje Micica 81
Bratmilovce
16000 Leskovac
Serbia

or

Mirjana Rajkovic
Radnicka 5 / 28
16000 Leskovac
Serbia

Please read more information about this person here

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Colnect, Frognector and a Guitar at the Hitech Annual Conference HTIA2010

Colnect has presented for two days at the Hitech Annual Conference in Jerusalem. Colnect got its booth as a prize for winning a competition done by The Wadi.

Colnect had its promotional video on display at all times. If you haven't seen it yet, you're welcomed to check out Colnect's YouTube channel.

Colnect's founder (yours truly) was playing guitar to get the attention of each and every passerby and tell them about Colnect and how unique and different it is.

The most expensive phone card issued in Israel was on display, though not for sale. It is a special phone card issued by Bezeq and given to the late prime minister of Israel, Itzhak Rabin. There are only 3 more such phone cards known to exist and the one we had on display is in mint condition and is worth a few thousands of dollars.

Colnect decided to clearly differentiate its booth from those of other companies by offering shots of Arak, a 50% strong alcoholic beverage, to those who could say three times quickly "Collectors collect and connect on Colnect". Here are a few videos of people who have taken on the challenge:







Want to join us for a drink?


I would like to use this opportunity to thank Ofer and Lara for helping me out in arranging the booth and presenting Colnect to the visitors in the conference.
For more pictures and video you're welcomed to check out and "like" Colnect's Facebook page.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Recommend Collectors and Collectibles on Colnect to Your FaceBook Friends and WIN Prizes!

Who are the collectors you recommend on Colnect?
Which are the collectible items you recommend on Colnect?

If you have a FaceBook account, you can now easily recommend your favorite collectors and collectible items from Colnect to your FaceBook friends. To see the prizes you can win check out Colnect's news page.

Here's how to recommend a collector:


and how to recommend an item from Colnect's huge catalogs:


Happy recommending :)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Colnect's Phone Card Catalog, The World's Biggest, Has Over 230,000 Phone Cards Listed

Colnect's phonecard catalog reached a new milestone today, as 230,000 phonecards have now been uploaded onto Colnect for collectors to mark in their "Collection", "Swap" and "Wish" lists. Tbis monumental achievement could not have made without the tremendous work of our volunteer phonecard contributors and especially our phonecards coordinator, Ignacio F. López Vico. It is because of his efforts and the contributions of many dedicated collectors on Colnect, that our phonecards catalog, the world's biggest, keep growing so quickly and have already passed 230,000 phone cards.



If you would to like to help upload some of the next phonecards or any other collectible to Colnect, please feel free to contact us.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Collectors Gain From Colnect and WorthPoint Partnership

We're happy to announce a new partnership between Colnect and Worthpoint.


WorthPoint can make you money in any financial climate



WorthPoint is the place to help you discover your hidden wealth. WorthPoint can make you money in any financial climate. Value, sell and acquire with precision, through:
* Extensive valuation data & expert advice
* Networking with and promotion to trading partners
* Access to the largest auction houses & other trading venues
* Inventory from hundreds of antique dealers
* A collecting community 350,000-strong and growing every day

Collectors from both Colnect and Worthpoint can now benefit from special offers.

Monday, May 3, 2010

コレクトしてコネクトする時、コルネクとするのさ

Colnect Collectors Community promotional video with Japanese audio.



牛(cow):あー、またやっちまったよ。
かえる(frog):どうしんだい?

牛:またこのコインだよ。
かえる:いいコインじゃないか。

牛:そうだけど、もう僕のコレクションにあるやつなんだよ。
かえる:あら?

牛:それにもうこの持ってるコインのために他のいいやつをあげちゃったんだよ。
かえる:なんでさ?

