BillionGraves 2016 March Madness
It’s March again–and basketball fury’s in the air. The NCAA’s March Madness tournament is just around the corner! U.S. College basketball might not be for you, so we are bringing back our own BillionGraves bracket competition! It’s the annual “March 2016 BillionGraves Madness”!
PRIZES:
| Top Prize: | $50 Amazon Gift Card |
| Top Two: | Portable Device Charger (a $25 value)* |
| Top Four: | BillionGraves T-Shirt* |
| Top Eight: | BillionGraves Original Collectors Pin |
| Top 100: | BillionGraves 1 Month BG+ Subscription |
*For international winners, due to shipping restraints by shipping providers, a gift card worth the same USD monetary value to the prize you have won will be sent to your BillionGraves registered email within 4-6 weeks of the close the competition.
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It can’t be any better than doing your favorite thing- taking pictures of headstones and transcribing them, AND winning prizes!
So take advantage of the rising temperatures to capture some headstone images at your local cemetery or get your transcribing game on. The more you do, the higher up on the bracket you’ll be! You won’t want to miss out on these awesome prizes!
Do a weekly check of the BillionGraves blog or March BillionGraves Madness page to make sure at the end of the month you walk away with one of our awesome prizes!
Good luck!
-All images uploaded from midnight (GMT) March 1st to midnight (GMT) March 31st 2016 are counted toward the March Madness Competition.
-Make sure you have permission and are welcome to take pictures in your local cemetery before doing so. Remember, private cemeteries require permission of the owner before taking any pictures.
-If you or another user marks a headstone picture as “bad” we deduct it from the uploader’s total images.
-Winners will be announced at the end of the month on the BillionGraves blog. Prizes must be claimed by the 15th of the following month via email to qualify for shipment of prizes.
-Promotion is open to all to participate for free. Registration is required.
-More than one individual may contribute to a single account, however, the limit is one prize redemption per BillionGraves account. [UPDATE: If user places in the bracket they will receive the prize pertaining to their standing and not the sum of all prizes. However; all 50 top transcribers and photographers will receive the March Pin]
-Items will ship in 6-8 weeks after contest closes for winners in the U.S. Please allow 8-12 for winners outside the U.S.
-Recipients will be required to provide a mailing address for physical items.
-All images must be uploaded/transcribed no later than midnight (GMT) on the last day of the month.
June Get Active Challenge Winners!
First of all, a big THANK YOU to all the transcribers and photographers who participated this month in the June Get Active Challenge! The warmer weather and beautiful sunshine were a perfect combination to make it one of the best months of the year.
This June was a great month with 497,368 new photos and 645,272 new records! Making June the highest month for our transcribers this year! Thank you to everyone who contributed to make this such a great month!
As promised, here are the winners of the June Get Active Challenge!
The top photographer/transcriber earning a Fitbit Surge Fitness Super Watch ($249.99 value)
Ben Ariel (46,368 photos) | Ladynwht (34,225 transcriptions)
The 2nd place photographer/transcriber earning a Fitbit Charge HR Heartrate+Activity Wristband ($149.99 value)
Huskerken (20,174 photos) | KC Brown (28,949 transcriptions)
The 3rd place photographer/transcriber earning a Fitbit Charge Activity + Sleep Wristband ($129.99 value)
OurFamilyBefore (10,581 photos) | Sarah_765 (26,547 transcriptions)
The 4th place photographer/transcriber earning a Fitbit Flex Activity + Sleep Wristband ($99.99 value)
Jim Lohr (8,562 photos) | Carolyn (22,046 transcriptions)
The 5th place photographer/transcriber earning a Fitbit Zip Wireless Activity Tracker ($59.99 value)
@ngel (7,938 photos) | NashvilleLady (14,410 transcriptions)
If you are on this list, please make sure your email on your BillionGraves account is your correct current email address. We will be emailing you through the email on your account. You will need to provide us a shipping address where you would like your Prizes to be sent. So watch your inbox for that this week. Remember all prizes must be redeemed by the 15th of the month! If you don’t get the email from us by July 10, please email support@billiongraves.com with your BG Username, Full Name, and Mailing address. 🙂
Thanks again to all who contributed this month! We sure appreciate all your many contributions!
