Highly Commended in the Guardian Best British Blog Awards 2003
OK, you may be thinking what's a blog? Well it's an online diary in my opinion but other people think it's a lot of other things. I've been keeping one and you may have come across it in the vastness of this site. I was lucky enough to be Highly Commended in the Specialist category of The Guardian's recognition of the best of British Blogs announced on the 18th December 2003. Traffic to the blog has gone through the roof as a result.

I'm still shell shocked as it's the biggest recognition I've had of the site and am very grateful to all concerned.

FHM.com
What can I say, there's more about FHM later, but the UK's biggest selling lads mag has given the site the honour of becoming one of it's Top 100 Websites in the World. I'm up there with the best of them in the "five minute fix" section.

"Despite the daily torture that is London Underground, it still manages to hold an unhealthy fascination over the populace. And this site contains everything you'll ever need to know, from sad to scurrilous. An excellent afternoon’s entertainment.
Best bit: The witterings of borderline suicidal train drivers taking it out on their passengers.
Guys I am truly honoured!

NEW SCIENTIST
From lads to boffins and scientists, The New Scientist magazine have discovered the joys of the drivers announcements: "FEEDBACK recently came across the Going Underground website - the "fun London Underground guide" at www.going-underground.com. As we regularly travel on the tube, we particularly enjoyed the page of quotes from tube drivers and station announcers."

MIDWEEK MAGAZINE
The first time my site appeared in a printed magazine that I had heard of. Midweek is a free magazine handed out to London commuters outside tube stations or placed in the boxes allocated for them outside. Alex Gazzola wrote a great double page feature on the comedic aspect of tube drivers' announcements. He had heard some classics himself on the Jubilee line and then found on my site, asked me more about them and the result came out in printed form on the 11th March 2002. He wrote:

"check into cyberspace, where, not surprisingly, there's a website which will entertain you with driver wit and more at your leisure. Going Underground collects & catalogues commuters' reported tube announcements, and invites you to send in your faves. 'Annie Mole', the pseudonymous brains behind the site, started the section over a year ago.....

"Recording it online drew more overhead classics from readers, and it snowballed from there." He then goes on to quote me saying that people like the announcements as they relieve tension and bring out the human side of the driver.

"Some of the best lines have found their way onto popular email circulars, and have even been quoted on radio stations including Capital FM".

It's a very funny article and even has quotes from some official at London Underground with the official party line on these 'light announcements' - "We try to avoid raising concerns from the public. Some might smile at a driver announcing 'We've got another bloody track problem', some might consider it swearing, and tourists whose English may not be fluent might imagine that someone's been run over and there's blood on the tracks".

LYCOS'S VIRAL CHART

Lycos's own listing of viral emails - somehow some of the drivers' quotes made it onto Lycos's very own chart which is viewed by thousands who in turn send it on to their mates who send it on and on and on.

FHM.COM

The UK's best selling lads mag's website has a weekly newsletter and Goingunderground.net appeared in it:

"Fairly old site about the Tube which contains, nevertheless, hours of excellent entertainment. Check the driver announcements."

I've arrived, I'm established, my site's been around since 1999 making it fairly old! Never mind, thanks guys gave me lots of traffic.

BOYZ
I've arrived in the gay community. BOYZ magazine (London's most widely read weekly publication for gay men) report: "The Tube is an everyday part of many a Londoner's existence, and that's why the brilliant website at www.goingunderground.net is so fascinating. The resource is huge, and tells you everything you ever wanted to know about our subterranean transport system, and a few things you wish you didn't. For example, the peak time for Tube suicides is at 11am at King's Cross...............Okay, so some of it may be bullshit, but we love the urban myth about man-eating troglodytes living in closed Tube stations, and that one of the female automated voice announcers is called Sonia - because her voice ‘gets on yer nerves.’"

WebUser
Going Underground's blog received a very good write up in the UK's biggest selling internet magazine - WebUser

"Weaving a tapestry of anecdotes and observations about oddball announcements, disgruntled drivers and overheard conversations, Annie's transformed the Tube into the commuters' version of Alice in Wonderland....

"So charming it could make the tube mice seem huggable, everyone should stop at Going Underground".

FROMMER'S 2002 LONDON FROM $85 A DAY

Absolutely loving this one. It's my first entry in a printed guide book and what an entry it was!
"The genius behind www.goingunderground.net, "Annie Mole" posts irreverent observations on everything from Tube etiquette to celebrity spotting on her site. The site has drawn an audience keen to participate and escalate the grumbling about the service.

"This is a must visit site for a passenger eye view of the Underground. And by the time your holiday is over, you may have tales to tell, too. Perhaps some more nutty, but oh so everyday, driver announcements to add to this selection"

The author, Harriot Lane Fox, then goes on to quote some of the best drivers announcements from my site. Thanks Harriot. It's a great book for travelling to London on a budget and now you guys in the States get some advance warning about my site!

LONELY PLANET

Not an award but the first time my site was mentioned by a company that I had heard of in the offline world. Here's what they said:

"Going Underground: Everything you could possibly want to know about London's tube. What to eat, wear and read; celebrity spotting; lost photo booth pics."

YAHOO PICK OF THE WEEK

What can I say. One of the World's biggest search engines recommended this site one week. Oh what a week I had for traffic then!

