{"id":10307,"date":"2010-06-17T03:09:43","date_gmt":"2010-06-17T10:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/?p=10307"},"modified":"2010-06-16T22:08:18","modified_gmt":"2010-06-17T05:08:18","slug":"polymer-clay-tutor-bead-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/polymer-clay-tutor-bead-giveaway\/10307\/","title":{"rendered":"More Discussion… Polymer Clay Tutor Bead Giveaway (Phase 3)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Polymer <\/span>“If there is
\nanyway we can
\nhelp do this and keep your
\ncontests going I vote YES,
\nYES, YES!” ~Peggy-B<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you everyone for providing such great feedback the other day, about how to make Phase 3<\/em> of the Bead Giveaway Contest<\/a> work for everyone’s benefit. Some specific questions came up in that discussion which I will take the time to address here in today’s post.<\/span><\/p>\n

First off in general, there appears to be enough positive support for this new initiative, to give it a go… which is wonderful!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now in regards to the comments about not knowing how to use photo sharing sites like Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, PictureTrail, Facebook etc., it is apparent there will be a bit of a learning curve for some of you. Fortunately, most of these free web services are pretty user friendly. Plus… there are members like Silverleaf<\/a> and Phaedrakat<\/a> who have graciously volunteered to do some technology tutoring<\/em> if necessary. Thanks gals for being so helpful.<\/p>\n

One suggestion that came up was to set up a dedicated group area in Flickr or on Facebook, where everyone could upload their photos to a central location. A problem I see with using this approach, is that it may be difficult for everyone to agree on which service to go with. Some people love Facebook. Other’s hate it. Same goes for Flickr and all of the other options that exist on the web today. Then there are those who prefer to do everything on their own web site or blog.<\/p>\n

So by allowing the contest photos and links to be published wherever<\/em>, this will likely make it easiest for the most number of members to participate. And the regular summary posts I do at my blog will provide handy links for everyone to be able to conveniently follow along.<\/p>\n

I don’t know that it would be fare using a Blog because some have been blogging longer and have more followers than others. <\/span>~Brenda-M<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This really should not be a concern, Brenda. In actuality, pictures and links posted on large photo sharing sites will be exposed to much more web traffic than a personal blog. And remember you can post your stuff on multiple pages if you like.<\/p>\n

How will you know whose links are sending which “visitors” to you, Cindy? Does the visitor have to say, “I just found your site on Cara’s blog,” (for example).? <\/span>~Phaedrakat<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Silverleaf has already addressed this question quite nicely… “I assume Cindy’s using Google Analytics (GA) or a similar service to track visitors to this site, so that will give her a “referring link” for every visit, and numbers of how many people came from each link. I use GA to track visitors to my MISI shop, and I find that a good proportion of my visits come from this blog when people click on my name, for example.”<\/em> [Like Silverleaf, I also use Google Analytics for tracking web visitors.]<\/p>\n

It seems like people will have to be careful about which pictures they show on their blogs, so they aren’t ‘giving away’ steps to your tutorials, or other important info to non-members. <\/span>~Phaedrakat<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks for bringing this up, Kat. I agree. The intent for this initiative should be to show off your finished beads and jewelry… not to teach the techniques.<\/p>\n

Will the Spotlights continue, and still be part of the ongoing process? <\/span>~Phaedrakat<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/span><\/td>\n

<\/td>\n\"Polymer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Spotlight features as I have been presenting them over the last couple of months, would no longer be part of the bead giveaway contest. All of the emailing, copy editing, back linking, photo editing, cropping, layout, etc., etc. was just getting too overwhelming to manage. However, what I would like to do is continue with a similar type of Spotlight feature where the topic is focused on problem solving. I did a few of these over the past couple of months and they proved to be very engaging and educational for everyone. Here is an example: Cracking Heart Beads<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore as time permits, I will continue to post some photos in the comment sections of relevant posts. Like this… Tribal Cane<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

How often will there be a Phase 3 contest winner?
\n<\/span><\/span>~Phaedrakat<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That is still to be determined. It will depend on how many people get involved with this new Phase 3 contest initiative. But please trust me that I will follow through and provide a nice big prize… just as I did in the Phase 1 and Phase 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

And on that note, why don’t we just go ahead and get things under way. If some of you want to start posting your pictures, descriptions, stories and links at the site of your choice, then next week in a follow up blog post, I’ll showcase the initial contest entries as examples for everyone to have a look at.<\/span><\/p>\n

In next week’s post I’ll provide a bit more information about how to do the links. As I’ve already said, they should point to a specific page here at my blog which shows the intro video clip for the technique your projects are based on, or inspired by.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also with the links, please use Anchor Text<\/em>. For example if you are referencing the leopard cane, the link should look like:<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Leopard Cane Tutorial<\/a> <or> Leopard Cane Video<\/a> <or> something similar… rather than… https:\/\/www.beadsandbeading.com\/blog\/polymer-clay-tutorial-animal-prints-leopard-cane-video\/9778\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Short 2 or 3 word Anchor Text<\/em> links are much more user friendly. And Google likes them better as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can’t wait to see what you guys post. Remember to let me know via email, where your stuff is published. This is going to be fun!
\n.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cindy\"Polymer<\/p>\n

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