Make sure to watch the blog for more information about our July challenge! It’s full of great prizes for photographers and transcribers!
June Get Active Challenge!
Fellow BillionGravers,
Wow! What an amazing month of May, with 1,248,026 total contributions made. That’s insane! We are extremely grateful for all of you that helped reach this amazing milestone. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out our month-end wrap-up of our great success in May -> HERE
As always, the greatest reward for your efforts comes from knowing that you are preserving invaluable genealogical records as well as making them readily available for family members to locate. PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE follow all the guidelines for taking the “PERFECT” picture! Need a refresher? Read this great article about the 7 ways to become the photographer that every genealogists loves!
However, we’ve got a little something that might help get you outside and into the cemeteries with your smartphones (Download the iOS App HERE, Download the Android App HERE, Download the Windows App HERE)
With the sun beginning to shine and the start of summer coming what better time to get out of the house and get your body moving! That’s why this month we are some great prizes for both photographers AND transcribers that will get you up and moving!
What better way to have a Get Active Challenge than with prizes that help you track your activity!
That’s right. Over the last year, fitness trackers have exploded in popularity as an incredible device to help monitor your daily activities! From the daily fitness guru’s to us programmers, we all need to get up and stretch our legs, and what better way than by a walk through the local cemetery with your BG app in hand!
So this month we are giving away Fitbit’s 5 cutting edge fitness monitoring devices to the top 5 photographers and transcribers! Here is how it works.
The top photographer/transcriber* will earn the Fitbit Surge Fitness Super Watch ($249.99 value)
The 2nd place photographer/transcriber** will earn the Fitbit Charge HR Heartrate+Activity Wristband ($149.99 value)
The 3rd place photographer/transcriber*** will earn the Fitbit Charge Activity + Sleep Wristband ($129.99 value)
The 4th place photographer/transcriber**** will earn the Fitbit Flex Activity + Sleep Wristband ($99.99 value)
The 5th place photographer/transcriber***** will earn the Fitbit Zip Wireless Activity Tracker ($59.99 value)
A SPECIAL NOTE FROM BILLIONGRAVES:
We want to give a Fitbit away to everyone!! Unfortunately, BillionGraves is a FREE site and we want to keep it that way! Remember, our goal is to document the world’s cemeteries and make it available to anyone and everyone for FREE!
We like to spice things up and give back as we can and will continue to do prizes and giveaways as we can! So for anyone who wants to step up and be apart of a very small elite group of volunteers, this month’s prize is just for you!
Other Helpful Tips
• Register! It’s 100% free and 100% necessary if you’re going to participate in this competition.
• Like us on Facebook! It’s simple to do and keeps you constantly up to date will all the new amazing things we are doing at BG!
• Make sure that you have the latest BillionGraves app. Check the iTunes App Store, Google Play, or Windows Phone Store for any updates for your device.
• Make it a habit. Go to the cemetery regularly—incorporate a local cemetery into your daily walk or bike ride, and snap some pictures along the way.
• Contest begins June 1, 2015 and ends June 30, 2015 @ 12:00 am GMT (That’s 6 pm MST)
The Fine Print. (Cause we have to have fine print, right?)
- All photos and transcriptions must be submitted before the closing date of June 30, 2015 @ 12:00 am GMT (That’s 6 pm MST). Any submissions after that point will be excluded from the final results.
- This promotion is intended for photographers and transcribers. Let’s go outside!
- Supporting records will NOT be counted towards the monthly totals. Only images that originate from the genuine BillionGraves apps will be accepted.
- If you or another user marks a headstone picture as “bad” we deduct it from the uploader’s total images.
- For transcribers, we will be looking extra hard at the quality of transcriptions as well. We will erase the record and have it re-transcribed if it’s not done correctly. Any record not transcribed correctly will be deducted from your total.
