BillionGraves Summer of More!
We’re only a few weeks into Summer and we can’t get enough. Like you, we want Summer to last as long as possible! For that reason, we’re excited to announce our next promotion to get you and your friends outside, enjoying the sun. We’re calling it the “Summer of More”—but you can think of it as prizes and promotions within more prizes and promotions – Prize-ception!
From July 1st through September 30th, the number of pictures you take and headstones you transcribe on a monthly basis will not only qualify you for the monthly prize giveaways AND the Pin Contest, but your grand total at the end of the summer will qualify you for the Summer of More Grand Prize – a 1-week vacation with 5-Star accommodations, anywhere in the world!* Do we have your attention now? Good! But, more on this in a minute. Let’s talk about this month.
So, what are we up to in July?
For the month of July, we’ll be focusing on military headstones. Find a Veteran’s or Memorial Cemetery near you by using our “Cemetery Lookup” function, found under our Search button, found HERE:
Filter results by country, state and county. Then, use keywords like “Military”, “Veteran”, “National” or “Memorial” to find military cemeteries near your location. Another great resource to find military cemeteries near you is to use the VA’s website HERE.
Military cemeteries are highly concentrated and can provide you with several hours’ worth of photos. Be sure to grab some sunscreen, some water, a few snacks and some friends, and you could snap several thousand records in a single outing!
Also this month we have partnered with The Federation of Genealogical Societies to document and preserve the graves of the participants of the war of 1812. Anyone with knowledge of a cemetery marker for a War of 1812 veteran, upload the image of the marker to the BillionGraves website (www.billiongraves.com) using our free mobile application during the month of July to honor and remember the service of those who served in the “Second Revolution”. Check out the full release HERE and don’t forget to donate to PreserveThePensions.org to help preserve these records for generations!
Special Note- Be sure to know where you’re going ahead of time. Take notice of military funerals or memorials taking place. Be sure to respect the area and avoid taking pictures if a memorial is happening in that general area. There are plenty of other locations to document! Keep it goin’!
Win the Pin
The Win the Pin contest with continue as normal – the top 50 photographers and the top 50 transcribers will win the pin for July! So make sure you are on the leaderboard so you don’t miss out on these collectors pins! This month’s pin turned out better than we imagined! The picture doesn’t give it justice! You will NOT want to miss this one!
New Picture Ranking System
This month, we’re also excited to announce our new Picture Ranking System! To make sure that quality photos are being uploaded, Transcribers now have the ability to rank every photo that passes through their hands by giving them a Thumbs Up (great photo!) or a Thumbs Down (Needs some improvement…). Transcribers will rate each photo based on the photographers quality picture and NOT the quality of the headstone.
You will find these new functions on the transcription pages where you can easily select a Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down rating for each image on every record. This system will be live July 3rd!
If you select a thumbs down rating, we want to know why! A thumbs down will “report” the image and ask you why it was a bad picture. Was the picture blurry or unreadable? Is the headstone unreadable? etc. This is extremely important because only photos that are blurry or unreadable are counted in the rating. We don’t want to penalize photographers if the headstone is just a stone that is too damaged to read.
Only photos where the image quality is poor will be counted against a photographer’s rating. The other ratings will just help us identify what pictures need extra help or special attention in the future! No grave should be lost or forgotten! So rating them properly will help us give attention where it is needed!
To help you keep track of your status, the user ratings will be displayed on your individual Dashboard and monthly Leaderboard pages. So keep an eye on these pages to up to the minute updates on your ratings!
This is especially important for photographers as we will be basing our prize giveaways on their total number of pictures taken AND their overall picture ranking. Photographers must maintain a photo ranking of a 4 or higher to be eligible to win. We will continue to enhance this feature to provide more and more insights into your transcribing and photographing efforts! For those of you who take the time to take great pictures and transcribe everything on the record, we want you to be noticed for doing a great job! 🙂
Transcribers, we’re counting on you to help us with this! You have been asking for this feature and we’re putting it into your hands. Thank you for your help! Obviously, this process will be heavily moderated for accuracy!
