united-states-bowling-congress « WordPress.com Tag Feed

Colorado Scratch Bowlers Tour POY race coming down to end!

stevengallegos — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:52:57 +0000

With only two events remaining on the schedule and the top 3 point leaders missing the may 25th event things are a little interesting! Scott Christensen needs a large field and a win and could make it a four person race for player of the year! Currently, Steven McCracken leads the race with 610 points followed by Steve Gallegos who has 587.5. Kris Koeltzow is in third with 545 points and Christensen has 495. McCracken and Koeltzow will bowling the USBC Open Championships in Reno

National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

while Gallegos will be attending his son Noah’s high school graduation ceremony. The final event of the year will not only award a big payday but could also determine this years POY. McCracken won the last event and added to his lead, however, Gallegos has finished in the top three the last two events. It will be fun to watch as the CSBT season comes to an end!

Casino To Build $30m Bowling Center

Tate South — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:32:44 +0000

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas is getting a mega-bowling facility.

South Point Hotel and Casino announces that it has struck a 12-year deal with the United States Bowling Congress to host several annual events in a new $30 million bowling center.

The new facility will include more than 60 lanes. The hotel-casino expects to begin construction in May.

South Point will host seven championship events, including the USBC Women’s championship in 2016 and the USBC Open Championships in 2017.

The 2009 USBC Open Championships, held in Las Vegas, ran for 154 days and generated more than $120 million for the city.

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Rossi Ralenkotter says the new center puts Sin City on track to become the premier destination for bowling events.

Ignorance

caitlyntiter — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:38:46 +0000

When you have a problem who do you go to? You always go the adult who is in charge. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion whether it’s correct or not. You state the issue that is happening and see what the response is. For example:

In bowling you need a lineup of at least 3 people on a 6 person roster to be “legal”. There was a team that had every single person go to a tournament the same day except for 3 people. The girl Casey was able to bowl, the boy Mick was able to bowl only because he got his dates changed. The other boy Preston couldn’t come because he was forbidden to talk to anyone from Lanyard and anyone from Lanyard was forbidden to talk to him or his mother. The teams coach Cave asked if we could either post-bowl which is when you bowl after the assigned day and your points are still accounted for. By the rules of Travel league you cannot post-bowl. But, by the rules of USBC if you are going to a local, state, or regional tournament you must be allowed a post-bowl. The director of Travel was not very happy when he heard this because he thought we thought that his rules weren’t good enough. After about 4 days of arguing and trying to figure out if they will let us bowl, he decided we have to ask the opposing team if they would like to bowl with us. At first they said yes. So, the day of Travel league we went to the bowling alley to make sure everything was situated and that we were going to get our post-bowl. During the conversation with all the league officials they wanted to know where Preston was. We told them that he is scheduled to be at Pepsi, but we are not sure because no one has had contact with him or his mother in at least a month because of being forbidden to talk to either of them. In their minds they thought that we wanted a post bowl because 3 of our best players were out. NO! We needed to post-bowl because we didn’t have a legal team and we are 4 pins out of first place! In their thick headed minds they saw that we had 3 people available which is a legal line up therefore we forfeit 30 points. If you won’t let kids post-bowl because they are unable to fill the legal line up, but you see it because of the fact we were able to get our 3rd bowler; then you aren’t in it for the kids. You’re in it for the politics and rules. Get out of dealing with kids. I hope you’re happy knowing that these kids can’t win because of your decision. They were bowling for scholarship money in one tournament and to win a trophy in the other. Now, they can’t win either because of YOU.

Bowlers strike against breast cancer

Mark Green — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:44:07 +0000

[ooyala code="BnajNmOToLWj52vNSHwzCLSHBwe5k0Mk"]SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns went to bowling alleys on Saturday to score a strike against breast cancer.

The 11^th Annual Bowl for the Cure event takes place Saturday and Sunday at Bonwood Bowl, located at 2500 South Main Street in Salt Lake City. The event raises money for the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

This event is sponsored by the Great Salt Lake USBC Bowling Association. The organization has donated more than $125,000 over the years to the cause, and this year they hope to donate $40,000.

2013 USBC Open Championships VIP Program and Showcase Lanes return

@curtisshawflagg — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 18:07:51 +0000

Bowlers will again have the opportunity to take advantage of the VIP Program for the 2013 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships in Reno, Nevada. As well as the men’s tournament, there will also be a USBC Women’s Championship Open VIP Program.

Memberships can be purchased online at BOWL.com for $229.95.

Here are the benefits of purchasing a VIP Package for the 2013 USBC Open Championships:

VIP polo shirt

* VIP lanyard and credential

* One-hour coaching session on the 900 Global Showcase Lanes, which will feature the tournament lane conditions

* VIP Welcome/Express tournament check-in

* VIP photo package

* Complimentary locker

* Express weigh-in (Open Championships only)

* Wine-tasting package (Women’s Championships only)

* Complimentary seating at USBC-televised events

* Discount at on-site USBC SportStore

* Bowling Ball Express discount

* VIP venue tour

* Bonus: $25 food and $25 beverage credit at Eldorado, Circus Circus or Silver Legacy (hotel stay required)

From Bowl.com

The VIP packages do not include entry fees for the events. And because certain portions of the program must be scheduled, bowlers are required to purchase their VIP memberships at least 30 days prior to their dates of competition in Reno.

You can now register and become a VIP by visiting BOWL.com/VIP or call 800-514-2695, ext. 8418

With Bowl Expo Done, USBC & National Bowling Stadium Set Improvements

@curtisshawflagg — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:05:42 +0000

United States Bowling Congress (USBC), Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA) and the city of Reno have agreed to use a $2 room tax to stimulate revenue for planned improvements to the National Bowling Stadium. The deal figures prominently for the United States Bowling Congress, which has agreed to continue to host several of its key championship events in Reno from 2019-30. Bowl Expo 2012 attendees were able to see the initial efforts of the agreement in late June. The bulk of the work begins now, and will run for several years.

Currently the proposal is restricted to National Bowling Stadium improvements until completion. The tax revenue was initially set to aid tourist-related improvements to downtown Reno, including the National Bowling Stadium – the 78-championship-lane mega-center. So far the NBS has seen minor improvements to the interior landscape, such as the recently dedicated satellite Hall of Fame museum, which has already been installed on the ground floor.

Other planned improvements to the stadium include:

10 new showcase lanes, replacement of other 78 lanes
New video projections
New sports bar
New stadium seating
Squad room renovation and expansion
Refurbishing the exterior by the year 2018

The city of Reno has already utilized revenue from the $2 tax increase. The former CitiCenter bus station used some of the tax money to make improvements on lighting and new police housing. The site also includes food truck vending events.

The NBS sees well over tens of thousands of patrons and tourists throughout the year.

RSCVA President and CEO Christopher Baum told Bowl.com‘s Jason Overstreet about the deal,

“This agreement is a testament to the commitment of the city of Reno, our resort hotels, the RSCVA and those Nevada state legislators who have worked to continue Reno Tahoe USA’s long-term relationship with the USBC,” says Baum.

“We are delighted that the USBC has officially agreed to keep the National Bowling Stadium in Reno as its home away from home.”

Here is the National Bowling Stadium in 2011,

Weird Scholarship Wednesday: Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow Award

scpl scholarships — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:21:09 +0000

Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow Award

Every Wednesday, we celebrate YOUR diversity and uniqueness. We (almost) guarantee that we will find a scholarship that matches your weird, uncommon and possibly bizarre hobbies, dreams, aspirations and skills! If you enjoy finding ways to hide vegetables in your dessert , watch endless episodes of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, or spend your Friday evenings knitting finger puppets, Weird Scholarship Wednesday is ALL ABOUT YOU!!!

The Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow Award annually recognizes star qualities in a female high school senior or college student who competes in the sport of bowling. Star qualities include distinguished certified bowling performances on local, regional, state and national levels, academic achievement and extracurricular involvement. The award winner will receive a $6,000 scholarship. This scholarship will be formally presented at the annual USBC Convention. USBC will pay travel and hotel expenses for the winner and one guest to attend the award ceremony.

The United States Bowling Congress presents this prestigious award and scholarship in memory of Alberta E. Crowe, who served as president of the Women’s International Bowling Congress for 21 years.

Eligibility and Requirements – Applicants must:

1. Be a current USBC member who is a female

2. Be a high school senior or attending college in the year they are applying

3. Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 based on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent)

4. Complete this application

5. Include at least two letters of reference and a school transcript (official or unofficial) with this application (do not send separately)

6. Return the completed application and required documentation by mail, fax or E-mail to arrive at USBC no later than October 1 to be considered for this year’s award

Feel free to attach any other information or documentation that will support your application. Individuals may win this award only once.

