Web Hosting Blog | Lunarpages Lunartics » Amy Armitage

Surfin’ the Spark!

Amy — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:48:30 +0000

By Amy Armitage

I consider myself a social kind of girl, especially online, so when I heard about SocialSpark the name alone was so cool I just HAD to check it out. After I started to surf the Spark, I began to realize there’s a ton of possibilities for bloggers that I really wasn’t even aware could exist.

For example, did you know you can make a good living from blogging? Or, that you can get your blog sponsored by a corporate entity?

Well you can, and that’s where David Chen, Vice President of Business Development for IZEA, comes in. IZEA is a company most well known for PayPerPost.com and RockStartUp.com, both really awesome ventures you should also check out. David was kind enough to answer some questions about their new social network and…some other things as well.

Thanks for chatting with me David. So tell us…what is SocialSpark?

SocialSpark is a marketplace where bloggers and advertisers connect to identify sponsorship opportunities. For bloggers, SocialSpark is a resource to help drive them more traffic and help them earn a higher return on their traffic. Bloggers can “shop” for sponsorship opportunities that fit their site and/or advertisers can target the bloggers directly. For advertisers, SocialSpark is a unique and scalable vehicle for marketing across social media. We offer Sponsored Post (sponsored content) as well as display advertising opportunities.

What is the Solutions Center?

The Solutions Center is a new area within SocialSpark to help our users find information and tools to improve their online experiences. The Solutions Center provides a directory of blogger and advertiser services ranging from web hosting providers, blog publishing tools, to content resources. We also present special offers to our users from select providers.

How can web hosting services benefit from SocialSpark and the Solutions Center?

Many of our users are setting up their blogs for the first time and/or looking to improve the infrastructure of their existing blogs. Web hosting services that support a range of blog publishing tools are a good fit for our users and the Solutions Center. Combined, we can offer a complete solution for their blog hosting and marketing needs.

Interested providers are welcome to contact us here.

In addition, web hosting services can join SocialSpark to match-up with bloggers who can become brand advocates for their web hosting services. You can join SocialSpark for free at http://socialspark.com. Once registered, you can develop free advertiser and blogger profiles and have full access to the SocialSpark suite of services. We also have a sales team to help develop campaigns.

How can web masters benefit from SocialSpark and the Solutions Center?

Whether a web master is just getting started or has been running a website/blog for years, we offer information and services to help them get started, enhance their existing site, and/or generate sponsorship fees.

How do I get in Social Spark and the Solutions Center?

You can access SocialSpark at http://socialspark.com. The Solutions Center is located at http://socialspark.com/solutions_center

Is there a code of ethics your bloggers and advertisers must follow?

Yes. We believe a free and open marketplace fosters the creativity for social marketing opportunities. We also believe participants in social media marketing should be accountable to their users. To maintain the balanced interests of bloggers, advertisers, and users, we’ve established a 4-point set of standards: 100% Audit-able In-Post Disclosure, 100% Transparency, 100% Real Opinions, 100% Search Engine Friendly. You can learn more about our policy here http://socialspark.com/code_of_ethics

How much can you make, just by writing blogs?

The SocialSpark open marketplace sets the value for what a blogger can earn for writing Sponsored Posts by matching advertiser supply with blogger demand. Opportunity pay-outs can range from $5 to $100+ for a Sponsored Post. More involved posts, such as video posts, have higher pay-outs and bloggers have the opportunity to distinguish themselves to earn more. We provide guidelines for how often you can write Sponsored Posts, but we have bloggers earning more than a thousand dollars a month.

What are Blogger Bonuses and how do bloggers get them?

Some advertisers offer a monthly bonus to the blogger that performs best for them. Bloggers have the incentive to create posts that are most appealing to their users and most effective for the advertisers.

What are “props” and “drops”?

Props and drops are way of rating users, blogs, sponsorship opportunities, etc. in SocialSpark. You must be a registered user of SocialSpark in order to give a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.”

What are your future plans for SocialSpark?

We have a number of exciting new products and features in the works, including building some new tools to enhance targeting. We are also creating some very interesting products to help bloggers better interact with their users and other bloggers. We’ll be making some more announcements soon.
Tell us about the backend of SocialSpark? What platform is it running?

We use Ruby on Rails, Pylons, and a bit of PHP.