Back to the Good Stuff…
As mentioned above, we’re giving away a 1-Week stay at a 5-Star Resort/Experience* anywhere in the world for the photographer and transcriber with the most photos and transcriptions between July 1 and October 1. That’s right, we aren’t just giving away 1 grand prize, we are giving away 2! One to the top photographer with over a 4 star rating and one to the top transcriber with over a 4 star rating!
So whether you prefer an all-inclusive resort in Taiwan, a private yacht through the British Isles, a week in the Swiss Alps, or your own private cabin in the Rockies, you’ll want to jump all over this! To view the available locations check out The Registry Collection HERE or check out some of the photos from the resorts below. (Enlarge the pictures by clicking on them) These aren’t the only resorts that are available. There are resorts literally all over the world!
The winners will have 1 year to schedule a date and location, keeping in mind that the location is subject to availability. The winners will work with the BillionGraves staff to find and schedule their trips. BillionGraves will cover the expense for the week long trip and all fees associated with booking the trip. The winners must pay for all additional expenses (travel, food, souvenirs for the BillionGraves staff :), etc.)
Rest assured, there will be more prizes and promotions during our Summer of More! Stay tuned to our Blog (Here), Facebook Page (Here) and Instagram (Here) to get all of the updates!
Make this summer your Summer of More with more chances to win. Good luck!
Some 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 or Google Play 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.
• The July Win the Pin Contest begins July 1, 2014 and ends July 31, 2014 @ 12:00 am GMT (That’s 6 pm MST)
• The Summer of More Grand Prize Contest begins July 1, 2014 and ends September 30, 2014 @ 12:00 am GMT (That’s 6 pm MST)
[info_box] A great way to reach your goal is to grab your friends and head out to the cemetery as a group!
The Summer of More promotion will be a individual and/or group effort. That means that you can get with your friends and family to upload more photos or transcribe more records. Some of the properties can hold 14-20 people! What better way to spend your next family reunion than by doing it with BillionGraves and enjoying an amazing vacation together! If everyone in the group logs their different devices into one account, your efforts will be combined, making it easier to hit your goal!
Note: Only one prize will be given per username. We will NOT combine usernames or accounts so make sure you do it all under the same username! [/info_box]
The Fine Print. (Cause we have to have fine print, right?)
- All photos and transcriptions must be submitted before the closing date of Sept 30, 2014 @ 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.
- We reserve the right, and will actively, audit any winners accounts for good photos and transcriptions.
- Good transcriptions are records that have ALL information accurately and fully transcribed. We will erase the record and have it re-transcribed if it’s not done correctly. Partial or incorrect transcriptions will be deducted from your total.
- Good photos are photos that are in focus, readable, STRAIGHT ON (pictures not taken from extreme angles), and fill the full picture. Just because a photo can be transcribed does NOT mean it is an acceptable photo. Proper technique must be used on all photos submitted.
- 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 ONLY if there are not enough pictures to transcribe.
- 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!) An individual 18 years of age or older are required to claim the prize.
- 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.
- Recipients will be required to provide a mailing address for physical items.
- Winners will be required to provided completed tax forms for redemption of any prize.
- REQUIRED: ALL PRIZES MUST BE CLAIMED WITH PROPER MAILING/DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS BY THE 15TH OF EACH MONTH OR YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE PRIZE! WE WILL SEND OUT CONFIRMATION EMAILS BY THE 3RD OF EACH MONTH. 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
*See website for locations and availability. 600 “credits” through the Registry Collection will be allotted to each winner to use in their scheduling. Different locations and time of season will vary in “credits”. Any size room, location, and resort can be used as long as it is under the 600 credits. If not all 600 credits are used, the remaining credits are returned to BillionGraves. Winner must cover their own travel expenses including airfare, food(if not included in the resort already), and any other expense associated with the trip. Locations are subject to room availability and holiday/festival/high traffic constraints.