Ducks In A Row

Elyse Bruce — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:55:46 +0000

It’s “Everything’s Ducky Week” at Idiomation and we’re starting off wi

United Says Bowling Congress

willcantrell616 — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:33:47 +0000

The United Says Bowling Congress (USBC) is the governing entire body for bowling in the United Says. It was released Jan. 1, 2005 and completely adopted in the 2005-2006 winter bowling year or so. It has blended the organizations that oversaw bowling in the United States just before its inception: the American Bowling Congress (ABC), the Women’s Worldwide Bowling Congress (WIBC), the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA), and USA Bowling.

The ABC was thought of the men’s bowling association (although females could join) and was the sanctioning (see beneath) human body for “men’s” bowling, the WIBC was the women’s bowling association (adult males could not join) and sanctioning entire body and YABA was the youth’s sanctioning human body. USA Bowling was the world-broad representative of the United States in worldwide competitiveness. Now there is just an individual governing human body and global representative: USBC.

The USBC Mission statement states that they will make certain the integrity and shield the long term of bowling by offering plans and expert services for the bowling marketplace and enhancing the bowling practical knowledge. In essence, they oversee and carry on to boost the bowling market as a whole in the United Says.

What is sanctioning?

Though it is not a requirement that any bowling league is sanctioned, it is highly proposed. Just about every league that is sanctioned does so through the USBC. The Citizen Congressmen would not stay in Washington DC, but they would return to like the gains of much more flexibility, not only for themselves but also for all those they have represented.

William Shakespeare could have summed it up this way: To be cost-free or not to be cost-free THAT is the query!

What do you consider The united states? It is some thing for you to ponder around.

The economic malaise from which we now undergo was brought about by Democrats.

Democrats gave us the sub-prime house loan crisis and the fierce resistance, to reining in its abuses, foremost to the housing collapse, bringing about the collapse of the economy.

All costs for raising income (thus shelling out) have to originate in the House of Reps. Democrats have managed the House and Senate, because January 2007. Republicans managed both equally from 2003 by way of 2006.

The Bush Tax Cuts Had No Bearing Whatsoever on Today’s Economic downturn

-It is Not possible For A Tax Lower To Damage The U.S. In Any Way, Except if:

-A Nation is Underneath TAXED to meet vital companies

-Does any economically literate person consider People in the usa are below taxed?

2003-2006 Republican Congress Vs. 2007-2010 Democrat Congress

________Unemployment Rate________

Democrat Congress Present Information July 2010——–nine.5%

Republican Congress December 2006 Last Month—four.five%

Resource: Bureau of Labor Figures

________Complete Range of Unemployed________

Democrat Congress Current Info July 2010——-14.6 Million

Republican Congress December 2006 Ultimate Thirty day period—7. Million

Supply: Bureau of Labor Data

Complete Deficits Democrats 2007-2010–Republicans 2003-2006

Democrat Congress four Yearly Deficits————$3 Trillion, 374 Billion

Republican Congress 4 Yearly Deficits———–$1 Trillion, 356 Billion

Source: Spending plan of the United Says, Office environment of the President

Boost or Lower In Revenues To Authorities

Republican Congress 2003-2006 (+) Plus $830.3 Billion

Democrat Congress 2007 To Present (-) Minus $281.2 Billion

United States Government

A Historical past of Immigration Law in the United States

wileysweeney1231 — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:21:25 +0000

This is one more sort of molding of our Constitution, which sometimes wins and at times loses when new legislation is examined ahead of our Supreme Court. Presented the necessity of creating a Constitution that does not crush the nation it represents, it is essential to publish a document with mechanisms for amendment.

These are our essential Freedoms: 1) religion two) speech three) press 4) assembly and five) petition federal government for a redress of our grievances. The men and women of Egypt, Muslims and Christians alike, stood up for and demanded these rights for the duration of their Revolution two. of January and February 2011. We People in america urge Egyptians to demand these rights be embodied in their new Constitution.

The United States was founded by, basically immigrants. For many years, thousands and thousands of individuals have arrived in the United States looking for a greater everyday living. Commencing in the late 19th century, the immigration policy of the United States started to improve.

From 1776 to 1875, the United States had an open-door policy towards immigration. The president could expel a foreign nationwide who was deemed hazardous to the safety of the Untied States but that was the only provision to restrict immigration. The policy was so open-door that Congress handed a law in 1864 to motivate immigration to the United States.

In 1875, that all commenced to transform. The 1st laws were passed in this yr to limit immigration. These original laws weren’t an work to curb figures so considerably as to restrict much less than savory people today from immigrating to the United States. Congress noticed suit to ban the immigration of prostitutes and convicts in this yr.

In 1882, the exact concept was followed when the immigration laws ended up expanded to exclude idiots, lunatics, and people who would possible come to be a economical burden to the United States from arriving. Once once again, they weren’t immediately after unique persons so much.

The Chinese Exclusion Functions of 1882 transformed all of this. These were the first functions made to exclude a certain group of individuals based on the actuality that they have been Chinese or a distinct race. These functions have been not repealed right up until 1943.

In 1917, the Progressives designed a threshold literacy requirement for admission. Other than persons arriving from Japan, no one from the Asian continent was permitted to immigrate to the United States legally.

In 1921, a nationwide origin quota process was launched into the United States’ immigration policy. Persons wishing to appear to the United States from any western hemisphere region have been not subject to this quota but the system continued to bar persons from Asia.

The McCarran-Walter Act was handed in 1954. It gives you substantially of the base construction of our immigration procedure today. It made distinctive, race-primarily based quotas for men and women from Asia. In addition, it established a preference method for all those with unique knowledge which is an equivalent to the existing employment-based mostly group process.

Due to the fact the 1950s, the immigration laws have gotten more and more problematic and very difficult to decipher. If you would like info about these complicated laws, please go to http://criminalandimmigrationlawyer.com/citizenship.html. united states government

The United States Congress Now Have A Website To Deliver News To The People

wileysweeney1231 — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:14:22 +0000

Now there is just 1 governing entire body and worldwide representative: USBC.

The USBC Mission statement states that they will make certain the integrity and defend the long term of bowling by furnishing plans and providers for the bowling business and enhancing the bowling encounter. Basically, they oversee and proceed to improve the bowling business as a total in the United States.

What is sanctioning?

When it is not a requirement that any bowling league is sanctioned, it is really proposed. Every league that is sanctioned does so through the USBC. Fundamentally this is membership in the USBC it features a great deal of rewards, a handful of of which are outlined right here:

Awards (plaques, rings, watches, patches, and many others…) for specific achievements primarily based on your regular (additional on averages later on)

An Adult and a Youth journal (integrated with your membership)

A membership card

Constant game play

League bowling – delivering a licensed typical for just about every bowler

Bonding protection – league money is protected in sanctioned leagues

Tournaments

Testing of Bowling Pins, Balls, and Items

Rulebook and enforcement thereof

If you are becoming a member of a league (see chapter six), you will likely want to join the USBC. This is so that USBC awards can be offered to people achieving them, and averages are listed in your association’s (see chapter 8) guide (typically termed your “guide average”). If a league is not sanctioned by the USBC, the typical that you achieve in that league will not be recognized by most tournaments. It is really unconventional for a league to not be sanctioned.

For a league to be sanctioned, every bowler in the league should pay out a price to the USBC at the beginning of the 12 months. This is the “sanctioning fee” and normally can be paid in with your typical league dues for the duration of the first week of bowling. The league secretary commonly takes treatment of sending the sanctioning price to the USBC for sanctioning of the league.

USBC Guidelines

The USBC has established a rulebook to govern the game of bowling. This rulebook is very extensive (above 120 pages) and can not be covered in this guide. For the total rulebook, check out your neighborhood bowling center, or the USBC internet site (www.bowl.com).

As examples, the policies below are sited in normal calculations for tournaments a good deal:

319a-two

When the previous season’s ordinary is utilised, and at the time of bowling an entrant has a latest typical for 21 or far more video games that is ten pins or far more greater than the prior season’s common, the existing common ought to be made use of.

319c

The average of a bowler might be adjusted upward in advance of participation in any event. If the assigned average is not accepted by the bowler, the entry charge shall be refunded.

The rulebook is really full, covering every thing from the techniques and equipment, to scoring and bowler’s etiquette. I remarkably advocate reviewing the rulebook prior to beginning to bowl, but most bowlers are acquainted with the essential guidelines, and if there is a dispute, every single staff captain on a league ought to have a copy of the rulebook, and at the pretty minimum the secretary will have one particular.

united states government

The Wonderful World of Mobile? How does it fit in?