- Make sure you have permission and are welcome to take pictures in your local cemetery before doing so. Remember, private cemeteries require permission of the owner before taking any pictures. No one likes a trespasser! Not cool!
- This promotion is open to all to participate for free. Registration is required. (Register HERE. Come on.You know you want to. It’s free!)
- More than one individual may contribute to a single account, however, the limit is one prize redemption per BillionGraves account. The prize will be claimed by only the username the combined work was completed under. BillionGraves will not arbitrate any disputes. ALL RECORDS MUST BE UNDER ONE ACCOUNT. BILLIONGRAVES WILL NOT COMBINE ACCOUNTS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
- Items will ship in 6-8 weeks after contest closes for winners in the U.S. Please allow 8-12 for winners outside the U.S. However, our shipment robots are getting faster!
- Due to current world-unrest, some areas may increase the amount of time it takes for prizes to be delivered. If for some reason your country isn’t compatible with iPad Mini, we will work with you to provide you with a prize that is equal in value.
- Recipients will be required to provide a mailing address for physical items.
- Winners will be required to provided completed tax forms for redemption of the prize
- REQUIRED: ALL PRIZES MUST BE CLAIMED WITH PROPER MAILING/DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS BY THE 15TH OF JULY OR YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE PRIZE! WE WILL SEND OUT CONFIRMATION EMAILS BY THE 5th OF JULY. IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL ASKING FOR YOUR ADDRESS, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SENDING IT TO US BY THE 15TH AT SUPPORT@BILLIONGRAVES.COM.
Good luck this month! Be sure to keep your eyes on our social media for tips and exclusive offers on the promotion! FACEBOOK – INSTAGRAM
-The BillionGraves Team
1.2 Million More in May – 2015 Results!
1.2 Million More in May!
The final results are in and the numbers speak for themselves! 668,233 photos were taken, 579,793 records were transcribed (with an additional 807,483 images waiting to be transcribed)! With over 22,500 new BillionGraves users! In total volunteers made over 1,248,026 contributions during the month of May!
What an incredible feat! Considering monthly record breaking rain and across the United States that is INCREDIBLE! THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEERS AROUND THE WORLD FOR YOUR COUNTLESS HOURS VOLUNTEERING! We couldn’t do it without you!
A special congratulations to: Carolyn and JoMore for uploading and transcribing more than 50,000 images/records and earning your very own iPad Mini!
Carolyn from Utah has uploaded an astounding 104,356 photos and 39,327 transcriptions to BillionGraves since she joined in 2011! Just for this challenge she uploaded headstones from 6 states. Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. That’s a LOT of traveling!
JoMore from Wisconsin has uploaded an amazing 33,985 photos and 57,564 transcriptions to BillionGraves since she joined in 2014! All of his photos came from 17 different cemeteries around Wisconsin!
Thank you both for going the extra mile and achieving such an incredible goal!
Also a special thank you to the top 50 photographers and transcribers who made it onto our leaderboard!
There are many more prizes and features coming in June! Like us on Facebook and Instagram now for real-time updates and exclusive promos!
Winners: An email will be sent to your BG email by June 5, 2015 with instructions to claim your prize. Please complete the attached forms for redemption of prizes.
Million More in May Challenge 2015
Million More in May Madness 2015
Happy May 1st, BillionGravers!
That’s right. It’s already May and you know what that means! We’ve made it to our most exciting month of the year. It’s warm outside, the trees are green, the flowers have bloomed, and it’s time for our favorite event of the year – The 3rd Annual Million More in May Competition! We have an AMAZING prize this year! Keep reading to find out what we are giving away to all BG users who participate!
What is it?
The Million More in May Competition is a friendly event geared towards adding 1 Million (yes, that’s a 1 with six zeros behind it!) unique images, and 1 Million additional records transcribed and added to the BillionGraves database. Last year we got 938,000 photos and 718,000 transcriptions! With all the new users and wonderful weather we could easily reach our 1 million record goal, and make a lot of people, looking for those records, eternally grateful for the hard work.