牛:だってさぁ、もう持ってるってことを忘れちゃってたんだよ。親切なコレクターさんが交換リストを送ってきてくれてさ。それで自分のカタログを調べてたんだけど、あんまり長いから間違えちゃったんだよ。
かえる:ああ、それは君がコルネクトをやってないからだね。

牛:コレクトしてるよ!コイン収集さ。
かえる:コレクトはしてても、コルネクトしてないってことさ。

牛:コルネクトって何?
かえる:僕のテレフォンカードコレクションの管理のために使ってるいいウェブサイトだよ。

牛:そういえばかなりたくさん持ってるよね。
かえる:そうそう。5312個あるんだよ。

牛:全部数えてるの?
かえる:そうじゃないさ。世界一大きなテレフォンカードカタログがそのサイトにあってね、僕は自分の持ってるカードをそこでマークしてるのさ。それから僕が欲しいと思ってるカードや交換してもいいカードもマークしてある。それでコルネクとサイトは自動的に他の人のコレクションとマッチさせて、トレードしやすくしてくれてるのさ。

牛:いいね。いくらかかるの?
かえる:無料だよ。コインもあるし。カタログは参加者が作ってるんだ。


牛:じゃあ君がカタログを今作ってるのかい?
かえる:そうじゃなくてさ。ウィキペデアと同じ原理さ。

牛:へ?
かえる:僕が自主的にやってる。

牛:なんで?
かえる:このサイトが他の人は僕のことも助けてくれてるからね。

牛:君だけだろう?
かえる:すでにもう世界各国から100人以上のボランティアが参加してるんだよ。

牛:へー。この世界のみんなは英語ができるみたいだね。
かえる:コルネットのコレクターのほとんどは英語を使わないよ。35カ国語で利用可能だからね。

牛:コルネクとって言ったっけ?
かえる:そう。コレクトしてコネクトする時、コルネクとするのさ。

牛:誰とコネクトするの?
かえる:世界中とさ。

牛:気づいたんだけど。
かえる:何?

牛:僕らもコレクティブルなんだよね。
かえる:うん。そうだね。

牛:ってことは僕らもコルネクと上で取引されるってこと?
かえる:そうだけど、、、それって変な感じだな。

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Frognector's Visit in TheMarker's ComVention 2010 - First Part

Frognector has decided to share with us his impressions of the Internet convention he has visited today. @Frognector is @Colnect's superstar frog and has been attracting collectors to Colnect for the last year.

Dear fellow frogs and humans (especially collectors as the rest are simply less interesting...), please bear with me as this is my first post outside the swamp where I usually pass my time. Your comments are welcomed here and will motivate me to post more pictures.

This year's ComVention was held in a much scarier place than last year. A dinosaur roared at me and although he initially scared me, he actually just wanted to compliment my green outfit.



As I'm against war, I jumped a green soldier that was running amok in the convention and told him he definitely should collect militaria instead of actually firing it.



Some of the geeks around didn't know me and looked at me pretty oddly. Luckily, this guy had a green shirt so we had a good connection.



But not every goof with a green garment is that friendly. I was almost eaten alive.



Luckily I was saved by a guy with a mask.



And went on to talk about Israeli Palestinian business with a red head.




Using Ouriel's new iPad, I explained to her Colnect has long been available in both Arabic and Hebrew, as well as 48 more languages.



She was quite impressed and...

to be continued

If you want to see the second part you'll have to comment here.

Monday, April 26, 2010

11111 Collectors Collect and Connect on Colnect

Collectors from all around the world manage their personal collections and swap with other collectors using Colnect's personal collection management and unique Auto-Matching feature.



Not long ago we announced there more than ten thousand collectors have already become members of Colnect and today we're happy to announce there are over 11111 collectors on Colnect. There has been a record growth on March and we hope to soon break that record. Technical difficulties rose as a result of the growth and we've been working very hard to optimize Colnect and upgrade our servers to better cater for our collectors. Meanwhile, our free stamp catalog has been growing rapidly and recently passed the 100,000 stamps marker.

If you're a collector and haven't yet checked out Colnect, you're most welcomed to join our community and enjoy our unique free services. Happy collecting :)

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Colnect's Catalog Surpasses 100,000 Stamps

Colnect's stamp catalog reached an incredible milestone today, as 100,000 stamps have now been uploaded onto Colnect for collectors to mark in their "Collection", "Swap" and "Wish" lists. Tbis monumental achievement could not have made without the tremendous work of our volunteer stamp contributors and especially our stamps coordinators, Fabien Eicke and Klaus Jochimsen. It is because of their collaborative efforts that stamps have become the 2nd collectible category (after phonecards) to eclipse 100,000 items in our catalogs.



Currently, the United States has by far the largest quantity of stamps in our catalog with over 10,000. This next closest countries are France at just under 4,000 and East Germany with slightly more than 3,000. If you would to like to help upload some of our next 100,000 stamps or any other collectible to Colnect, please feel free to contact us.

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