Chance Spann — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:48:10 +0000

Let me start by saying we live in the wonderful world of the Digital Age (plug) and all of this information is available online if you seek it… Just take the “Red Pill”. Also please don’t get me wrong just because I’m speaking towards mobile does even mean at all I do not love all of the wonderful things that are happening in the remainder of the digital worlds. Mobile is just hot currently and possibly will take us to a whole new place with our digital past accomplishments. I do not think they will go way but we WILL see a merge of technology and I think the the hand held device will be used to tap into to this.

Warning: and the reason I write this. There are many options to get into what is now opening up in the technology angle of the mobile world simply due to the devices that are being put on the market. Technology is advancing rapidly. But… with that you also have every Tom, Dick and Harry trying to climb on the mobile train. This is a niche market, train your self if you can or my advice is to hire true professionals. Especially in App development. You can get in over your head very quickly, especially an agency that has not dealt with this technology before. The normal processes apply to a degree but there are more dark alleys to light up to be sure the project is successful. Let me Plug a couple of great small service Mobile Web and App developers out there currently… Bemoko and Electric Pocket in the UK. These are a great bunch of guys and they are are not strangers to the platforms. This is a good way to get off to a good start if you do not have an internal team to develop your mobile angle of your campaign… have someone on your team that is half way knowledgeable, use who you know, avoid the smooth talkers, bring in outside firms you trust, collaborate as a team and the project will be successful.

Just my two Cents?

Information to help you grow in the Mobile arena… its the best Ive read so far.

http://www.utest.com (small area to fill out to gain a 49 page pdf on complete mobile from A to Croudsourcing)

Robots may take over society but they will never beat us bowling!

anguishedrepose — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 05:49:48 +0000

Now this is what I like to see! Although they might one day be our robot overlords, but on the brigh

Psych-sleep at the gum show

dadsdaytime — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:15:26 +0000

Andrew Hicks

I’ve been staying at my mom’s for five days now. She’s been a wonderful, selfless companion this entire week, and it’s been good to reconnect with her wisdom and humor on a daily basis. After she read the Misery sledgehammer post, my mom actually burst through the door with a sledgehammer, demanding to know if I’d been out of my room. That’s prop comedy! I didn’t even know there was a sledgehammer in the house. Don’t mess with mommy, man.

My grandma, her mom, used to make my mom call her every night at 5:30 to check in and tell her about her day. My mom takes a more laissez-faire approach to her adult son (me), and both of us could be better at staying in touch on the phone. It’s great not to feel like a smothered mama’s boy, but my mom is probably my greatest underutilized resource. Her opinions and advice are like gold to me. I need to go to the well more often.

This week is by far the most consecutive time I’ve spent with 12-week-old Silas. We’ve occupied the same perches since Monday – me on the bed, pillows propped up behind my back and under my cast leg, him in the car carrier atop Sarah’s old baby stroller. The 20/20-ness of hindsight* makes me wish we’d picked a more gender-neutral design for our baby travel set than the flowery pink of the Graco “Emilia” pattern, but the stroller serves its function nonetheless.

I have just enough mobility to reach for Silas, reach for a nearby diaper and wipes, reach for the hand sanitizer, then reach for the baby bottles with pre-measured distilled water so I can add the pre-portioned formula. We eat, burp, use the bathroom, sleep, and repeat.

Silas this week has turned into a big smiler, too. He’s becoming a master of the tight-lipped grin, the one-sided smirk and the full-on gum show of delight. He smiles at dad, he smiles at grandma, he even smiles at the goofy stuffed frog with the see-through bubble belly full of what look like mini-Chiclets.

Baby Silas is also a master of the fake-out nap, or as my wife Tiffany calls it, psych-sleep. He eats, I hold him, and eventually he gets fussy, which he always does when he’s tired. I put him down, rock the stroller back and forth, and his eyes shut in peaceful slumber. I rejoice, and I pull out my laptop and get ready to hunker down to some serious writing.

Ten minutes go by, I get about half a sentence in**, and Silas wakes back up. “Surprised, daddy? I was resting my eyes, ya gullible galoot! Your job’s not done by a mile! WAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” He builds up to his big cry, actually. It’s more like whine, whine, silence. Whine, whine, silence. Whine, whine, whine, WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

Taking care of a baby that weighs less than a United States Bowling Congress regulation ball*** is mostly busywork. So one thing I’ve been able to do this week is watch a whole lot of DVDs on my laptop. There’s no TV in the room, which means no sitcoms, no reality shows, no commercials and no complaints from me.

I’ve been raiding the archives of the county library, which so far has turned out to mean “mostly lower-profile movies from two years ago in the C+ to B+ range.” I haven’t seen one that’s truly brilliant or mediocre yet, just in between. Which is satisfying enough. If anyone’s interested, this is a list of what I’ve watched, from best to Still Pretty Good: Get Smart, Taking Woodstock, Outsourced, Extract, Baby Mama, Swing Vote, Charlie Bartlett. I could write a nice, entertaining paragraph on each, but that would make this post overlong and way off-topic. And Silas is going to wake up very soon, I’m sure of it.

–

Before I sign off, this is my tenth post, which makes me a double-digit blogger. I really couldn’t have done it without my amazing family and the, what, like 20 of you that actually read this. Thanks to everyone who’s supporting me and offering feedback on this creative endeavor.

In celebration, it’s time to introduce the following feature to Dad’s Daytime Diary:

BABY PICTURE OF THE DAY

Silas, never too young to rock

–

* = Tiffany and I were pleasantly surprised to get pregnant together once. We were never expecting an encore. Apparently, that’s what happens when you don’t use any form of birth control. Tell your friends.

** = Yes, it takes me ten minutes to write a half-sentence. It’s a run-on sentence, okay?

*** = Use a baby to bowl a 300 game, and you will receive a USBC patch. And a lengthy prison term. And probably many well-deserved beatdowns.

Chance Spann Interactive Producer: "Analyzing Analytics"

Chance Spann — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:22:01 +0000

Analyzing Analytics? No… I’m not going to get that deep, this is just an overview of what is important for the Interactive Producer to be familiar with, besides, quite a bit of writing would be involved to Analyze Analytics… Let’s begin with a simple definition:

Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of internet data for purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage.

This can mean so so many things but we are going to stick to the basics and some of the tools/tactics one can use to get very interesting results from such usage. There are two forms: on-site and off-site analyzation these are defined pretty much as they sound, today we will lean more to on-site analytics. But to quickly define off- site: In a nutshell its the measurement of the websites visibility away from the site out on the internet i.e. blogs, possible traffic that “may” come etc. On-site? Once the user hits your website even in the situation as a referral from another website every move they make can be tracked and thus analyzed against every other “unique” user to get some great quantifiable data that can optimize your site to be the best it can be for your target audience or evolve along with your audience.

Although it is very important to track your goals and keep an eye on analytics as a whole, goals previously planned I might add, I normally like to look at 30 day intervals unless I have a marketing campaign I’m tracking or another reason that may involve an outside push of traffic to the site over a period of time. I think the important thing to express here is you are not just going to log in run some reports and hand them in to someone especially the client. This process can go smoothly, or it can be a 5 day long journey down some rabbit holes you will have to ponder deep into the night in continuing to analyze in your own psyche to even make sense as to why something is happening.

Marketing Campaigns are certainly a necessity in our world today, and they need to be tracked to be able to calculate ROI, or simply to see if they were worth a damn. Ad Units (IAB, check it out… learn about online advertising and GET IAB CERTIFIED) are a different story and can have a whole separate platform to track the individual ad unit itself from the publisher but one can still see referrals from the site to which the ad was placed etc… Some key indicators to keep a look out for when analyzing the campaign is what is working and what is not. Example: are you users visiting a photo montage below the fold much more than they are the information that is above the fold? Is it UGC?, hmmm wonder why THIS is happening…LOL, well, one may want to consider moving this option above the fold so users can get to what they are interested in users absolutely love “real” user generated content. You will find users love to make their own choices on the internet. I always try to keep this in mind…” A User is a “lone” individual in front of a single computer, its very easy to get caught up in the masses of users and think that way, don’t do it… think about that “lone user” and what you are doing for them, your overall analytics will show you and you’ll be surprised that folks are just about like cattle. In IA, having the foreknowledge to try to predict a users movement to keep them “funneled” towards a “goal” on your site is the key. Analytics help you to see if this is working, see what the users are “trending” to, and allow you to make small changes to appease the audience or to get them to go back to the “funnel” to ROI you were planing on. Kinda like herding cattle. I don’t know what I’m talking about its just a stupid analogy?