How many registered users do you have and what growth have you seen since you started?
We have 170,000+ bloggers and 17,000+ advertisers across the IZEA network and it continues to grow every day.

What is the benefit of installing a SocialSpark widget on your blog?

Bloggers can install the IZEA Toolkit (ITK) on their blog which provides free web statistics, including pageviews, unique visitors, and inbound linking information. The ITK also allows you to determine your IZEARank which makes you eligible for sponsorship opportunities in SocialSpark. You can make your traffic data public/private at your option, but we encourage sharing as much information with the community. The ITK allows you to also serve Blog Sponsorship ads without having to re-design your site. Again, all at the blogger’s option.

How did you come up with the name?

“SocialSpark” captures the essence of what we do: we help bloggers and brands initiate and manage conversations across social media.

Who are the people behind SocialSpark?

There’s an energetic team of almost fifty people helping run SocialSpark. IZEA was founded by Ted Murphy, a serial entrepreneur, with a background in interactive media. Our management team has a diverse set of technology and marketing experience from companies like MySpace, Yahoo!, AOL, American Express, Channel Intelligence, and Westgate Resorts. You can see a documentary of the development of IZEA at http://rockstartup.com

Can doing paid blog posts for advertisers on SocialSpark negatively affect SEO rankings?

SocialSpark is about matching those with content and distribution needs (advertisers) with content creators (bloggers). Sponsored content is intended to be relevant to both users and advertisers. SocialSpark is not an SEO play and we have instituted a policy where we require “no-follow” tags on any paid link. It’s up to each of the search engines to determine how they do that. That said, we’ve worked with the major search engines to develop a policy for SocialSpark that is “friendly” to their policies.

[amy] – Even Matt Cutts references SocialSpark on his blog! Now that is when you know you are a success!!

At the very end of the interview, I took the opportunity to send some props toward SocialSpark. As opposed to some services where paid posts pass PageRank, SocialSpark posts require nofollow so that any paid links don’t pass PageRank. If paid posts respect that requirement from SocialSpark, they’d be within our webmaster guidelines. I’ve noticed once or twice where an advertiser tried to get an extra nofollow’ed link in a SocialSpark post, but when I’ve mentioned those 1-2 examples, IZEA has taken action to correct that. So we’ll continue to keep an eye on things, but I wanted to mention the progress that I saw in SocialSpark.

How do most of your users find out about the service?

We’ve had most of our users find us through referrals. Also, like the rest of our advertisers, we run our own campaigns through Social Spark to create sponsorship opportunities to help get the word out. There are literally thousands of bloggers writing about SocialSpark, so that drives a lot of our traffic. It’s also great to have a chance to speak with industry leaders like yourself.

The SocialSpark mascot reminds us a little of a Treasure Troll doll, with its head on fire. Was this inspired by a childhood trauma or are we reading too much into it?

That’s funny.

If WordPress and Blogger got into a fistfight, who would win?

Blogger in a brawl, WordPress in a cage fight.

Admit it…you watch reality TV (everyone does). Which show is your must see?

Besides Rockstartup, I got a kick out of Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist.

What are three things you do when no one’s looking?

Check email, voicemail, and texts.

[amy] Wow.. I do ALL those things WHEN people are looking ;)

What’s the most exciting road trip you’ve ever been on?

Across the U.S. while a student.

Mac or Windows?

Mac (recent convert)

If you could be a contestant on any game show, which one would it be and why?

Price is Right. Haven’t seen the new show yet, but Drew Carey cracks me up.

If the internet suddenly disappeared, what would you do?

Write more letters.

Thanks David! It was uber cool to find out more about SocialSpark. We can’t wait to see the next innovation IZEA comes up with!

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WordPress Design Contest – Series 2 WINNERS!!!

Amy — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:30:41 +0000

By Amy Armitage

We have counted the staff votes and taken the community votes into consideration and …

We have our winners!!

[insert drum roll]

First Prize of $1,000 cash and 5 years web hosting on our Basic Plan

Lilicious by Liza Kliko!!!!!

Congrats Liza :D You really are an amazing designer! Our CEO REALLY loves this one too and so do around 75% of the LP team!

Second Prize of 3 years free hosting + $300 cash

Phunk Attack by Dulce Rose Lada!!!!

They had a very strong community vote and quite a few staff votes. Well done :D

Third Prize of 1 year free hosting + $100 cash

Aero Inspirat by Anne!!

