After years of keeping shop on my own platform, I'm moving on Flickr for a bit.

Croncast, the core of my online presence (with that of my wife as well) has turned into the main place for our show and doesn't feel like a good home for things non-show related any longer.

Flickr offers everything that any publisher needs in the way of tools, speed and being search friendly.

I'm not a fan of what they're doing to photos of late with new compression and color changes, but that doesn't matter as it is simplest way to publish that I know of.

this graffiti had it's complimentary colors in order.

this is part of a very large fiber optic display where you could push a button and see the original illuminating bulb change color and watch all the other nodes change with it.

this one blew the kids away.

i am a sucker for basic shapes and simple design.

good art and design, in my eyes: conveys its message as if it were on the side of a semi-truck (three colors max) or covering a municipal vehicle.

the lincoln park conservatory has a sound recordings event going on called florasonic now through july 6th.

right now not many of the plants are blooming so i don't think it was as exciting as it is supposed to be. not sure if exciting is the right word, but i think some more colors would make it more interesting.

singing backup to the yellow was this blue player.

i mentioned in the other photo post about wondering how the digital camera changed the color of the purple flowers, well, in this shot it was true to life with the blue and yellow in this shot.

i wonder if it could be something in the flower itself and the way it reflects light?

The clicks and impressions both are higher than I would have expected but maybe I did better targeting of the audience this time around. I doubt it. I think I was dead on during October, November and December to run iPod ads for shuffle, nano and video iPods.

I did contact the Apple Affiliate program through CJ during the second month to ask what the issue might be and never received a response.

For some reason I feel a need to go through with this again and hope that we can get our payout on a purchase from a lead that we created. I'll let you know how this goes.

Anyone else have experience with the Apple Affiliate Program?

Tags: MacBook Air iLife 08 Apple Affiliate Program Commission Junction eBay affiliate ]]>
Last year we were paid $0.00 by Apple after running a pretty aggressive campaign on Croncast and Resale Queen and in our RSS feeds. There is no way that in hades that not one single individual didn't buy the item they clicked on from the online Apple store in the 3 month span we ran the ads. It is illogical to look at the numbers (first table) and think that not one items was purchased from the online store within the cookie expiration period.

Advertiser	Commissions	S_Amount	Items	Sales	Leads	Clicks	Imps	CTR
eBay	$ XX	$ XX	47	598	84	351,500	59,514	590.61
Apple Store US & Apple Store Canada	$ 0.00	$ 0.00	0	0	0	218	31,192	0.69

Here's where we are in the last 4 days since I started running a couple ads in Betsy's Resale Queen feeds: blog posts and her podcast feed. The ads are for iLife '08 and the new MacBook Air. They are placed after the post item content and before the post tags.

Advertiser	Commissions	S_Amount	Items	Sales	Leads	Clicks	Imps	CTR
eBay	$ XX	$ XX	3	105	6	26,354	4,949	532.51
Apple Store US & Apple Store Canada	$ 0.00	$ 0.00	0	0	0	57	82	69.51

The clicks and impressions both are higher than I would have expected but maybe I did better targeting of the audience this time around. I doubt it. I think I was dead on during October, November and December to run iPod ads for shuffle, nano and video iPods.

I did contact the Apple Affiliate program through CJ during the second month to ask what the issue might be and never received a response.

For some reason I feel a need to go through with this again and hope that we can get our payout on a purchase from a lead that we created. I'll let you know how this goes.

Anyone else have experience with the Apple Affiliate Program?

Tags: MacBook Air iLife 08 Apple Affiliate Program Commission Junction eBay affiliate ]]> Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:47:16 -0600 tag:croncast.com,1321 I have no clue why I am giving the Apple Affiliate Program another shot. When you look at the numbers you will think I am crazy for trying again. I just can't get passed the fact that they sell a ton of iPods, MacBooks and now the MacBook Air and that we could possibly make a couple bucks from it. Last year we were paid $0.00 by Apple after no MacBook Air, iLife 08, Apple Affiliate Program, Commission Junction, eBay affiliate http://www.croncast.com/rssk/1320/Twitter-background-guidelines_template_size.php Blog
Side note: This post comes to you straight from an email reply to fellow long-time podcaster Michael Geoghegan in regards to my Twitter background.

Also of note, this layout works best on higher res monitor settings. I imagine that most active Twitter users that are going to be viewing the site as opposed to sms or mobile versions are on high res settings. That said, let's roll.

Creating your background
-----------------------------

File Dimensions: 2048 px by 1707 px (no clue why i used these dimensions but I am sure I knew what I was doing at the time)
Branding Dimensions: 80 px by 587 px
Coordinates: X=20, Y=14
Horizontal position: 20 px from the left (give yourself some padding)
Vertical position: 14 px from the top (will line up your graphic with the top of the twitter logo. our eyes like symmetry) File size and type according to Twitter: "Images must be smaller than 800k. GIF, JPG, PNG."

Aesthetics
------------

Color palette: Pick colors that match that with default Twitter stylesheet colors. If they contrast too much follow the Change Background directions above and change the colors for Text, Name, Link, Sidebar fill and Sidebar border as needed.
Recommendation: Choose colors that work with the default and save yourself the headache of matching the CSS to your image. Follow Twitter's lead.

Uploading your background
------------------------------

Change Default Background: Login and click 'Settings' >> click 'Design' >> Select 'Use my custom style below' radio button >> Upload your image

It took me quite a bit of time to get a background image that I was happy with. There was a lot of editing and uploading again, and again until I got it right. I would suspect if you're like me your experience will be much the same. So have patience when getting it just right. And remember that you are working within someone else's website and can't control all the features.