Goal Funnelization? The process of forecasting a trend to lead a user to a goal i.e. a sale, or to sign up for a sweepstakes, gathering data etc. Along this user interaction path there will be key milestones, as each one is reached via the hopefully thousands of visitors more data can be derived especially if they are “bouncing” i.e. exiting… at a certain milestone not completing to the goal. This is great example of why to do analytics, this can be analyzed and corrected quite quickly as to not lose precious time and money.

I wont lean on anyone tool to use (Google) but the smart person always, or at least the sites I’ve worked on has two methods of tracking. Seeing as Google Analytics is free??? I like to use the two methods, “log files” and “page code insertion”, whatever you do, it will be rare to have two sources of analytics software usage and get the same results. So, in having two sources you get a comparison of the data and there are advantages from the different methods. Google has a plethora of other webtools that integrate all into a nice little package and it’s too simple and useful not to integrate into your site, besides… its FREE. A couple of others are Urchin (Google owned), Webtrends and Omniture as well as others, but they all work along the same principles and can be quite scalable, I like em all! But with Google at 85% of the search market? Hmmm they are doing something right, we better make sure we in the least, seeing as its FREE, utilize some of their FREE tools.

In closing lets talk quickly about some external sources of data gathering that has become quite important… pay close attention especially if you are a publisher or even trying to get your brand on a substantial site. It is so very important to follow IAB standards, it is also very important to get “Quantified”! Quantcast… in today’s market it is very cut throat to put it lightly, a potential advertiser looking to buy ad space on the HP above the fold of your website needs data aside from what you provide to make a business decision on his investment. If you’re “Quantified” via Quantcast the advertiser can check your numbers without even speaking with you, and if your proposal numbers are correct it would seem you are off to a good start into a negotiation. Get Quatified. You can also get this same service via Alexa. These services basically offer valid data from your site via a piece of code you inserted and can grab analytics on uniques, geographical and demo graphical data… very important as a publisher to provide to a prospective advertiser.

Well… I could go on for pages on this topic, but it is well-defined in other areas quite well here. Please, as an Interactive Producer Analytics are an important piece of knowledge in your arsenal and don’t be surprised if this entire process of proving the numbers does not land on your shoulders to analyze and then even present to the client. Don’t worry its fun, build the site right, and the numbers will be like opening presents at Christmas time! ( ;

Just my two cents…

Chance Spann Interactive Producer Suggestion: " KNOW Social Networking!"

Chance Spann — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:37:48 +0000

As usual let us define as “you” the people of the internet would define ” Social Media” by visiting Wiki…

“Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.”

For any brand or even for myself, its imperative today and even more in the future to completely engage you or your brand into the social media networking angle to get in the loop of what is “fresh” and to draw especially a younger audience. Folks lets face it, what used to sell does not work as well as it used to, the numbers are proving it and some don’t even have any numbers… they guess???. But… Neilson has integrated itself in our world with research to prove that users (unique) are spending on the internet one angle is an immense ( 7 hours a month! click here) amount of time on simple networking sites like Facebook. Not simple in the degree of structure and code, but in idea of how to converse and stay engaged with people thus with your brand.

Now that we live in a world that a user can reach a plethora of information within a few seconds, it is worth the time to set up as many social media sites as possible, set blogs, tweet, get your information/Brand out there! As I’ve said before social media is a HUGE add-on to the future of SEO tactics and can easily overwhelm the standardized dinosaur tactics of the past, but please still do them.

Want to learn more to benefit your knowledge in your workplace and how you approach projects, get caught up on the research. The Neilson links above will blow your mind on research, they have an interactive/digital angle called @plan, you can learn allot from the research they provide that is free. Another great resource is comScore, you can gain great research on the internet from multiple angles here as well. Research is a good start at a social media strategy, remember, there are dangers, you must be careful and do things such as moderate etc… some blogs and forums scenarios, NOT CENSOR… moderate. There are many social platforms that I suggest you check out, add your content/brand, skin it and add your content, daily… even hourly if you can, connect with the users as much as possible:

Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, WordPress, MySpace, Linkdin, Migente, BlackPlanet … just to name a few or you can go here and look till your heart is content and see the site user base = Social Sites

Engage your brand in front of all these social networking eyeballs, utilize the social platforms to your advantage to advertise and to converse with like-minded and interesting people of the “world” for a just a little time a day, no print cost, no network fee’s, hmmm sounds like we are on to something, actually we have been for a while. ( ;

Just my two cents…

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Facebook Users Average 7 hrs a Month in January as Digital Universe Expands

February 16, 2010
In a monthly view of U.S. Internet activity for top parent companies and web brands, The Nielsen Company found that the average time users spend using Facebook per month grew nearly 10%, topping seven hours. Additionally, the number of those actively using the web grew 3.8%, to slightly more than 203 million users.

Top 10 Parent Companies/Divisions for January 2010 (U.S., Home and Work)
Rank	Parent	Unique Audience (000)	Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)	MOM UA % Change	MOM Time % Change
1	Google	162,536	2:05:19	4.4%	-11.7%
2	Microsoft	143,893	1:57:58	5.9%	-4.1%
3	Yahoo!	138,850	2:28:33	6.6%	-15.8%
4	Facebook	116,329	7:01:41	5.8%	9.7%
5	AOL LLC	87,629	2:14:12	-0.8%	-7.5%
6	News Corp. Online	83,540	1:10:56	4.2%	-9.4%
7	InterActiveCorp	75,433	0:14:16	5.4%	-9.3%
8	Amazon	70,942	0:25:23	-4.7%	-28.4%
9	eBay	68,909	1:18:41	1.4%	-5.8%
10	Apple Computer	68,877	1:18:58	7.9%	-10.0%
Source: The Nielsen Company

Example: The data indicates that 64.6 million home and work Internet users visited at least one of the eBay-owned sites or launched an eBay-owned application during the month, and each person spent, on average, a total of 1 hour, 9 minutes and 32 seconds at one or more of their sites or applications.

The parent level is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs owned by a single company or division. The brand level is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs that has a consistent collection of branded content.

Top 10 Web Brands for January 2010 (U.S., Home and Work)
Rank	Brand	Unique Audience (000)	Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)	MOM UA % Change	MOM Time % Change
1	Google	153,056	1:26:22	4.3%	-14.4%
2	Yahoo!	137,459	2:29:04	6.5%	-15.6%
3	MSN/WindowsLive/Bing	116,804	1:50:14	8.0%	-5.6%
4	Facebook	116,329	7:01:41	5.8%	9.7%
5	YouTube	99,525	1:02:27	7.6%	-10.3%
6	Microsoft	98,180	0:41:36	7.5%	-6.8%
7	AOL Media Network	87,629	2:14:12	-0.8%	-7.5%
8	Apple	68,877	1:18:58	7.9%	-10.0%
9	Wikipedia	64,917	0:15:59	10.7%	-2.7%
10	Fox Interactive Media	63,925	1:23:09	3.9%	-9.5%
Source: The Nielsen Company

Average U.S. Internet Usage, Combined Home & Work, Month of January 2010
Metrics	Current Month	Previous Month	% Change
Sessions/Visits per Person	55	51	7.80%
Domains Visited per Person	90	83	8.40%
Web Pages per Person	2,621	2,614	0.30%
PC Time per Person	58:52:05	64:09:12	-8.20%
Duration of a Web Page Viewed	0:00:56	0:00:56	-0.20%
Active Digital Media Universe	203,094,213	195,738,178	3.80%
Current Digital Media Universe Estimate	234,264,633	234,802,000	-0.20%
Source: The Nielsen Company

For more info: Contact The Nielsen Company, or read about our media and consumer expertise.

Tags: Facebook, Google, top web sites, web usage

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Chance Spann Interactive Producer Suggestion: “Rewinding the Producer Revolution”

Chance Spann — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:00:41 +0000

I wanted to rewind for a moment. In a blog or two ago I mentioned the Topic ” Producer : Evolution/Revolution“. I went in to the evolution part of the producer angle but really did not give my “opinion” (based on award-winning experiential facts over a decade) on the current revolution. I noticed lately due to being in the job market (hint hint), potential employers, talking to recruiters, reading blogs, social networking, basically interactively branding the name Chance Spann, a few old methods, few weird methods and some just flat-out methods or logic towards a Producer function description or expectation that are just the wrong perspective to take.

