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    Beta Release 1.6
    Mar

    3

    1.6 was a large release that was rolled out from the test environment to live this morning. This release consisted of some fixes and more back end improvements ahead of some exciting features that are slated for 1.8 and 1.9.

    What’s new

    • As a new service, Spudaroo users have gone through their own learning curve and aren’t always timely with closing out their projects and selecting a winner. We’ve made some improvements to the way that we coach users during the process and should they miss their deadlines, unlocking their project as opposed to a full restart which confused our talented experts on occasion.
    • Improvements to the way we handle payout requests to winning experts.
    • Projects in progress are now displayed first on the main category page regardless of when they commenced. In the past, projects that had ended or were awarded were appearing first based on the date the project was posted.
    • Spud Blog feed and the ability to receive a feed for all project categories has been added to the RSS area.

    What’s fixed

    • Release payment button was performing a Houdini magic trick within the Material Handover area. This button has been stripped of its magical powers – Fixed.
    • Feedback tab was causing usability angst on the left side of the website. Moved to the right for all our 2.0 lovers – Fixed.
    • Private project thumbnails were displaying a click thru icon despite there being no ability to click thru – Fixed.
    • PayPal wasn’t displaying the amount to be paid on the PayPal confirmation page during the checkout process – Fixed.
    • Experts were able to see each others submissions when a private project ended – Fixed

    As usual, thank you for your feedback. We appreciate it and hope you’ll continue to help us perfect Spudaroo by clicking the feedback tab on the RIGHT side of our webpages!

    So the project has been awarded, whats next?
    Feb

    8

    Once a project has been awarded on Spudaroo.com, its time to transfer files to the project owner and for the successful expert to get paid. Here are the steps;

    1. Project is awarded by the project owner

    2. A Material Handover tab appears on the project page to the right of Activity, Discussion etc.

    3. Transferring copyright is the first step. Both the project owner and the expert need to accept copyright

    4. When both parties have accepted copyright, the file upload page is displayed along with an area for discussion between the two parties

    5. When the expert uploads a file, the project owner is alerted. Spudaroo.com automatically begins a 5 day count down to release funds to the experts account. This is to encourage project owners to act in a timely manner regarding the receipt of their files

    6. If the project owner is satisfied, they can click the Release Payment button and push the project prize to the successful experts account

    Have a question? Head over to our community support area on GetSatisfaction.

    Transferring Copyright
    Feb

    8

    When a project is awarded on Spudaroo.com, its time to transfer copyright as part of the Material Handover process. If you visit the main project page, you will see the entries submitted to the project along with a red rosette pinned to the successful entry. You will also notice an additional tab that appears next to the Activity and Discussion tabs. This tab is called Material Handover and if you click it, you will be directed to the first phase of the Material Handover process – the copyright transfer.

    Read through the legalese and if you are good to go, click the Agreement button at the end of the text. This will afix your electronic acceptance to either transfer or accept copyright (depending on if you are the project owner or successful expert). Both parties need to accept the agreement before the next phase commences – uploading materials.

    Have a question? Head over to our community support area on GetSatisfaction.

    Getting paid on Spudaroo.com
    Feb

    8

    Getting paid is pretty simple on Spudaroo.com, just follow these steps. Should you need additional assistance, please visit http://getsatisfaction.com/spudaroo/topics/getting_paid_on_spudaroo_com

    1. Sign in to Spudaroo.com.
    2. Click the Account link at the top of the screen.
    3. When you are directed to your Account dashboard, click the Transactions button on the left.
    4. If you have a balance owing, you will see a Request Payout button.
    5. Complete the brief form including the email address associated with your PayPal account, (all funds paid to experts on Spudaroo.com are currently processed using PayPal only).
    6. Requests take up to 10 business days to process and release to PayPal.
    7. You will be notified of the steps in the process as they complete resulting in a confirmation email when your funds are released to your PayPal account.

    Easy!

    100% Money Back Guarantee
    Feb

    8

    We offer a 100% money back guarantee. If you aren’t happy with the submissions posted to your project, simply contact us within 60 days and we’ll refund your money.