"Going Underground should set you right. Packed with tips for survival on the underground, and some interesting facts for the journey, it is."

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO

Being a Brit I had never knew there was a national radio network in the States. We're used to national broadcasting here. So imagine my surprise when I got flooded with traffic one weekend. Here's what they said:

"Going Undergound, is a quirky web guide to the London Undergound, covering such topics as tube smells, notable fare-dodgers, tube etiquette, and the occasional subway-riding pidgeon."

"Tube Spotting-- or Celebrities on the Tube, is a comprehensive collection of celebrity tube sitings (though admittedly few and far between)."

GUARDIAN UNLIMITED

The UK's most popular newspaper website. The site's had a few mentions in the Guardian in some shape or form. It's listed on their transport page, my blog is featured in their "UK Blogs we like" section and it also received the following quote:

"The Going Underground website, is devoted to unravelling the odyssey that is Tube travel. Pride of place goes to some hilarious driver announcements."

BIGCITY2DAY

Great website about all the amazing things you can do in London. Here's what they said: "Love to Hate the Underground ?? This is a truly quirky and wacky site that is entirely devoted to ‘all things Underground’... Billed as ‘a fun and informative guide to travelling on the London Underground’ it’s not to be confused with sites worshipped by trainspotters - not a single one here (allegedly) !!

"Instead you’ll find observations of what life is like underground, be introduced to the people, the animals and the sights & sounds. Share your experiences, learn the art of eavesdropping whilst on the Tube and purchase T-shirts, hoodies and Caps with ‘Mind the Gap’ splashed across the front...

"Had a magic moment and seen the love of your life whilst on the way to the office this morning ?? Catered for here...

"Last but by no means least - this is the place to learn essential Tube etiquette. Mad and bad - to be enjoyed with coffee in hand !!

BIZARRE.COM
Returning to the lads mags - days after the site was in FHM's top 100 websites it appeared as Bizarre's site of the week. Complete with a little picture of me sporting a rather fetching Mind the Gap T shirt.

ABOUT.COM

About.com are another big search engine/directory but the sites are sourced and described by real people - none of these robots or spiders etc. Here's what they say:

"Great fun site (good info too) sprawling over the whole tube network. What every tired, fed up, late for work, hot, bothered, strike-bound commuter needs. Great photos. Great sounds. Download your own 'Mind the Gap' announcement! Wet week-end entertainment. Tourists will love it too. Click now."

PLANET WEEKLY

This is a leading Dutch website and part of a major Dutch portal Planet Internet. Now, my Dutch is non existent so excuse the very rough translation which I got from an web translator:

Within The Netherlands we also know the underground, solely within cities. London has a one century's old conveyor system which brings the whole city together. Going Underground covers the whole metro system within London and contains very many useful and worse than useful information. Nice is the humour section with wrong mentions (I think this refers to the driver announcements) and also the page with Underground-rules (Underground Etiquette) is very funny.

If anyone can speak Dutch here's what it really said and a better translation would be appreciated:

GOING UNDERGROUND In Nederland kennen we ook de metro, maar in steden als Londen hebben we het over een eeuwenoud transportsysteem dat de gehele stad met elkaar verbindt. De site Going Underground gaat compleet over het metroleven in de London Underground en bevat heel veel nuttige en minder nuttige informatie. Leuk is de humorsectie met verkeerd omgeroepen meldingen en ook het lijstje met Metro-regels ('Underground Etiquette') is erg vermakelijk.

PLASTIC.COM

I'm ashamed to say that I had never heard of this site until I got hundreds of hits from it. They have won a Webby 2001 Award for best ezine and they operate "somewhere between anarchy and hierarchy, Plastic is a live collaboration between the Web's smartest readers and the Web's smartest editors, a place to suggest and discuss the most worthwhile news, opinions, rumors, humor, and anecdotes online." Someone recommended my site to them and the rest is history!!!!!!

AWARDS

These turned out to be not worth the pixels they were made with. (How ungrateful) However when I started this site I was desperate to get any form of traffic under the sun and I thought winning an award would help. Well there are AWARDS and there are "awards". Nice comments from both of the webmasters that gave me these but jib all traffic! Never mind it means I can say I have an award winning website!

"The London Underground is one of my favorite parts of my visits to London. I can spend a great deal of time just watching the people and interacting with them, or at least trying to. I found your site to be enjoyable and entertaining from the same kind of mind set that I have while in the tube. I'm passing along our Bronze Award to you. I think travellers that have been and experienced the tubes will get a kick out of your site. I know that I did. I hope you enjoy the award and continue to inform visitors on the going ons of the tube."

"Travelseeker.com was designed to provide information about travel and vacations. There is so much information available that we could not possibly house all the information under our roof alone. So when we discover a site that provides useful information, entertainment, or products related to travel, we feel compelled to share those sites with our readers...... After several looks, we decided that your site offers great content for our readers. It will soon be found on our links page! (it never appeared!!!!) Our Congratulations!"

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST

My site has also been or is still listed on the following news sites - Channel 4 News, ITN news, BBC online and Yahoo News. Publicity seeking hound that I am, I've also given my site a plug on my favourite radio station Jazz.fm and on London Live Radio too.

If you want a bit more background about how I promote the site and how it grew into being what it is today - take a look at an interview with me on London arts ezine AnotherSun.co.uk

That's more than enough basking in the site's glory for now.