It’s a natural feeling for me to go into immediately to what an Interactive Producer is not, but I’m going to go against my first thought and speak towards what one needs to expect from an Interactive Producer in 2010 inside the agency world as there is no true Int. Producer on the client side unless they have multiple websites/campaigns and in this case they need experts with versatility to which they are not acquiring thus you get a stale site (s)… taking a breath…. Another client side term I hear of Director of Project Management? On the client side? This cant exist, can it? Weird. The kind of interactive initiatives Int. Producers are involved in require many professionals that form an “interactive team” strictly pro’s at the interactive space. This is very important. I’ve been a Director of over 30 interactive professionals at a national agency on fortune 500 clients over roles from project/ production managers to IA/QA/Creative/Copy/Video/.NET/PHP/HTML/Flash design/developers, but even in the role of Director I was only a glorified Sr. Producer. I still took on medial task at times, and always had my own sites I personally was working on within the agency or doing the IA or doing Analytics or…whatever it takes. Lets get to the point, an Interactive Producer, better be well-rounded and well compensated, as they are a key position in the team of the project, especially being joined at the hip with the lead creative, which is a vital relationship. If you are hiring someone who wants less than 80K then he/she is a Jr., with not enough experience and possibly needs to get more before you hire them. I don’t even think one should even be allowed to be an Int. Exec, or Sr. Producer until they are PMI certified have a couple of years of project management under their belt, some creative time as a true (video or online) creative and have worked on the client side with an agency. This equates to experience and most importantly understanding. You get what you pay for, please don’t find this out the hard way, it’s just not worth it.

Ive heard those compare interactive producers to Broadcast producers. Not the same. One example… An interactive Producer may have to work closely with a Broadcast Producer to gain some video content BUT… once delivered in broadcast quality they then have to jump through 5 more hoops to get it up on the internet. This is not true in the reverse. Actually does not happen in the reverse. Or can it… (Grin)

Ive been a broadcast producer/video editor/ motion graphics artist for many years in my career and it was a joy and its great to have that knowledge now as the video on the internet is only going to EXPLODE ever more! Just another feather under my hat, one you should seriously look to get into as an Int. Producer, especially encoding. i.e. Squeeze, or look into Itunes encoding techniques they are amazing, have the ability to move around Final Cut, and a cherry on top would be After Effects etc…

Learn also to project manage the project manager…. carefully… don’t cross boundaries! Realize these guys and gals, God Bless them, may have blinders on to focus completely on the time and money… and please do, but you need that knowledge as well to avoid pitfalls. The producer should be more well rounded and have much more experience from a birds eye view than the PM. One thing you can’t always and should not even really expect is a relationship to any degree besides time and money between a PM and a GCD or CD. What more do they have to talk about? In my experience at different agencies, PM’s have either been asked to do too much and know what they are doing but to the projects demise due to medial task that are pulling them away from the focus of the time line and the budget, or… they do not have the experience to do anything other than be a PM that focuses on the time and money and that is perfect for me as a Producer, I work with them as a part of team and my experience fills the gaps to which they are lacking.

As a Int. Producer you are surrounded by many moving parts that funnel to a common goal i.e. a website. You must know something or a good part of every one of these roles, its your responsibility, and trust me if something goes wrong the finger points at you. I’m going to end this with a Quote I’ve read in another blog. The gentleman’s name is “Chris Higgins” … ” It’s interesting that even though the title Interactive Producer has been around for a while, most managers would have a fairly limited understanding of the full breadth of tasks that can fall under this domain.” Hear Hear!!!

Just my two cents…

Chance Spann Interactive Producer Suggestion: "Getting to Know SEM"

Chance Spann — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:05:33 +0000

In my last blog I grazed the surface of SEO and the importance of implementing SEO tactics into your overall web development strategy, you can review that article here: Suggestion 2/26/10 “The Acronyms 2”. Today lets just touch another acronym that can be helpful in the world of search engines called SEM (Search Engine Marketing). And let’s go to the mecca of UGC… Wikipedia and to the world’s definition and go from there: Wiki defines it as:

“Search engine marketing, or SEM, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) through the use of paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion. “

Let’s just say for a good read in this article we will keep it light as once you pay the placement its pretty much done for you especially with Google, I’ll just take you through the process so you can have a one stop shop for the understanding and quick implementation strategy of SEM. Lets get started. So once again lets use Google as an example, they have a program called AdWords. Three simple steps can get you started with a simple SEM program with Google AdWords.

1. Create the ads: ( Google has a nice little tool for this). You then choose keywords/tags = words or phrases that associate to your ads initiative, ultimately to be ranked by, then come up in a search under those terms or phases by users who are searching.

2. Place the Ads: This is very easy as Google has set a step by step process and its easily done. Once users search on Google and type in one of the words or phrases you associated to your ad, your ad may appear next to the search results. ( according to how many have clicked in the past, money you spent etc…) This allows for your ad to be shown to users who are interested in the topics your ads initiative is advertising in hope to get a “click” or 1000′s ( ;. It’s a good program as they use a PPC methodology, Ohhh an acronym I have yet to mention, “Pay Per Click” we will be getting into this in a later article, but basically you only pay a certain amount if a user clicks your ad. This can also work in reverse as in this case Google is a “Publisher”, now Google is HUGE, they almost have to use this method, smaller sites with 1mm or under can utilize a CPM (Cost Per 1000 clicks) methodology and be much more profitable, add a contract to end of the ad at a certain time or at a certain amount of money usage etc… like I said I will get into this another day.

Google has lots of extras to help you to get placement in their rankings and to analyze them. These are very important as well, and might not be found in lesser markets. A couple you should research are ” contextual targeting technology“ this can automatically match your ads to pages in the Google content network that are most relevant to your ads initiative via the keywords or phrases you use. Also there is a very useful tool to most importantly measure and optimize your results: you can pay close attention daily to multiple ad placements performance on a site-by-site basis to see impressions, clicks, cost, conversion data, and use this data to identify well-performing sites to target more aggressively and low-value placements that require content optimization or need to end due to lack of performance.

Yahoo Yahoo! Search Marketing and MSN Microsoft adCenter also have programs for paid ad placement that pretty much work under the same protocol and criteria as mentioned above, but with less eyeballs, and frankly less tools to combine all of the useful methods you will need to maintain your site. But to will want to get into them up to your “EYEBALLS” as well as some user only use these engines and you want their visits. A good read would be “What are Google Webmaster Tools”. One may learn allot by typing this into a search engine browser.

Just my two cents.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/chancespann

Chance Spann Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/26/10 “The Acronyms 2”

Chance Spann — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:04:17 +0000

The acronyms just seem to fly out of the air in the interactive world but its important to learn their meaning, least you be the only visitor to your site? Two important acronyms in this discussion are SEO and SEM. Quick story, after being in the biz a while I have had different supervisors over me usually in the VP status and truth be told… I’ve mentioned SEO in my early conversations with only to be asked what it meant WHAT?… WOW! So Int. Producer… be sure you can define it and make sure you can assist your team in all the angles of integration. My good friend and UGC mecca Wikipedia defines it as:

“Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results as opposed to search engine marketing (SEM) which deals with paid inclusion. Typically, the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. “

There are currently industry standards of SEO, these include making the website “search engine friendly” via a few things: optimization of the content and the HTML, the relevance of the descriptions and keywords, including also a sitemap.xml and a robots.txt, site submission etc… these are all common and need to be done as a part of the last stages of development but… they are old news friends. If you want to get ranked these days according to the methodologies that the search engines are using, let just say seeing as Google holds the larger share of the market amongst them all, you need to do a few more things.

Without getting into “deep” detail, after you have done the common industry standard SEO moves, you must flood the “social networking world” with your information i.e. a link back to your site. Let me give you an example and we will use me, Chance Spann, I’m a brand? I’m trying to sell myself on the internet Right?, I’m doing it right now (Grin). I created a base site, I actually use www.linkedin.com/in/chancespann or www.naymz.com as a base site to lead users back to learn more about me, my expertise awards etc. These sites will be the sites I want ranked the highest and will contain the full information I want the user to engage in. Then I use all the other social networks to lead users back like: Digg, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger etc. insert “tag clouds” and I get it into every one of them I can. My links get Dugg and Tweeted and clicked and passed around by users and it’s just wonderful. The bots from the search engines are hitting my link from every source and then ranked and the whole process begins and as content gets updated daily by such methods as what you are reading now it keeps ranking and keeps me at the top of the search rankings. It takes a while for an “indirect” vs “direct” search terms to rank me on the first page of a search or higher, but at this point I’m doing quite well.