    For more info visit http://getsatisfaction.com/spudaroo/topics/100_money_back_guarantee

    Beta Release 1.5
    Feb

    4

    Its that time again. 1.5 was a relatively small release that was rolled out the door from the test environment to live this morning. This release consisted of some fixes and back end improvements along with a couple of new features.  As always, these changes reflect the feedback we continue to receive so good on you and have at it!

    What’s new

    • As previously gushed about, Spudaroo.com uses the magnificent MadMimi to deliver all of Spuds transactional and marketing email via their API. But what happens if RackSpace coughs up a virtual lung and we go offline (can anyone say ‘no available nodes’) or Mimi gets her stuff in a twist? So, Spudaroo has wrapped a log file/cron job into a solution to combat downtime and make sure our transactional emails aren’t lost in the ether.
    • RPX did a great job with their new flashy sign in widget which unfortunately didn’t work within our UI. Adjustments have been made to accomodate the new, full figured RPX widget.
    • Projects can now be extended to your hearts content on Spudaroo.com. You can get up to 72 hours on us and after that, we charge a nominal fee when you choose to extend.
    • File upload status is now displayed during the Submit Entry process. We’ll be adding a progress icon for the actual submit process (and replace our buttons too) in the 1.7 release.

    What’s fixed

    • Ongoing fixes to IE to resolve the following -
    1. Users couldn’t post comments to a project or the Material Handover section. Now they can.
    2. Users were unable to send messages through the private message system – doh!. Now they can.
    • Material Handover time display was on Spud Time – 2 hours ahead of PST. Spud time has since been kicked to the curb and PST is now accurately displayed.

    As usual, please feel free to shoot us any feedback by clicking the feedback tab on the site!

    Beta Release 1.4
    Jan

    19

    1.4 was rolled out the door from the test environment to live this afternoon. This release consisted of some MORE fixes specific to IE 7 and 8, some back end upgrades for admin purposes and some improvements to the user experience. As always, these changes reflect the feedback we continue to receive so nice one – here you go!

    What’s new

    • Users can change ratings they apply to expert submissions. In the past this was a one way street. Once the rating was placed, it was locked in – not so good if you made an error. We fixed that and now you can slide the stars left to right all day long.
    • Admin can now moderate comments placed in any of the discussion areas on Spudaroo.com. This hasn’t been an issue but you can always count on someone deciding to have fun with your discussion areas at some point in time.
    • Google Analytics has been integrated into the admin/CMS area for Spudaroo as well as some ticket info from ZenDesk making the Spud admin area (fondly referred to as Area 51) a one stop shop.
    • The Spud cart now displays way less detail than it did. Users can still see a breakdown of the details that apply to their transaction but its conveniently hidden. Click the little red + and all is revealed.
    • AddToAny was a long overdue addition to the Spud blog. We finally got to it so feel free to pick up the Spud RSS feed for all the good stuff delivered right into the reader of your choice.
    • Spudaroo has a cute error page. Get down!

    What’s fixed

    • Ongoing fixes to IE to resolve the following -
    1. Users couldn’t make adjustments to some of their account settings. Now they can.
    2. Users were unable to approve experts to enter their contests in IE 7. Now they can.
    • Weird alignment issue with the Spud demo video has been fixed.

    As usual, please feel free to shoot us any feedback by clicking the feedback tab on the site!

    New Website Provides Business Material and Web Content
    Jan

    15

    Spudaroo.com takes a crowdsourcing approach to business plans, slide presentations, web content and more.

    Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) January 15, 2010 — Spudaroo.com has launched the first crowd sourcing platform that connects time strapped entrepreneurs needing professional business material and content with a community of talented experts.

    News Image“Spudaroo.com presents a great alternative to websites such as Elance, oDesk and PeoplePerHour.com,” says Founder, Kate Hiscox.

    “Unlike websites that encourage users to choose an expert based on a proposal, Spudaroo.com requires experts to submit completed material in a read-only format. The user rates the experts submission, requests the changes they would like to see and the process continues until the user is satisfied.”

