How do I use the My Alerts in the Trophy Room?
The Alerts feature will allow members to stay in touch with activity on CrowdPicks. When you register only a limited number of alerts features will be enabled so be sure to review them and edit your Alerts Settings for emails and private messages (PMs). The alerts available include:
Þ New Trophy Received – Receive an email and/or PM any time a new trophy is earned and awarded to you
Þ Comments to News or Blogs – Receive an email and/or PM any time a new comment is made to your news or blog
Þ Friend Accepted – Receive an email and/or PM any time a friend you invited to join My Crowd accepts the invite
Þ Friend Invites – Receive an email and/or PM any time a member invites you to join their My Crowd
Þ Favorite Team Game Available - Receive an email and/or PM any time a game with your favorite team in that sport becomes available for picks. To update your favorite teams simply click the Update Profile link in your profile module.
Þ New Crowd Note - Receive an email and/or PM any time a new Crowd Note is posted to your Trophy Room
Þ New Private Message - Receive an email and/or PM any time a new private message is sent to you
The My Alerts feature will also track the number of Pending Friends invited and the number of new trophies earned – both values resetting every 14 days. You can also access the Welcome Page which provides a short summary on how to quickly get started on the CrowdPicks site.
We also provide access to Private Message through the Unread/Read Messages links. Most of the functionality is self explanatory and you can also set alerts with PMs via the Alerts Settings link.
How do I use Private Messages in the Trophy Room?
The Private Messages can be accessed in the Alerts module in the Trophy Room. Click on the Unread Messages (or Read Messages) link to access the feature. Once on the Private Messages page you can review existing messages in your Inbox, compose new messages, and access Preferences to customize the experience. You can set up notifications and read receipts for when a private message is sent to you. You can also set up signatures, including adding your CrowdPicks Badge to your private message signature. To add the Badge to your Private Message signature simply copy the Image Code into your signature field, name the signature, and update to save it. When you send a private message, select the signature checkbox you want to use and you’re set!
How do I use the Picks Summary in the Trophy Room?
This module provides you with a summary of how many picked and unpicked games you have across each sport. At a quick glance you can find out which sports have new games available to pick and quickly link to their picks page. A similar version of this module is also available on the top of the Picks page.
What is CrowdPicks®?
CrowdPicks® is a place where sports fans can exchange opinions, make predictions on pro and college sports games and establish credibility, or “cred”, through their “CrowdScore”. This score, and associated sports avatars, represents the fan throughout the site allowing them to show off their knowledge and sports cred. We also produce aggregate community predictions that we share with you in the Picks & Scores modules and in the CrowdFilter results; thus the name “CrowdPicks”. For more about who we are, see the “About Us” section.
How do I get started?
Start by signing up by using the "Register" button, it’s free to join and all we need is your e-mail address. Since this is a social site however, the experience will be enhanced if you provide a little more information about yourself, including your favorite teams in each sport, and even post a picture. Note that in order to complete the registration process your browser MUST accept "Cookies" - make sure your browser is set appropriately or you will not be able to register. Next, start making picks on games to build your CrowdScore and your trophy case. Participate in the community by writing blogs, message posts, or chat. Finally, earn rewards for your participation on the site.
What sports are covered?
We cover a variety of sports for members including:
· Football – NFL and NCAA Division 1 (some Division 1 games may not be available if a Division 2 school plays)
· Basketball – NBA and NCAA
· Baseball – MLB and NCAA Baseball
· Hockey – NHL
· Auto Racing – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
· Golf – PGA Tournaments
Additional sports may be added in the future.
CrowdPicks uses Vegas point spreads - is this a gambling site?
No it isn’t, and you cannot gamble here. We use Vegas lines because it provides another level of information for making predictions on games and for determining a CrowdScore bonus in some sports. We also think that the data we collect may be of more value to some if it included the Vegas lines and used them to help measure member picks performance.
What browser should I use to get the best out of CrowdPicks?
We have built and optimized the CrowdPicks experience to take advantage of IE7.x. Although Firefox and older versions of IE will work, to get the most from us we recommend IE7.x.
What is the cost to join?
Nothing, it’s free to join CrowdPicks and we have no plans to charge for anything in the future except for the CrowdFilter.
How do I gain credibility?
At CrowdPicks® credibility is the cornerstone of our community. Without individual sports cred you can’t tell if a community member is full of it or someone who really knows sports, so we needed a way for our community members to earn credibility. The way we chose to add this component is to have everyone predict scores from the weekly sports schedule, and we keep track of who does the best throughout the season for each sport and each team. To gain sports cred you must make picks though! We represent your sports cred using various forms of “social currency” including the CrowdScore, the avatars, and the trophy case.
How does the Sports News feature work?
Members can post content on this page including news stories, blogs, and videos. Adding content is really important because it increases your page views therefore boosting your Revenue Share payout. When you submit content we require you to select a headline to display. We also recommend a primary and secondary tag is selected so the sport and team related to the story are known – this allows us to tag the story on the Sports News modules and also place the story on the team’s page. These tags are important so people following certain teams can easily identify content related to them. When users write a blog we allow them to upload an image to add more color to our news modules and give your story more character. You want your content to stand out because attracting more eyeballs means more Revenue Share! When you upload a video simply provide the URL of the video and we’ll embed it into the content page. You can also provide a description for the content when you submit it.
How do I unregister?
If you decide to no longer use CrowdPicks and you prefer to disable your account, please send an email to info@crowdpicks.com. Once we receive your request we will disable the account so no one can login and we’ll also remove the email address from our records. By making this request you will forfeit any Revenue Share balance you have.
