Top Ranked Users is Now Free of Rand's Bearded Mug
Some of you may have noticed weird changes afoot on our Top Ranked Members list. If you check it out, you'll notice some differences in who's ranking highly:
No, I did not undergo extensive plastic surgery to look like Ciaran, nor did Rand shave his beard only to reveal that a clean-shaven Fishkin looks astonishingly similar to Sean Maguire. Rather, we've removed SEOmoz staff and associates from the Top Members page, leaving you all to compete with each other for rankings. Dr. Pete, you can now rejoice that you no longer have those pesky Critchlows to battle alongside.
Keep in mind that the stats on the Top Members page (such as mozpoints and rankings) are calculated every hour, so if you check your ranking twice in 30 minutes and are like, "No way, I just left a comment that got me 4 thumbs, so this count is inaccurate!", keep in mind that we don't update in real time.
Speaking of mozpoints...
Extra MozPoints for YOUmoz Authors and Blog Promotions
From here on out, if you submit a YOUmoz entry and we publish it, you'll get 10 mozpoints added to your total count. If your post gets promoted to the main blog, you'll receive an additional 15 mozpoints, resulting in a total gain of 25 mozpoints (plus however many more thumbs up your post gets). Check out our MozPoints page if you're unfamiliar with how they work and their benefit. For now, more mozpoints means you'll get the nofollow lifted off your profile page links and that you can win a free month's access of SEOmoz PRO. We're also exploring other awesome mozpoint incentives for the future, so we'll keep you updated!
Monthly YOUmoz Blog Theme Contest
Another new feature we're announcing is our monthly YOUmoz blog theme contest. Each month we'll announce a new blog theme for YOUmoz. Contributers don't have to write a post centered on the theme--it's not mandatory. However, if you do decide to participate in the contest and write a post tied to the theme and your post wins, you'll receive a $50 Amazon.com gift card from us. Hooray for prizes! Posts will be judged by a variety of factors, so don't think that spam thumbing will get you to win. We'll likely factor in thumbs, community response and comments, and staff input to award a winner.
I encourage you all to brainstorm possible themes in the comments (or email me at rebecca -at- seomoz.org with suggestions), but in the meantime I've pulled April's theme out of my arse: it's reputation monitoring and management. If you'd like to participate, submit your theme-centric blog post to YOUmoz between April 1st and the 30th and I'll review/publish it (if appropriate--remember that we only accept original blog posts for publication--no dupe posts!). In the beginning of May I'll announce the winner as well as the new theme for the month, and we'll lather, rinse, repeat!
And finally, speaking of YOUmoz...
Upcoming YOUmoz Upgrades
Here is a list of some upgrades to YOUmoz we're working on rolling out soon:
- Author bio sections. Fill out an author bio blurb and we'll automatically generate it in the posts you submit.
- A "preview this post" function. Check your handiwork before submitting it for review!
- Automated messaging. I'm currently pinging authors when their posts have been published or rejected, but soon this notification process will be automated.
So there you have it--some cool new features and updates for all of you to drool over. As always, share your comments and feedback below, including future YOUmoz blog contest theme ideas. I'm looking forward to seeing how our first monthly contest goes--good luck, everyone!
bahaha i got the drop on all you bitches, and i don't even post here anymore
I think someone mentioned this in a previous post back when you originally asked for more YOUmoz posts, but I am going to bring it up again anyways.
I really liked the idea of being able to access some sort of analytics tracking for your own post. I think that if this feature is only enabled once you have reached a certain amount of mozpoints it will also encourage general participation.
Just an idea! Can't wait to see what else you guys throw out soon. =]
I'm with you on the analytics for posts you've written. It'd be great to see how many people read your hard crafted words.
Maybe something simple like views/visits/comments/diggs/spins???
I was hoping for something more integrated like referrals and keyword hits. It'd be interesting to know who is referring to your article and for what purpose Google see's it valuable. But maybe that is too much. I don't know enough about generating custom reports through Google Analytics and using their API.
Oh wait, nvm. Google Analytics doesn't have an API =[.
For paid-up Pro members who have already got past 100 mozpoint (to lift the nofollow) the current reward system doesn't really work. Personally I don't need additional reward above getting to contribute SEOmoz although I may be swayed if you were to reward people with a "Rand's Bearded Mug". You know it makes sense - everyone drinks tea or coffee.
I'd love to hear some more reward ideas if you've got any.
I would like signed (possibly erotic) photos of the Moz team - the ultimate prize!
It is excellent to see you picking up on the feedback Rebecca (and Mozzers) after what seemed like a near death experience for YOUmoz. I'm sure the community will be drawn like moths to the flame on the promise of a lock of Danny's moustache hair...
I still wear the shirt I got at SMX '08 - a cool prize that would also help with exposure would be more shirts, mugs, etc stuff like that.
I've had the pleasure of explaining "what seomoz is" to at least 10 people
Right, I could really care less about my Mozpoints.