If you have one, pull out your calculator watches and lets look at how EASY reaching 1 million records really is!
- We have 153,798 BillionGraves Users
- Our goal is to reach 1,000,000 records
If only 1% of our users (1538 users) go out and takes only 650 photos or transcribes 650 records, we will easily hit the 1 million photos and transcriptions mark!
If every one of our 153,798 users go out and takes only 7 images or transcribes 7 records, we will hit the 1 million photos and transcriptions mark!
It is VERY easy to hit our 1 million photo and record goal, but we NEED YOUR HELP TO DO IT!!
Now, for those of you that really want to help and earn something while you are at it, we are stepping it up this month and bringing back a GREAT prize!
(Let’s face it, everyone likes FREE stuff!)
As always, the greatest reward for your efforts comes from knowing that you are preserving invaluable genealogical records as well as making them readily available for family members to locate. It’s not worth getting 1 million records if they aren’t done correctly!!
PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE follow all the guidelines for taking the “PERFECT” picture! Need a refresher? Read this great article about the 7 ways to become the photographer that every genealogists loves! Remember with our new photo rating system that our transcribers will be making sure that QUALITY photos are the only kind of photos acceptable! Any blurry or poor photos will removed from your total. We love doing competitions like this, but we all need to remember that quality is ALWAYS better than quantity!
| Note: All photos and transcriptions will be audited throughout the competition. Any photos that do not adhere to the strict guidelines found in the article HERE will be disqualified from the competition. |
However, we’ve got a little something that might help get you outside and into the cemeteries with your smartphones (Download the iOS App HERE, Download the Android App HERE, Download the Windows App HERE) –
If you upload 50,000 unique images, or transcribe 50,000 records, we will give you a brand new, 16GB (4G-LTE capable) Apple iPad Mini! How’s that for an incentive?
That’s right, this isn’t a drawing for one iPad mini! EVERY user that uploads over 50,000 unique photos or transcribes 50,000 records will get their very own iPad mini, straight from Apple and unlocked to be compatible with any cell carrier.*
*For users in countries where Apple products are not offered or compatible with carriers you will receive a gift card of equivalent or equal value.*
A SPECIAL NOTE FROM BILLIONGRAVES:
Taking 50,000 photos and transcribing 50,000 records is no small feat! Only a small handful of people have ever achieved it, and they did it for free! This time, we want to show our users, who really go the extra mile, our gratitude! We know not everyone will be able to reach 50,000. It would not be such an accomplishment if it were easy!
We want to give an iPad away to everyone!! Unfortunately, BillionGraves is a FREE site and we want to keep it that way! Remember, our goal is to document the world’s cemeteries and make it available to anyone and everyone for FREE!
We like to spice things up every now and then with prizes and give-aways! So for anyone who wants to step up and be apart of a very small elite group of volunteers, this month’s prize is just for you!
Some Helpful Tips
• Register! It’s 100% free and 100% necessary if you’re going to participate in this competition. Make sure once you register that you verify your email! To claim your prize we will communicate with you through the email you provide and verify.
• Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter and Instagram! It’s simple to do and keeps you constantly up to date will all the new amazing things we are doing at BG!
• Make sure that you have the latest and greatest BillionGraves apps. Check the iTunes App Store, Google Play, or Windows App Store for any updates for your device.
• Make it a habit. Go to the cemetery regularly—incorporate a local cemetery into your daily walk or bike ride, and snap some pictures along the way.
• Follow your progress on our leaderboard! We have fancy graphics that will track your progress every step of the way! The leaderboard is not in real time. Please allow 24 hours for numbers to reflect accurately! Remember that photos that are flagged by transcribers will be removed from your totals, so the totals may vary daily. Don’t forget you can always correct any images that are flagged. Learn more about fixing flagged images here.
• A word of advice: don’t wait for Memorial Day. The decorations at the cemetery for that holiday actually make it MORE difficult to collect images—people have to transcribe the content, and flower arrangements and other decorations can easily obscure that important content.
