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| 1.
We'd like to hear a little about you ... Nicole, the person. Can you tell
us a little bit about where you are located/live? What you do for a living? Anything you'd like to share about your family? How long
you've had your own website? Your own AP? |
 Ahhhhh. Little bit 'bout
me. Well, lemme see. I'm 22, and single. Not much to speak of there.
I'm currently living in Maryland, though that should change within the
next month or two. Not sure which state I'll end up in next.
As far as a job goes, I'm unemployed at the moment, and scraping by on what I can get
from writing and web design work. Like my living situation, that too
should change soon. I may even end up back in college again.
I've had my own web site for over four years now. Wow. That sounds like such along time! My very first site was on Hometown AOL. It didn't have a name,
but it did have a theme. I posted three of my sea-related poems on
the page, along with a nice animated .gif of a sailing ship, all on
aquamarine background. To be honest, it wasn't that bad - just little.
Over the years, my efforts have expanded. I began my
personal web site known as "Chrysallis" in late 1999. It housed my
poetry, short stories, pictures and information on white tigers, as
that's what interested me at the time. I soon removed the white tiger stuff
and concentrated solely on my writing. I also began my first AP in November
of that year, on that site.
Nowadays, all of my writing is housed on The Magic Words, at www.themagicwords.com.
My Chrysallis Awards program is finally back after a two-year hiatus and
an overhaul, on its own domain at www.chrysallis.org.
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| 2.
What are the benefits to running an AP (or more simply, what keeps you
doing this)? |
It's simple: I get to see new sites.
I get such a kick out of getting applications from sites I've never seen before, because then I
get to explore and experience something new. Getting to make people feel
good about themselves and their web creations is a bonus.
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| 3.
And now for the pitfalls to running an AP. Ever run into any? |
Time.
It's often very time-consuming. But you know, I found a clever way to cure
that problem: I went to a quarterly program. All I need do is pre-evaluate
a site to make sure that it meets the Eligibility Guidelines and
Contest Rules, move it to the appropriate e-mail folder, and send them a letter
of acceptance (er, if they qualify of course). That leaves only the time
it takes for me to pick the four winners at the end, out of all the entries
I label "Contender." I've set aside a block of nights for a week at the
end of each quarter to accomplish this task.
Who knows? Maybe my idea of a quarterly program will catch on, and fewer people will
leave because of the enormous amount of time that award giving takes.
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| 4.
Who, if anyone, influenced you the most when you were first beginning
your awards program? Tell us a little about them and what kind of
influence they had on you. |
Hmmmm. With the current program, I can
honestly say that I had no influencing force. I just pulled the
"zany ideas out of my goofy lil' head". That being said, I've had
PLENTY of past inspiration for other programs, especially from one
Maggi Norris of Nem5 fame. Maggs has the biggest heart and
such a strong and pure desire to help others, that I couldn't help but
be touched by her. Earning her silver and Author of the Year awards for
2001 are hands down my highest and proudest honors for my personal
web site, and I'm proud to have judged for her for her Site of the Year awards
in 2002.
Of course, I would be remiss in failing to mention three other people that were a huge influence on me: Mic Miller,
Rhonda Serong, and Jef Peace. These three have top-notch programs and
good intentions, and have all spent time helping me refine my own notions
of "Web excellence."
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| 5.
In your opinion, what is the biggest
mistake a newly forming awards program might make? |
A lot of people like
to answer this question with something like "not following their
own criteria," but for me, it's this: stating that your program is
"elite," "premier," or "simply the best" - right out of the box.
Speaking as someone who's been guilty of making this mistake, I can tell you that
in hindsight, you'll regret making such a foolish statement about your
program. Not only will you turn off potential applicants to your
program, you'll look like a fool to seasoned award givers and seekers alike.
Very, very few programs are worthy of titles like "elite," and none of them are
new programs. Steer clear of this rookie mistake!
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| 6.
Okay, a
person has built what they think is a great site. They've seen sites with
awards and they decide, "Hey, I think I can win awards for my site." What kind
of advice would you give them? |
Stop.
Look. Listen. Seriously. Before you go charging off like an elephant
into the awards jungle, do yourself a favor and have your site evaluated by impartial people
whose opinions on web design you value. Be prepared for some
very honest criticism! Examine the comments made about your site and
make changes accordingly. Remember: Web sites are nothing without visitors.
So if someone suggests that you remove the frightening cursor trail of
Shamu and the eerie midi of Enya's "Boadicea," they're only trying to help
you make your site more visitor-friendly. It's nothing personal. ;)
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| 7.
What tips can you give to AP Owners who are looking to improve
their program? |
The first tip is, as I stated
above, remove "elite," "premier" and other such lofty terms from your program.
Unless you operate a World's Top Award, rated 5.0 by Award Sites! and 10 with two stars
by WebsAwards or some such, or you've been around the block for a few
years and you're stingy with those trophies, chances are, your program
doesn't merit those words.
The second bit of advice is to please, please, check your site for spelling and/or grammatical errors.
I can't tell you how many times I've run across a program which states
in their criteria "No spelling errors allowed," and then they
proceed to misspell something simple, like "page." This is an especially essential piece
of advice for those offering English language translations of their
criteria who do not speak English natively.
The last piece of advice that I have to offer is this. Look at your award graphic(s)
objectively. Can you honestly say that they are the best that they can be? Would
you, as an award seeker, want to earn a graphic like the one you
give? Is it necessary to have an award that's 350 x 240, or could
you possibly design a smaller, sleeker award? More often than not, an
award seeker will base their decision to apply for your award on its
appearance. Be sure yours is up to snuff!
~Top~
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| 8.
Looking back, knowing what
you know now, would you do it all over again? |
Without
a doubt!!!!
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| 9.
You've become quite well known in the AP world for writing "The
Award Giver's Creed". What inspired you to write it? Do you think it's been
well received by most serious APs? Have you received criticism for it? |
I
actually wrote The Creed while I was in the shower, of all things.
The inspiration behind it was a desire to remind award givers of why it
is that (most of us) do this. It was penned early last summer,
during a time when tensions in the award giving community were
reaching quite a head. I just got so frustrated with some
folks that I felt the need to post something to get their attention; something that
would (hopefully) strike a cord in them.
To be honest, I really didn't expect The Creed to take off like it has.
I never expected it to become a "creed" with its own page and what
not, but it did - all from one heartfelt forum posting. The criticism that
it's received has been very minimal indeed. At any given time, there
are between 30 and 50 programs & their owners on the list of
supporters, ranging from brand-new endeavors to years-old World's Top
Awards. All are equally welcome and appreciated. Rock on,
award givers!!!
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| 10.
If you could be any creature in the ocean, what would you be & why? <grin> |
I'd be a Bottlenose Dolphin, without doubt. They're such
beautiful, playful, friendly creatures!
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~Top~
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