Maybe it's a T thing.
Good developments - definite steps in the right direction.
I've got to echo Stephen T here, though - beyond clout among a small group of like-minded nerds, what's the value of a mozpoint?
It would be cool if we could trade them in for plastic witch fingers like at Chuck E. Cheese.
We've actually considered letting users "cash in" mozpoints for stuff in our store (PRO memberships, guides, Q&A credits) and adding more items to the store like t-shirts and whatnot, but it'll take a decent amount of dev work so it's a low priority idea at the moment.
I might give my first born for a t-shirt! =) J/K Plus it would drive my girlfriend nuts because she thinks I'm always on SEOmoz.
I'm devastated.
All that hard 'work'.
Awesome stuff. I think it would be great to have a category dedicated to data disection/reporting/evaluation techniques/research. Pretty much just reports in general and data in general and how we combine all the available metrics and stats to come up with useful information for research or evaluation purposes. What reports do you use? Why? How do take that data and make it meaningful?
Just a thought. I enjoy learning how other people handle their data ;)
I need to knock some people off their perch ;)
These all sound like some very sensible changes (though I will miss Rand's mighty beard in the Top Mozzers).
Interestingly enough, my collegues and I spent this morning discussing a points scheme and incentives for interaction of financial advisors on our IFA lead generation site that is getting a face lift at the moment.
I had actually referenced SEOmoz in our discussion for the moz points system.
Looking forward to the themed blog contests!
Bring it on! ;)
Seriously, the competition is half the fun. It's about time we got some new blood in the Top 10.
sounds exciting!
Awesome! Definitely looking forward to the changes.
Cooool, I'm in for the contest :D wait for meee!!
you guys took away the free PRO membership....well now placed it at a month
I was going to contribute 10hrs a day just to get to 150 points.... :(
Well at least I have one post in the pipeline.
Maybe it'll make the main blog :)
It's always been a free month of PRO for earning 150 mozpoints in a month.
i checked the cache and I think 'month' was added in
Either way still a good product.
I hit about 90 points in the last 24hrs....
One more article should do it :)
thank you for the site support
That's why I like this place.
Yes Rebecca..
I noticed this changed in User Ranks and also in MozPoints... One day I noticed that in User Ranks only name of PRO memebers showing... and I couldn't find my name there... :(
But now I can see my name there.. :)
Also I liked your idea about 10 Points for YOUmoz post and adding author bio section in YOumoz post..
Yeah, that was a bug on our part--the Top Users list was a little wonky before we managed to get it right. :)
It's cool that we won't have to compete with people who get paid to participate on YouMoz anymore! I also LOVE the idea of the monthly focus contests. *goes to come up with a great idea for this month* Thanks for all the hard work you do Rebecca!
Nice to see that contributions to the SEOmoz site are being rewarded, despite some caring and other not about the points system. THe Youmoz upgrades are certainly great since the bar should be higher anyway for us SEO marketers.
What happened to the silhouette avatars?
thats great every budy take positively side so i think so its work great working keep it up
but one thing i would to be share with u ...........
we do some thing new........
every thing is great
Wow, I was only kidding about the SEOmoz Associates. Now I almost feel guilty. Almost ;)
Great news on the YOUmoz posts getting rewarded a bit more, and I love the monthly theme idea. Hopefully, it raises the bar on UGC.
Are they extra points retroactive? =) Exciting changes and I'm excited to see good things come from them!
They are, yes. Your rank is calculated every hour based on activity on the site since the beginning of time.
Nice, thanks for the update.
Very nice, I love your ideas for encouraging members to participate.
love the bio add for the YOUmoz.
That is some serious dedication from those five individuals. Great job guys for contributing so much to the community
Oooh incentivizing YouMoz posts even more....I like it
*goes to wring more time out of calendar*
Great to hear about the upgrades. I've already raised the issue of no feedback on rejected submissions as I've submitted two entries for youmoz but didn't hear about it. In any case if it didn't get accepted then it probably shouldn't be published there. Some feedback however may help us improve the quality of writing or avoid things that commonly cause rejection.
Preview function? Awesome Rebecca! Exactly what I wanted (and asked for). Thanks for putting in the dev effort to make this happen. Will make it much easier to proof read and check the layout.
But I *like* sitting on the sidelines and sniping
Wooo hooo!
That got me excited.
More youmoz action coming soon :-)
Awesome changes to YouMoz!
it is good to see that you are 'thinking' about your blog, and find some ways to encourage people writing for you.
glad to know that you did not go under extensive plastic surgery too! especially if you had to look like Ciaran (I have nothing against him, but the hot girls from Rishil are more my 'cup of tea' ;)
Back in the top 15 baby...
I am super excited about the theme for this month! Rep management fascinates me and is something we now need due to a handful of unhappy customers
Yikes! Sorry to hear that. Best approach is generally to make the customers happy, then you don't need to do the Rep Mgmt. Much easier that way :)