Here are some example search terms to look for me in Google, Yahoo Bing etc this is how is would work in any situation even with a big brand but that brand will probably rank highest simply due to the fact of the user base and competition:

Direct search terms: Chance Spann, Chance Spann Interactive Producer

You notice the page just fills with information on me. Hmmm so what Eh?

This is where the all the SEO work begins to show…

Indirect search terms (Google):

1. Interactive Producer Dallas Texas = ( Im ranking 2nd with this one under a job posting… this is good)

2.Addy awards dallas American airlines = ( with this just random search term the SEO kicks in, and along side a huge brand name like American Airlines and Addy ( Addy Awards) I rank an incredible 9th on the first page in a Google search. This is great!)

Same terms in Bing:

1. Interactive Producer Dallas Texas = ranking 3rd under paid search. Great!

2. Addy awards dallas American airlines = 3rd page in ) : needs work, actually needs clicks ( ;

Same terms in Yahoo!:

1. Interactive Producer Dallas Texas = 2nd page 6 down due to this blog I’m writing now. Getting better but I want on the first page!!! But remember its yahoo and remember I was on the first page on Google the master of the internet. LOL?

2. Addy awards dallas American airlines = not even worth mentioning. LOL hit and miss

All in all my work over the past couple of weeks I feel good about my tactics, just simply due to the Google ranks. Im going to leave with this thought, standard SEO practices are needed and please do them, but we now have the UGC model and Social Networking angles these are imperative and you must incorporate them into your “Organic” SEO strategy. SEM… more to come.

Just my two cents…

Two More Cents?

Media? What the Heck are all those Acronyms?

Many are wondering what is CPM, CPI, PPC, CPA, CTR and ECPM concepts. Working on ad serving projects have guided me to create some logic in this crazy world.
CPM – Cost per thousand CPI – Cost Per Impression PPC – Pay per click CPA – Cost Per Action CTR – Click-through rate ad serving Click fraud Cost Per Click View-through rate Clicktag Breif description is helpful for common people as well as developers. Impression – Per Page Views( per Page loads) Click – Per ad click CTR (Click through rate) Click-through rate or CTR is a way of measuring the success of an online advertising campaign. A CTR is obtained by dividing the “number of users who clicked on an ad” on a web page by the “number of times the ad was delivered” (impressions). Formula: CTR (%) = (Clicks/Impressions)*100 For example, if a banner ad was delivered 100 times (impressions delivered) and one person clicked on it (clicks recorded), then the resulting CTR would be 1 percent. CTR (%) = (1/100)*100 = 1% CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) The CPM model refers to advertising bought on the basis of impression. The total price paid in a CPM deal is calculated by multiplying the CPM rate by the number of CPM units. Formula: CPM unit = (Impressions/1000) Total Price ($) = CPM unit * CPM rate ($) Per Impression cost ($)= CPM rate ($) / 1000 For example, one million impressions at $10 CPM equals a $10,000 total price. 1,000,000 / 1,000 = 1,000 units 1,000 units X $10 CPM = $10,000 total price The amount paid per impression is calculated by dividing the CPM by 1000. For example, a $10 CPM equals $.01 per impression. $10 CPM / 1000 impressions = $0.01 per impression ECPM (Effective Cost Per Thousand Impressions) eCPM is calculated by dividing total earnings by total number of impressions in thousands. It is a great performance measure for your various ad units, so when experimenting, you can use eCPM to compare your results. Even for smaller sites, eCPM can be a useful statistic to track ad performance. Formulae: eCPM = (Total Earnings / Impressions) * 1000 Note : In openx total earnings refers to Rev (Revenue) in statistics For example, eCPM for 370 page impressions and $1.48 total earnings will be : eCPM = (Total Earnings / Impressions) * 1000 = ($1.48 / 370 ) * 1000 = $4.00 More Acronyms to come Im sure… OMG!

Chance Spann Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/24/10 "The Acronyms"

Chance Spann — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:55:11 +0000

The acronyms? What are you talking about Chance? Well, lets see… UGC, UCC, CGM, SEO, SEM and it goes on and on. Why so many acronyms and what could it all MEAN!!! Unless you are a HUGE brand that generates its own traffic and even still it could mean whether you get the traffic or optimal traffic to your site you need these. So you spent 6 months to a year on the site on a development server, you have ton of video and decided to go with a CDN ( another acronym…LOL) and now you think you will just launch?… and “IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME!”. No, that unfortunately is not how it works. Some of the coolest most creative and expensive sites I’ve produced and launched without the full support through the “acronyms”, traffic was low even after “Site of The Day” awards on FWA and Communication Arts, the traffic went up and just right back down. You must utilize UGC methods and more to help to have constant flow of traffic, especially in a e comm situation.

Lets start slowly with this and begin with UGC… buzz acronym of the moment and its sidekicks, CGM and UCC…Its hard not to laugh because there are just so many its ridiculous. Ive seen so many weird looks on faces when I so quickly bust out with the “acronyms”… But they are important… So what do they stand for? Lets go to the mecca of UGC and see what they mean… Wikipedia. “User-generated content (UGC), also known as consumer-generated media (CGM) or user-created content (UCC), refers to various kinds of media content, publicly available, that are produced by end-users.” Now you can go read the history and such out there later if you like, what does this have to do with my site? UGC is or can be integration with social networking like Blogs, Reviews i.e. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Blogspot, WordPress etc… allowing content from those portals via API’s, feeds, RSS, XML or the like and serve back to your site creating… User Generated Content. Another way to do this is integrate forum software into your site, (FYI this can be dangerous and can backfire, get knowledgable of this UGC thing… least you end having to turn it off, don’t learn this the hard way!) UGC and forums can improve rankings and it’s just fun for your users, it will take off quickly if set up and pushed correctly.

Another is to have users upload content like photos or video to your site (Dangerous as well must me monitored!!!). I mentioned CDN earlier, Content Delivery Network, you can stream your video or whole flash site if you want off of 1000′s of servers each in the geographical location of the call of the content lets say video from a local server rather than a single server on site to which will possibly overload i.e. crash if too many request are requested. Let me put this into perspective, how many employee’s will you have to hire to keep the users of the internet happy with content? What you are doing is reversing the method and letting the user make themselves happy on your site by allowing thm to engage with your brand. You use their content. Good example of how this works? In forums… realize every single topic is ranked by a search engine and then according to certain keywords the post and how many read that topic/post that are associated they are then ranked by the search engines behind that, ultimately leading users back to your forum and to your site. It’s wonderful!

With the technical genius to which Google and some of the search engines are heading towards in ranking content, in search or the paid search options they offer UGC methods are a must due to the fact users love to converse with one another. The search engines utilizing new methods allows users to have more influence on websites and ad units more than ever. You must understand and be knowledgable on how to integrate your campaigns and sites into the Search Engines methods. Brands that have been ignoring their users or members have a slow leak… so to speak. You need to get into the mind of your users, allowing them to push UGC onto your site will allow this but you must engage and pay close attention to analytics. Think about what they might be saying about your brand or more importantly your “Clients” brand. Then decide how you want to engage, eventually someone will have to answer, be sure you engage in time to give an answer that allows for knowledge to be spread and not have to try to curve negativity towards the brand in any way. The Search Engines…they are changing… offering more tools and options, evolving as to how we work with the internet. Producer… you must engage, and have the knowledge to evolve as well so you can bring it to the table when needed and support those who surround you and to support the UGC = User= Content methodology this is your content bread and butter.

Just my two cents…

Interesting findings by Jupiter Research 2007 Hmmm I’m not going to all the work for you so… do a quick search yourselves and compare the data… Neilson that has come out in 2009… WOW! :

“During the past 12 months, how frequently have you visited each of the following websites?”

When Internet users who had visited one or more of the social networking sites referenced in Question #1 (which excluded Google, Yahoo!, and MSN) were asked the following about those sites which they had visited in the past 12 months…

“Thinking of the last time you visited the following websites and performed a search, what was the reason for your search?”

When Internet users who had visited one or more of the social networking sites were asked the following about those sites which they had visited in the past 12 months…

“Thinking of the last time you visited the following websites, please indicate which of the following methods you used to reach each site.”

