Why Isn’t Chuck Smiling?
After the article about NashobaValley.com came out in the Free Press last week, the number one question I got from people was…
“Why isn’t Chuck smiling?”
The answer - I had to get some kind of photo in to the paper in a very short amount of time. I got the call from the reporter on Tuesday night, during the week in Boston where I was at the trade show. I needed to use a picture I already had on my computer, and that was the one I chose.
Big mistake, I guess. I got more people asking me if I was having a bad day, or if my dog had died, than I would have liked. I guess most people who know me aren’t used to me having some kind of stupid grin on my face.
So, just to prove that I can smile, I’m going to have my wife take a picture of me smiling over the next couple of days. I’ll post it to the site somewhere, and let you know where it is. But rest assured, I do like to smile, and even though I have a face for radio, I’ll prove it.
On to some more interesting stuff…
Tell A Friend Race Contest
First off, on the Tell A Friend Race Contest, noone made it to the 15 referrals. But, there were two people who had 7 friends sign up. So, I’m going to give a 2 GB iPod Nano to…
- Melissa Fetterhoff
and
- Jennifer Koulopoulos
I’ve just ordered the iPods, and they will be in some time this upcoming week. I’ll get them to Melissa and Jennifer as soon as possible.
Clearing Up Some Confusion
As is usual when you’re winging it, there tends to be some confusion around some of the NashobaValley.com features. So, in an attempt to make everyone understand a little better, I’m going to answer some of the questions I’ve received over the past few days.
Question: Does my charitable organization have to pay to list its events?
Answer: No! If you are a charitable (church, non-profit, etc.) or community (youth sports, senior activities, town government, etc.) organization, you can request to have Community Leader status. This will let you post as many of your organization’s events as you like. All you need to do is be registered at the site, and then click on the “My Events” link and then click on “List Your Event.”
Once on this page, there will be a link that says “click here to complete the request form. On this page you’ll be able to submit your Community Leader request.
Question: Why can’t I put a web site link or email address for my business in my directory listing?
Answer: Basic listings have only a business’ name, address, and phone number. To get a link to your web site, you would need to purchase an upgraded listing. The enhanced business listings, and the other advertising opportunities - banner ads, sponsored listings, coupons - are the only way that I make any money from NashobaValley.com. I would like to do the site for nothing, but the cost of development, hosting, and the time it takes means that I have to charge something.
But, the advertising is very inexpensive. Enhanced business listings start at only $19 a month, which is far less than any other form of advertising that you could get. Plus, the community is very targetted for local businesses - it’s the residents of the 11 towns in the Nashoba Valley. So, you not only get inexpensive rates, but an audience that is matched to your customers.
Question: How do I enter the weekly contest?
Answer: First, you need to be registered on the site. Next, once you’ve completed the registration process, you simply need to log in to your account and go to the “Win Prizes!” page. Once there, simply hit the “Enter To Win” link and enter your tip.
As far as upping your chances to win the contest, here’s a few suggestions. First, vote for your own entry. This is acceptable, and in fact encouraged. Next, have all your friends go to the site and vote for your entry. Finally, you can vote for any entry once every 24 hours, so you can go back and vote for your entry once a day (and so can your friends). The more votes, the higher your score. The higher your score, the better the chance you have of winning. And, it’s all perfectly acceptable.
Question: Do you want any suggestions for improving NashobaValley.com?
Answer: Absolutely! If you have a suggestion on how I can make NashobaValley.com better, please just click on the “Contact Us” link at the bottom of the page or under the “About Us” link. I welcome any constructive comments on how I can make this more useful to you and the rest of the Nashoba Valley community.
Nashoba Valley Screensaver - Help Me Please!
I have a crazy idea about making a Nashoba Valley screensaver. Basically, it will be photos of the area with some music (if I can find some appropriate public domain or other non-copyrighted music for free or little money). But, I need your help…
If you have some ideas of what I should go out and photograph for the screensaver, please send your suggestions to chuck@nashobavalley.com. Or, if you have a photo you would like included in the screensaver, and you own the copyrights (i.e. you took the picture), please let me know and I’ll consider adding it.
It will probably take me a few weeks to take the pictures and figure out how to make the screensaver, but I think it will be a nice little screensaver for local residents. So let me know your thoughts.
That’s it for now. Sorry for the length of this posting, but I needed to spend a lot of time clearing up some things that I didn’t explain very well at the beginning.
Have a great weekend, and if you’re at the Rustlers Pop Warner football game tomorrow at North Middlesex High School (9:00 am start time), look for me. I’ll be the guy with the short haircut and a smile!
Regards,
Chuck
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