Anne had 2 entries in the final and her work is clean and fresh and very popular with the Lunarpages team, especially our developers.

Honorable Mention

We didn’t plan a 4th prize, however our CEO really liked this design and although it didn’t place for 1st, 2nd or 3rd, he wants to give the designer of Magic TV 1 year of web hosting!

Magic TV by n252

So how do you all claim your cash and free hosting?

Please email affiliates@lunarpages.com and I’ll shoot you back an email with details on how to get your goodies..

BUT WAIT there is MORE!!!

Check back in the next few days for the download page to access all of the free WordPress themes that were in the design contest!

And..

Series 3 should be launched this coming Monday, so make sure to subscribe to our RSS feed!

Any suggestions on how to make series 3 better? TELL US!

Thanks to all the designers who participated. We hope to see you for series 3!

Random Posts

WordPress Design Contest – Series 3!

Amy — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:33:00 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Due to the positive response of our first and second series contest, we are planning to run a series 3!

Stay tuned as we will post this likely sometime next week. Subscribe to our RSS feed to ensure you don’t miss the announcement!

The winner of Series 2 will be announced shortly. We are still tallying the staff votes..

Random Posts

WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Final 15!

Amy — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:51:27 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Voting has closed for the weekly finals and now we are down to the 15 finalists – 10 voted by our community and 5 picks from Lunarpages staff. Voting will run until July 7th and the winners will be announced July 8th!

Unlike last series we do have a policy in place to avoid cheating (proxy votes etc) where the voting results will be considered, however Lunarpages staff will help to decide the final 3 winners.

Just a reminder of the prizes:

First Prize is $1,000 cash and 5 years free hosting on our Basic Plan

Second Prize is 3 years free hosting + $300 cash

Third Prize is 1 year free hosting + $100 cash

Check out the 15 finalists and don’t forget to vote for your favorite!

Round 1 – Mag On Wood by ChiQ Montes

Round 2 – TeamRejoice by Edgardo Canape Jr.

Round 3 – Translucent Dream by Nicki Faulk

Round 4 – Vectorize by Ed Canape!

Round 5 – Phunk Attack by Dulce Rose Lada

Round 6 – Twilight Crown by Nicki Faulk

Round 7 – AutumnLeaves by Edgardo Canape Jr.

Round 8 – Sexy Back by Dulce Rose Lada

Round 9 – Minerva Aqua by Anne

Round 10 – Aero Inspirat by Anne

Lunarpages Pick 1 – Magic TV by n252

Lunarpages Pick 2 – The Grundge by Ophelia Nicholson

Lunarpages Pick 3 – Whitepaper 2.0 Beta by Fath

Lunarpages Pick 4 – Tree Sunset by andrej

Lunarpages Pick 5 – Lilicious by Liza Kliko

Update: Voting has closed. Results will be posted July 8th!

Random Posts

WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Round 10 Results

Amy — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:12:03 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Our round 10 winner is:

Aero Inspirat by Anne

The final 15 finalists will be announced later today :)

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WordPress Theme Design Contest – Vote on Round 10!

Amy — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:33:13 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Our round 10 entries are:

Aero Inspirat by Anne

Abstract Earth by n252

Wordpress Magazine by Mehmet Özekinci

Blogger City by Edgardo Canape Jr.

One Fine Day by Fath

Update: Results will be posted shortly

Good luck to all the designers!

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WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Round 9 Results

Amy — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:15:38 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Our round 9 winner this week, voted by our community and Lunarpages staff is:

Minerva Aqua by Anne

Well done Anne!

Entries for the contest have now closed. We will announce the round 10 finalist next Monday and then announce the final 15 (10 from the community + 5 choses by Lunarpages) in the running for $1000 and 5 years web hosting.

Stay tuned..

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WordPress Theme Design Contest – Vote on Round 9!

Amy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:16:34 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Our round 9 entries are:

ClearLight by Deniz Guenay

Gamer Reloaded by Mehmet Ozekinci

Sunset by n252

Minerva Aqua by Anne

Frozen Lotus by Liza Kliko

Update: Results will be posted soon

Entries close June 22 nd so if you want to enter, do it now!

Random Posts

WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Round 8 Results

Amy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:08:32 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Our round 8 winner this week, voted by our community and supported by the Lunarpages staff is:

Sexy Back by Dulce Rose Lada

Well done Dulce Rose!