Chance Spann Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/23/10: "Process..."Do or Die"

Chance Spann — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:04:18 +0000

Over the years I have been in situations to where a process was in place and worked, well kinda sorta, places that had no process and scared me to death and places that I developed process but in general as the business of interactive is constantly evolving the process to which one works in the business will need to evolve as well. But there can be a basic guideline process that for the larger more profitable and resource allocating projects and through careful planning be designed special just for that initiative. This process will scale up or down and be defined as the project is scoped initially, lets jump right in… remember you are clay we mold ourselves to our clients and their needs following our proficiency and expertise, as does the process so this is just a guideline you may have seen many be inspired to create your own…

First item of business is looking at these in “Phases”:

Discovery/Ideation Phase

So we have met initially with the client responded to the RFP etc … but we feel we will need a bit of time to get a tight grip on the project and our approach. We do a “Discovery Phase“, this allows time to get our bearings, gather the best resources for the project and begin to create an idea and vision of what we can deliver to the client. This would include for example: the receiving of materials from the client to review and study, creating a client facing Business Requirements Document (BRD), conducting a competitive analysis, do user profiling, create client facing Technical Requirements Document (TRD), plan of communications i.e. who are the point resources between the client and you? and a preliminary Project Schedule ( this needs as detailed as one can get at this point as this is when the client receives, locks into their mindset and will more than likely hold you to it. Besides, the client is paying for this “Discovery” phase, if I were the client I would want the timeline close to reality so I could get a line on my internal parallels that may be inline with this project. So with timeline and milestones within the timeline, be accurate in working with your Project Manager and the rest of the team to be on target with this large detail.

There is also a part of this Phase I would like to separate and that is “Strategy“. Due to the differences of every project, for example a website about a staffing agency vs. a major airline, although the interactive principles are the same the strategy in which we engage the user/users will certainly be different. Competitive analysis of other major sites etc will shine some light on what is being done and not being done to give the team a good start. Strategy would include more or less the following: Identify the Goals and Objectives, define user needs of the site (there may be multiple User Interaction Paths), Research the Market, Benchmark Competitive Sites and lastly separate this part of the document on the Strategy and how it will impact the goals and objectives and this must be a client facing and be sure the client completely understands the proposed strategy.

Planning Phase ( Ideas are evaluated and turned into projects)

Strategy will continue in the “Planning Phase” at times, as the team will come upon new revelations as they all begin to come together and work as one on the project. This Phase will also include other task such as, making sure we have the correct team assigned, this gives us one more chance if anything changes in Discovery to switch around some resources who may have more experience. time etc. Now that we have the Business and Technical Requirements signed by the client and we all understand one another we can move into specific details. These may include specifications for design as well begin to spec out some ideas, development approaches that may have evolved, enterprise ideation, legal, analytics approach, and a branding approach/possibly an integrated ad campaign. Kickoff meeting with the final assigned team internally and then present back the consensus to the client and sign off to move forward.

Design Phase ( Information, Interaction, Visual Design) ( Project Requirements guide the conceptual and technical development)

Now that we are off to a good start and are beginning as a team to really understand the clients goals and objectives, we can move to the “Information‘. What is a good way to organize the information? Is there an existing site? Does it need to just go away or can it be salvaged? Analyze existing site structure if applicable. Begin from scratch if the site is yet to exist. Begin to define the user profiles and then move into “Interaction“. We begin by asking “How will the user (s) interact with the site? (User Experience, UX) We begin to define from the user profile the user interaction paths throughout the site and then quickly into site architecture options i.e. Information Architecture (IA). This phase begins to the define the architecture of the information and how the user will experience this information according to the choices they make. We now… very gently present these IA ideas to the client and get sign off.

Visual Design

How will the site look? Creative begins to define the visual designs based on the architecture documentation and the UX as we have previously defined and gained “CLIENT SIGN OFF”… Danger areas here include, not gaining full client understanding but a sign off. Be absolutely certain your client understands where the site headed. I’ve worked with some clients who are very visual, they smile and sign off on the architecture but then begin to step backwards as they see it with creative. This can cost time and money. DANGER WILL ROBINSON! There is a trick here I have learned and actually put to the test. One will have to use this rarely and by this point in the project you will know the client well enough to use this, and really you are only offering the client more of what they want. Sometimes if the site is really complicated this should be required, a simple design one layout may be enough with some revisions. The idea is to have three creative designers approach the HP design and one secondary page layout from their personal perspective. You will be so surprised at the differences in the creative approaches! There are a couple of variations to this approach, are you having budgetary probs with the client? Is the client just creatively very picky? This approach can help to solve both of these problems. If the problem is the client is having slim budget, present the three options strategically to focus on the middle option that includes the specifics needed in moderation for the client and then at a budget that the agency can actually make some kind of profit from or create a site that could be award-winning. Secondly if the issues are picky creative responses the three options gives the client more to look at, more options, they are more likely to begin to narrow down to a singular focus and keep the creative process moving with less revisions. Try it… I have actually run test on these theories and they actually work out better for both ends. So we’ve presented the paper prototypes and we finally have a creative vision with client sign off… YES! There are some meetings and details before this but we are moving along… One thing I would like to certainly mention are “Focus Groups”, there will be scenarios that Focus Groups are absolutely needed and must be integrated in so not to surprise the client with a hidden cost.

Implementation Phase ( Build, Test, Maintain) ( The Site is built and modified based on testing and analytical feedback)

It is time to begin to create a working website in the “Build” stage. We move to technical production front end and back-end development. Tie the front end visual interface to the backend, go through internal reviews/revisions and launch an “Alpha” site on a development server ( we will not be getting into servers in this discussion as it can get lengthy). This is where Quality Assurance (QA) technicians come in and “Test” test test! Now we can determine… Where are the problems? We determine through, proofreading the copy top to bottom/every page, testing on various platforms and browsers, complete QA, a client review once stable, gain feedback make revisions and move to “Beta” testing.

Maintain (How Can We make the Site Better?)

We will certainly hear from the users if it was a “re-design” and can incorporate valid revisions from this angle as they will catch the smallest of detail so be sure to provide an area suggesting they provide their feedback. Also, begin to analyze the server logs over the next month or so, look at your analytics applications, Google, Webtrends, Omniture, whatever you have gone with, I suggest have two installed to so you have something to compare to Google is free and has so many other options to integrate you gotta use it as at least one angle (period). You also have the online versions that if you integrate the code can give you data as well: Quantcast.com and Alexa.com, if you are planning on serving Ad Units/Banners this is a must as well as becoming IAB certified. From all this data begin to prioritize the revisions and quantify the rational of the users via the interaction with the site and how you would change the site to get the results you are looking for to gain ROI or funnels to a goal. The process above never ends, it continues and continues, one will always need to maintain and upgrade the site with content and remain fresh.

There are a million details that are between the lines you have just read, but this is a good start and a good “umbrella” process and has worked for me on projects ranging from 30K to over 1 million. Remember process is imperative, it will evolve and need to be tweaked from project to project, but a process like I’ve described above will keep you on track which equates to agency profitability and more importantly a happy client.

Just my two cents…

Chance Spann Director of Interactive, Producer and Project Manager

Chance Spann — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:21:42 +0000

Chance Spann
Dallas TX.
214-587-0755
cspann316@gmail.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/chancespann

http://twitter.com/chancespann

Interactive Producer offering expertise in all aspects of digital advertising and marketing including websites, microsites, ad units, planning, buying, competitive analysis, search marketing, e-mail programs, cross-media analytics, affiliate programs, ad-serving, viral marketing, social media and mobile and emerging media strategies and tactics. Combining best-of-breed e-marketing technologies and intelligence resources with sophisticated marketing skills to leverage and integrate the power of the digital realm within client media campaigns.

NOTED: Acceleration of production within short timelines through efficiency in strategy within a specific project, Interactive Account Client relations, strong Project Management skills and management of staff through team building while handling multiple projects.

NOTED: Increasing incremental revenue through Client understanding and implementation, efficiency of process, budgeting and adaptation across various Client initiatives online and from within the integrated marketing campaign.

“With my career beginning in advertising & a creative setting on the Client side at Blockbuster for almost 10 years, I’m well versed in the process from business requirements through creative as a Client sees the initiative, the production phases of strategy and the expectations within the final product. Having a creative background helps me to converse and play a positive role in this phase of development; I really enjoy this phase, watching it come to life! Having full awareness of the integrated marketing campaign, it’s a joy working with all facets of a campaign when projects require more than just the digital aspect and engaging as a partner through these phases bringing full Client awareness.” Chance Spann

Proficiencies:
Macintosh OSX and all PC based Operating Systems. Expert knowledge in the Adobe Creative Suite CS4, Illustrator CS4, Avid, Final Cut Pro 7, After Effects CS4, MS Office, Visio, Omnigraffle, Basecamp, Webasyst, Adobe Acrobat, Webtrends, Google Analytics, Omniture, Urchin & Squeeze. Associates Degree in Communications, Eastfield; Art Institute certified motion graphics; Freelance/Intern Blockbuster Inc. prior to 1996 E-Comm & post production. PMI Certified.
Experience
Freelance Sr. Interactive Producer/Account Executive- FL2 -
http://www.fl-2.com
(November 2009 – Jan 2010)
- Responsibility for the day-to-day management of digital/online marketing/iPhone/Mobile programs and web development projects from initial project scoping, production, completion, and post-project analysis.
- Responsibility for ensuring that project deliverables meet client and project objectives/goals and meet/exceed expectations both externally and internally.
- Creating and managing project plans with MS Project, estimating, scoping of work documents, requirements, risk assessments, specifications, schedules, and budgets. This will require using Workamajig and other FL2 tool sets.
- Communicating workflow between creative and technology teams.
-Working as part of an integrated team with the other team members.
-Testing for quality assurance on different FL2 projects.