• Contest begins May 1, 2015 and ends May 31, 2015 @ 12:00 am GMT (That’s 6 pm MST)
| A great way to reach your goal is to grab your friends and head out to the cemetery as a group!
If everyone in the group logs their different devices into one account, your efforts will be combined, making it easier to hit your goal! Once you hit the 50,000 photo goal or 50,000 transcription goal, switch it up and combine efforts under another person in the group and earn multiple devices! So make it a group effort! Get a few friends/family members out at a time, log in to the same account, and take as many pictures as you can in one outing. For example, a husband/wife team could get an iPad Mini together by taking 25,000 images each, which is less than many users do in a month by themselves. Note: Only one prize will be given per username, and will be shipped to the username the efforts are performed under. |
One change we are making this year is allowing you to combine photos and transcriptions! For example if you take 25,000 photos and transcribe 25,000 records you will earn an iPad Mini! How cool is that! That way you can take your own photos AND transcribe them! The 14 day photo hold will still be in effect during the competition. So any photos you take you have first dibs!
“What?! BillionGraves isn’t really going to give out an iPad… are they?!”
YES we really are giving out an iPad mini! Still don’t believe us? Ask Nancy Alford, Melyssawebb, jodie1, Paulwuzhere, William, FionaNZ or liallee and see if we were kidding? Here is Fiona enjoying the iPad mini she won during a competition last year!
The Fine Print. (Cause we have to have fine print, right?)
- All photos and transcriptions must be submitted before the closing date of May 31, 2015 @ 12:00 am GMT (That’s 6 pm MST). Any submissions after that point will be excluded from the final results.
- This promotion is intended for photographers and transcribers. Let’s go outside!
- Supporting records will NOT be counted towards the monthly totals. Only images that originate from the genuine BillionGraves apps will be accepted.
- If you or another user marks a headstone picture as “bad” we deduct it from the uploader’s total images.
- For transcribers, we will be looking extra hard at the quality of transcriptions as well. We will erase the record and have it re-transcribed if it’s not done correctly. Any record not transcribed correctly will be deducted from your total.
- In the off chance that we don’t have enough images to transcribe, GO TAKE PICTURES! We will allow both photos taken and transcriptions completed to count.
- Make sure you have permission and are welcome to take pictures in your local cemetery before doing so. Remember, private cemeteries require permission of the owner before taking any pictures. No one likes a trespasser! Not cool!
- This promotion is open to all to participate ages 13 and above for free. Registration is required. (Register HERE. Come on.You know you want to. It’s free!)
- More than one individual may contribute to a single account, however, the limit is one prize redemption per BillionGraves account. The prize will be claimed by only the username the combined work was completed under. BillionGraves will not arbitrate any disputes. ALL RECORDS MUST BE UNDER ONE ACCOUNT. BILLIONGRAVES WILL NOT COMBINE ACCOUNTS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
- Items will ship in 6-8 weeks after contest closes for winners in the U.S. Please allow 8-12 weeks for winners outside the U.S. However, our shipment robots are getting faster!
- Due to current world-unrest, some areas may increase the amount of time it takes for prizes to be delivered. If for some reason your country isn’t compatible with iPad Mini, we will work with you to provide you with a prize that is equal in value.
- Recipients will be required to provide a mailing address for physical items.
- Winner will be required to provide completed tax forms for redemption of the prize
- REQUIRED: ALL PRIZES MUST BE CLAIMED WITH PROPER MAILING/DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS BY THE 15TH OF JUNE OR YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE PRIZE! WE WILL SEND OUT CONFIRMATION EMAILS BY THE 3RD OF JUNE. IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL ASKING FOR YOUR ADDRESS, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SENDING IT TO US BY THE 15TH AT HTTP://BILLIONGRAVES.COM/SUPPORT.
We’re super excited for this amazing competition! Now, get outside and earn yourself a free iPad Mini! Good luck!
-The BillionGraves Team