Random Posts

WordPress Theme Design Contest – Vote on Round 8!

Amy — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:59:32 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Our round 8 entries are:

Cactus by Tim Norton

Sexy Back by Dulce Rose Lada

Magic TV by n252

Pistachio by Wessley Roche

Moon Eclipse by Liza Kliko

Update: Results will be posted shortly

Visit our contest/submission page to enter as you only have until June 22, 2008

Random Posts

WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Round 7 Results

Amy — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:58:39 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Our round 7 winner this week, voted by our community and Lunarpages staff is:

AutumnLeaves by Edgardo Canape Jr.

Congratulations Edgardo! We all love your designs :D

Random Posts

WordPress Theme Design Contest – Vote on Round 7!

Amy — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:55:14 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Wow .. we are already at round 7 of our design contest and we have 5 more slick designs for you to vote on:

Maeioska by Mehmet Ozekinci

Sugared Spring by Liza Kliko

AutumnLeaves by Edgardo Canape Jr.

MyWall by Mehmet

Vector Flowers by n252

Update: Results posted soon!

Visit our contest/submission page to submit your entry as there are still a couple of weeks left of the contest. Designers can submit as many entries as they want and entries close June 22, 2008

Random Posts

WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Round 6 Results

Amy — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:53:17 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Our winner this week, voted by our community and Lunarpages staff is:

Twilight Crown by Nicki Faulk

Well done Nicki! I’m really happy to see your designs in this series. You are one of my favorite WordPress designers! :D

Random Posts

WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Round 5 Results

Amy — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:43:05 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Round 5 received a high number of votes and most popular was Phunk Attack by Dulce Rose Lada and The Grundge by Ophelia Nicholson.

Our winner this week, voted by our community and Lunarpages staff is:

Phunk Attack by Dulce Rose Lada

Visit our contest/submission page to submit your entry as there are still several weeks left of the contest. Designers can submit as many entries as they want and entries close June 22, 2008

Random Posts

WordPress Theme Design Contest – Vote on Round 4!

Amy — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:38:33 +0000

By Amy Armitage

The 5 themes we have chosen for round 4 are:

Dark Mood v2 by Edgardo Canape Jr.

Fashioniesta by Ophelia Nicholson

Tree Sunset by andrej

Vectorize by Ed Canape

To check out the prizes and rules, visit our contest/submission page. Designers can submit as many entries as they want and entries close June 22, 2008 so there is still time to get your theme in!

Random Posts

WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Round 3 Results

Amy — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:15:06 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Our finalist for round 3 is Translucent Dream by Nicki Faulk

Our team agrees with the large number of community votes!

Congratulations Nicki!

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WordPress Theme Design Contest – Vote on Round 3!

Amy — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:46:14 +0000

By Amy Armitage

This week we have 5 new themes for our community to vote on:

Ladybug by Edgardo Canape Jr.

Translucent Dream by Nicki Faulk

Blue Rings by andrej

Ice Chocolate by Fath

mebeli

Blogotomic by Sebastian

Update: Results will be posted 5/12/08

Random Posts

WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Round 2 Results

Tiara — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:11:29 +0000

By Amy Armitage

The winning finalist for round 2 is TeamRejoice by Edgardo Canape Jr.

Well done Edgardo! We hope to see more entries from you.

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WordPress Theme Design Contest – Vote on Round 2!

Amy — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:17:25 +0000

By Amy Armitage

We have some gorgeous new themes in the running this week:

Episode 1.0 by Hanne Sena

Sweet Brown by Andrej

TeamRejoice by Edgardo Canape Jr.

Lifesabeach by Edgardo Canape Jr.

SL-sweetblogging by Edgardo Canape Jr.

Update: Results posted soon!

To check out the prizes up for grabs, visit our contest/submission page. Designers can submit as many entries as they want and entries close June 22, 2008!

Random Posts

WordPress Series 2 Design Contest – Round 1 Results

Amy — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:48:30 +0000

By Amy Armitage

Results are in for round 1 and the community has voted Mag On Wood by ChiQ Montes as our winner. The Lunarpages team wholeheartedly agrees with your votes and declares Mag On Wood as our FIRST finalist!

Lunarpages will also select 6 additional entries for the final, so this does not mean that round 1 entrants are excluded. You’re all still in the running.

Keep submitting your entries to win 5 years web hosting and $1000!