Clients Managed:
-Vail Mountain http://buzz.snow.com
-Western Union – Instore Digital Signage, YesBox campaign
-Boa:
http://www.boatechnologies.com
Director of Interactive/ Internal Account Executive (Client Side; 1yr Contract) – United States Bowling Congress

(October 2008 – October 2009) http://www.bowl.com
Managed the re-launch of http://www.bowl.com. Complete “Blow Up” from scratch. This site had not been touched since 2001.
Post launch day-to-day management and production of bowl.com and other digital initiatives and teams. Well versed in social networking, mobile technologies, email campaigns/blasts, and online advertising methodologies. I like to attend supplemental conferences to keep up to date on the latest and the greatest in the digital realm. Supplement the team in seeking content in placement in the digital space or in support of the website through establishing partners i.e. (CBSsports.com). Responsible for and able to absorb the role of information architecture, creative and design of the content and advertising (Ad Units), and the overall appearance and editing of the content/news of the space. Lead on analytics and post mortem evaluations to provide feedback for improvements based on user interaction in conjunction with stakeholders . As Director I was to be the “face” of BOWL.com i.e. conventions and when speaking publicly to USBC members and associations (2MM members 2000 associations in US.)

Duties:
- Managed all facets from conception strategy while maintaining current “Live” site.
- Identified, Created & Managed 300K budget
- Reverse engineered current site
- Identified goals and conducted a competitive analysis
- Conducted Information Architecture
- Hired all personnel for project
- Determined development languages (front end, recommended back end)
- Determined necessary software and equipment needs
- Determined Content Management System (Alfresco)
- Email strategies and external “blast” vendor and Ad Server
- Supplemental PM software (Webasyst)
- Analytics software internal and external (Google, Omniture,Quantcast, Alexa)
- Determined Forum Software (Invision Power: IP Board)
- Managed Visual Design and user interaction
- Integration of front and back end QA tactics internally and external vendor.
- Launch the website, launch social networking campaign and prepared for Post Mortem.

Director of Interactive & Production (Client Facing Role)- TM Advertising
(October 2006 – October 2008) http://www.tm.com
- Management of all online/digital services for the interactive group.
- Manage all interactive budgets on simultaneous projects. 30K to over 1MM
- Management of all project management, systems, developers, production staff (25) and processes.
- Manage and assign PM to all projects assignments and recommend strategy.
- Coordinates vendor production scheduling and secures services and contractual negotiations.
- Coordinate with Information Architect on development strategy with ability to own if needed.
- Coordinate with CCO and Creative Directors to support RFP initiatives, evaluate strategy, ideation, production and timeline management
- Carry projects from conception to billing reconciliation to support account service.
- Well versed in recommendation with support of developers in recommending all supporting languages for front and back end development.
- Well versed and have the ability to own recommendation of hosting and hosting scenarios including large deployment CDN scenarios as well as negotiate all vendor related contracts.
- Well versed in all media required buy scenarios and logic via Ad Units/Banners including “Rich” media. Have contacts with the following venders: Pointroll, Bluestreak, Eyeblaster, Eyewonder, Doubleclick/DART, Atlas.
- Highly skilled expertise in Analytics. High familiarity in Urchin, Omniture, Webtrends, Google Analytics and other tracking methodologies including Quantcast.com and Alexa.
- Well versed in Content Management Systems and implementation methods.
- Well versed in email development, marketing and deployment methods.
- Lead on Business Requirements Documentation, Search Engine Optimization, New Business preparations and Interactive AE with clients.
- Reported to CCO, CFO, & CEO
Clients Managed and Awards won while with TM Advertising
o AFI Dallas International Film Festival 2007 & 2008 http://www.afidallas.com
o American Airlines
- http://www.aa.com
- http://www.aadvantagemarketingprograms.com
- http://www.aadvantagemilestones.com( 2008 EIMA Award Winner)
-www.theflagshipexperience.com(2008 Gold ADDY, 2008 Communication Arts & 2008 FWA – Site of the Day, Finalist at the 2008 Flash Forward conference
o Prostaff http://www.prostaff.com
o Verizon (Ad Units)
o XBOX (In game console Ad Units)
o Discover http://www.discovernetwork.com
o E-Z-GO (Ad Units)
o Nintendo http://www.mywiistory.com
o Superpages (Ad Units)
o Bell Helicopter http://www.bell429.com(2008 Silver ADDY)
o EDS http://www.eds.com/success
o Nationwide Insurance

Sr. Producer of Interactive/ Account Executive (Client Facing Role) – MOROCH Partners LLP
(August 2005 – October 2006) http://www.moroch.com
- Management of the execution and process of interactive projects.
- Manage budget on simultaneous projects.
- Manage creative and development staff on projects.
- Lead and assist on the initial scope of projects and align client facing BRD’s, technical requirements, information architecture.
- Identify and implement through team, functional specifications via wireframes, own IA work if needed and work as Interactive Account Executive with clients.
- Create and maintain all timelines to plan, deliver projects on time and to budget.
- Solid knowledge of Interactive Project Management.
- Adequate knowledge to identify all required technologies by project.
- Participate with ability to lead creative and strategic concept meetings and be client facing.
- Have familiarity with servers and database configurations as to recommend on projects.
Clients Managed and Awards won while with MOROCH
o McDonalds
- http://www.mcrib.com (Webby Honoree 2005)
- http://www.filetofish.com(2005 Bronze ADDY, 2005 Gold ADDY)
- http://www.mcmornings.com
- Alarm Clock Chase (Online Game) ( 2005 Bronze ADDY)
- http://www.bonelesspigs.org( 2005 Gold ADDY, Webby Nominee 2005)
o Monster.com
- http://www.footinthedoor.com(Online Game) ( 2 Gold ADDYs)
o Citracal
- http://www.standstrong.com (Webby Nominee 2005)
o DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)
- http://www.dart.org
o Mattress Giant
- http://www.mattressgiant.com
Sr. Producer Advertising Brand Team Blockbuster Inc. Corporate (Client Side) (January 1996 – July 2005)
- Management of execution of brand across multiple mediums, online and Blockbuster TV in-store monitors.
- Management of internal request for content placement online and Blockbuster TV.
- Management of external advertising placement on BBTV.
- Management of external production vendor relations.
- Oversee external exhibits of brand. ( POP, BBTV, Online)
- Oversee and integrate into CMS and streaming technologies (post production and encoding) blockbuster.com
- Management of in-house and external post production facilities and processes for Blockbuster TV.
- Management of budgets and invoicing for all internal and external vendors.
- Oversee project scheduling, timelines, and organization of creative from concept to delivery.
- Managed continuity of advertising strategy of creative via in-store digital signage, POP, radio, direct mail, email, and online. Expert digital editor and motion graphics (Avid,Final Cut Pro CS4, After Effects CS4 ) and encoding (Media Clean, Squeeze)

References

- Trish Maher Vice President Marketing, Blockbuster
214.683.8692

- Kevin Arthur Executive Vice President, Firstborn Multimedia
212.581.1100 Main Contact: kevin@firstbornmultimedia.com

- Brad Barnett Web Development Manager, TM Advertising
214.642.2161 cell 972.830.2307 Office

- Chuck Acker New Biz Director , Visual Goodness Interactive
212.352.9908 chuck@visualgoodness.com

- Paul Huff Web Developer, TM Advertising
817.562.4757

- Alex Villegas Sr. Art Director, TM Advertising
404.964.5222

- Marva Cathey SVP Advertising, Blockbuster
214.373.6999

- Trina Uzee Sr. Creative Director, IMC2
214.766.0796
- Ray Sturduvic Sr. Creative Director, MOROCH
214.535.5175

- Anna Conroy Account Supervisor, TM Advertising
972.830.2300

- Jen Dale Chief Operations Officer, FL2
888.345.4051

More in depth references available @ http://www.linkedin.com/in/chancespann

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