    Available materials include slide presentations, web content, business plans, press and social media releases, basic legal documents and blog articles.

    “Spudaroo.com is about making projects flow smoothly from concept through to delivery. Experts benefit from working with users that are engaged and focused on reaching a satisfying conclusion, resulting in a well defined, time efficient project with guaranteed payment,” explains Co-Founder, Nicola Cadwell.

    The site is enthusiastic about its use of crowdsourcing, a model made popular by websites such as design centric 99Designs.com and Adhack.com. Spudaroo.com is the first Web site to utilize the method for business documents and web content.

    “Spudaroo came about as a result of my own experience,” stated Hiscox. “When starting a business, your time and money are critical. I’ve approached companies to produce a business plan or add some zing to a slide presentation. You hand over a deposit and hope for the best but the revisions are often limited and the project ends regardless of whether you’re satisfied. It was time to level the playing field.”

    “Crowdsourcing has demonstrated that while the user has the opportunity to work with many experts at once, they tend to form a relationship with one or two experts early on in the process. Its an efficient, cost effective model that delivers work that meets expectations.”

    For more information about finding and posting projects, visit www.Spudaroo.com.

    And we’re off to the races!
    Jan

    14

    That mean’s we start the fun, albeit hard work of guerilla marketing Spudaroo.com. This is what tends to seperate the men from the boys and the girls from the.. girls when it comes to start ups. For my part, I love waging war on the media at large and getting them to love the site/solution/app in question but it isn’t for everyone. If I had to hand the statistic for how many amazing ventures are created but fail due to lack of adoption – well it would make baby Jeebus cry again. Creating and launching your newest adventure is easy. Gaining adoption is another story.

    So as the way of doing things here at the Spud Blog has been for the purpose of edumacating ourselves and passing on our new found knowledge to others – we will apply it to the marketing process.

    Our first stop on the campaign trail is PitchEngine. To quote PitchEngine;

    “With PitchEngine, users can easily create and share Social Media Releases (SMRs). Unlike the rigid, printed press release of old, SMRs offer both creator and reader far more flexibility. Users can incorporate embedded video, images, powerpoints and more into a hosted “microsite” or SMR, that can easily be shared via the social web using apps like Facebook, Twitter and more. A dynamic blend of traditional PR and a more progressive, conversational method, the SMR opens doors and engages readers. Those readers include not just media, but investors and consumers (friends, fans and followers) alike.”

    Okay, so we just tossed our first SMR out onto this baby. You can find it here, its tasty stuff. We are tracking the progress via ChartBeat and divulge our thoughts in a few days. We’ll also reach out to PE because I heard from the fabulous Kel Kelly at Kel and Partners that he’s a great guy.

    We’ll see if he does the Spud interview!

    P.S I originally posted a pic of Borat in his mankini at the start of this post. Its brilliant marketing! Who would have ever guessed that guys (or their girls) would have purchased this icky, green piece of fun and don it on the beach? They did.. to the tune of 400,000+ units sold. Sheesh!

    Beta Release 1.3
    Jan

    11

    Greetings and a Happy New Year to all! I’ve (Kate) celebrated another birthday in between which should render me a little older and a little wiser. Hey, we can all live in hope =)

    Since we launched Spudaroo a few short weeks ago, the response has been great. We’ve been lucky to get some awesome feedback that we’ve been able to plough back into the agile process and turn into new features. Theres nothing quite like building a solution and having your audience dictate that build – and able to see the results so quickly.

    With that in mind, 1.3 is all about fun and giving back. Spudaroo will shortly be moving out of Beta and with that comes the true test. With the release of 1.3, we are making Spudaroo free for anyone to take for a spin as a last push to test before we strip the Beta label off. Of course, prize money will still need to be covered but projects can now be posted on Spudaroo for zero, zilch, nada dollars.

    All that we ask is you continue to tell us how you feel and where we can improve. Oh and I want a birthday cake from Tipsy Cake next year.

    What’s new

    • Projects can be listed free of charge on Spudaroo.com. This doesn’t include prize monies or upgrades.

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