Update: This is the background that I based this tutorial on - Croncast background all by itself if you want to use it as a guide.

Here's my current background at work (note: it is now free-form) - http://twitter.com/croncast.

Betsy and her husband Kris Nov 02, 2007

Career Objective

A leadership position with a company interested in benefiting from the opportunities presented by leading edge new media technologies where a commitment to innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit is recognized and rewarded.

Qualifications Summary:

• Accomplished entrepreneur and strategist with a demonstrated history of success integrating new media technologies into existing platforms and campaigns for Fortune 500 companies.
• Combined expertise in RSS and podcast development with an extended network of relationships with independent, corporate and mainstream media.
• Developed and licensed Castlock, a robust new media management and RSS metrics platform that enables users to manage large libraries of content and maintain statistics privately.
  
  

Professional Experience

Room 214, Boulder, Colorado ● 1/2007-11/2007

Vice President, New Media

Leadership force for product development within an organization that integrates new media, public relations efforts, web marketing methodologies and technologies under cohesive systems that drive measurable calls to action via the Internet. Company services were solicited from some of the most recognized PR firms and creative agencies to positively impact corporate sales, brand awareness and communications.

Major Contributions:

• Developed moderated media RSS feeds (mmRSS) for episodic and archived content delivery via RSS
• Orchestrated product development and integration of emerging technologies such as Twitter and other social media APIs into Castlock, a robust new media management and RSS metrics platform
• Created and delivered new products from the Castlock code base, RSSignite and Episodr
• Spearheaded integration of new media including podcasting and RSS into new client product offerings and marketing campaigns
• Invigorated existing client marketing campaigns with new media elements
• Directed digital media production from concept to final deliverable
• Initiated research and development for RSS strategies and effective RSS search engine optimization
• Served as company spokesperson at industry and new media events around the country
  

Career Note: As a representative of Room 214 and respected authority in the new media field I delivered the following presentations:


• Podcast & New Media Expo (Sept. 2007) Ontario, CA.Compression Killed the Video Star
• PodCamp NYC (Apr. 2007) New York, New York. Panel Podcast Open Metrics Initiative.
• eLearning 2007 (Mar. 2007) Chicago, IL. Using RSS Feeds, Podcasts to Deliver Distance Education
• Podcast Academy 5 (Feb. 2007) Duke University. Understanding Authenticated & Personalized RSS Feeds

Joint Commission Resources/Joint Commission, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois ● 5/2005-12/2006

Associate Director, eLearning

Promoted to direct eLearning digital product development for Joint Commission Resources. Led innovations in delivery of information required to comply with the accreditation standards of the Joint Commission on Accredited Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). JCAHO accreditation and certification is the standard of excellence in health care organizations.

Major Contributions:

• Identified opportunities for new revenue streams utilizing innovative content delivery systems
• Evangelized blogging and podcast initiatives to integrate new media technologies within the enterprise
• Directed a division to develop digital products and manage legacy products focusing on increasing sales
• Engineered courseware implementation, software, coding and course development for field cadre and central office employees
• Disseminated educational training information to 400 global field staff via a custom RSS application
  
  

Palegroove Studios, Naperville, Illinois ● 2/2005-Present

Founder/CEO

Pioneered the start-up and development of the world's first podcast production company. Advised Fortune 500 clients on utilizing this medium to extend their brands. Developed podcasts from conception to deliverables which includes consulting with client on: show content, format, script writing, transcripts and creation of royalty free musical intros,outros and sweepers. Developed and licensed Castlock, a robust new media management and RSS metrics platform. Produced over 700 podcasts since 2005.

Podcasts Produced:

• MasterCard, The Home Depot, Abbot Laboratories (2007)
• Nascar Alltel Racing Podcast (2006 & 2007) produced podcasts in conjunction with XM Satellite Radio
• NFL Alltel My Circle Podcast (2006 season) produced with nationally recognized radio talent from official team media outlets
• Nascar Coors Light Racing Podcast for Coors Light (2006)
• Fab 5 Summer '05 Podcasts produced for MTV Networks Affiliate Marketing (2005)
• Developed and independently produced Croncast (2004-Present) delivered 3 times a week since November of 2004 and recognized by a number of media outlets including: The New York Times, Detroit Free Press, FOX News, and NBC (Chicago)

Career Note: As a successful entrepreneur and recognized expert in the podcast industry I delivered the following presentations:

• PodCamp West (Nov. 2006) San Francisco, CA. Keynote panel The Future of New Media
• Portable Media Expo (Sep. 2006) Ontario, CA. Leveraging Your Knowledge as a Podcasting Consultant
• Podcast Academy 4 (Sep. 2006) Ontario, CA. Web Design for Corporate Podcasting

Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, Illinois ● 5/2000-5/2005

Distance Learning Technical Support Specialist

• Trained and supported university and college faculty throughout Illinois on the integration of technology into the classroom as part of ILLCO, a state funded initiative
• Designed and developed all graphics, wrote code, recorded, edited and encoded all audio for a Flash virtual tour of the college campus for use online, CD-ROM and hybrid DVD
• Recognized as innovator within organization promoted four times in five years

Languages

PHP, MySQL, RSS, XML, HTML

Audio/Video

Sound Forge, Acid Pro, WaveLab, Vegas, Waves, Fruity Loops

Blogware/Podcasting

Castlock and WordPress

Design/Interactive

Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator

Courseware

WebCT, aTutor, Scenario Studio, and HorizonLive

BFA Visual Communication with an emphasis in Digital Design 2005

American InterContinental University, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Associates of Arts Degree December 2000

Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, Illinois

August 1993 December 1994

Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois

Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 22, 2007