How does Consensus Picks work?
On the combined sport homepage at www.CrowdPicks.com you will see a list of 4 games with the most picks - each one from a different sport. On the sport Home page you will see a list of 16 games for that sport. They are listed with the upcoming games on top, then the games “In Progress”, and then the recent games that have completed underneath with final scores. The picks are listed in order from the ones with the greatest number of picks from the top down. The graph represents the percent of picks on either side of the game, or for NASCAR and PGA, the percent of picks for that driver or golfer for the top three places. We include links to the Team, Driver, or Golfer pages and a Pick link to take you directly to the My Game Picks page to make picks.
What is Featured Content and how does it work?
We allow you to view and publish several types of content including news links, videos (from You Tube), and blogs. All the content appears on the Sports News page. All our content requires a primary tag with a secondary tag also being available – we highly recommend you use both because it makes it easier for all of us to find content. On the home page for each sport we display Featured Content which is a sub-set of all the content available. We evaluate the quality of content based on many factors including popularity, relevance, CrowdScore of the author, and recent history of spamming. If you display too much content without substance, you won’t score as high with our Featured Content score and your content will not appear on the prominent home pages for each sport. Take the time to write quality blogs, use tags, descriptive headlines and build a large friends list in My Crowd – all these factors will help you get your content featured and therefore increase your views to boost Revenue Share. Keep in mind that adding your own comments and viewing your own content won’t help your Featured Content score, even if you use another User Name.
What is the CrowdFilter?
The CrowdFilter is a tool that allows you to get “smarter” predictions on future games. By smarter we mean that you can filter out members that may not be very good at picking scores. Since we track all sorts of criteria like win/loss percentage, against the point spread percentage and over/under accuracy, you can filter by several different criteria to find those members that you feel will be the most accurate.
How do I use the CrowdFilter?
First, select the sport which you would like to get a prediction on. Next, start filtering out members by raising the “member accuracy” amount from zero. Only members that have scores above that number will be included in your filter search. There are also a few different member accuracy settings to use such as win/loss accuracy, against the spread accuracy (ATS), Over/under accuracy (O/U) and of course our favorite, the CrowdScore. Finish your core filter requirements by selecting a timeframe for your search. Are you interested in members that have been consistent all season long or just those that have been hot the last week? The time setting allows you to choose.
How do I make a pick?
After you log in to your account, the "My Game Picks" link in the navigation bar will take you to your game picks page. Once there you will find various sports to choose from and games available to make a pick on for each (when scheduled and during season). You will see a “My Picks Summary” module on the upper left of the page to quickly identify which sports you have made game picks on and which are still open.
In some cases like football, you will be required to pick either the points scored by each team (the predicted team scores under the “My Score” column) OR the spread & total points (the predicted Spread and Over-Under in the “My Spread” column). Before making your pick, decide which method you prefer and select the appropriate Default Entry Method radio button on the top of the page. NASCAR and PGA will require you to select who will place 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for the race – a different process than other sports. You also have the option of predicting who will finish in any two other places. Note that you can opt to pick just the required top 3 finishing places but this higher risk approach. Keep in mind that NASCAR and PGA use “odds” instead of a “spread” for picks predictions.
Once you “Submit” your pick, the game pick module will change colors – from orange to blue. It will also display your predicted winner, ATS (spread) if applicable, and which side of the Over-Under your prediction falls. Regardless of sport, we have made the process of making picks quick, easy, and fun, so pick away! If you change your mind later you can “Edit” your pick by selecting the button, however, keep in mind that the point spread can change throughout the week and if you choose to edit your score you may have different odds applied to your picks. The Vegas Odds you see in your game picks details box at the time you submit or edit your pick, will be the odds that your pick will be evaluated on. If the odds happen to change after submitting your pick the new odds will appear in a small red font below the original odds. Keep in mind there’s also a time component for the CrowdScore to reward early picks so changing your pick at a later time may cost you some points.
When can I make my picks?
Throughout the week games are added to the “My Game Picks” page and are then available for everyone to make predictions on. You can make your predictions any time from the minute a game becomes available on the picks page until kickoff (tip-off, face-off, etc.), but the earlier you make your picks, the better for your CrowdScore. To ensure you are notified right away when picks for a sport come in, make sure to have email alerts set (My Alerts in the Trophy Room) for your favorite team’s games being available. Picking as early as possible will ensure you squeeze the most out of your CrowdScore. The availability of games for picking is provided as early as we can get good odds but generally we make them available as follows:
Þ NFL – at least 5 days before kick-off
Þ NCAAFB - at least 5 days before kick-off
Þ NBA - at least 1 day before tip-off
Þ NCAABB - at least 1 day before tip-off
Þ NASCAR - at least 6 days before race start
Þ NHL - at least 1 day before face-off
Þ MLB - at least 1 day before the first pitch
Þ PGA - at least 2 days before the tournament
Do I need to make a prediction on every game?
No, in fact it’s better to not make a pick on a game you are unsure of. Even though you are rewarded a little for the more games you pick, a wrong prediction will hurt your CrowdScore more than an unpicked game. We’ll try to provide you with some information you can use to help determine which picks may give you the best chance of increasing your sports cred. We include info like the Vegas odds, records, and tools like the CrowdFilter.
How do I use the Picks Summary?
This module provides you with a summary of how many picked and unpicked games you have across each sport. At a quick glance you can find out which sports have new games available to pick and with one click go to the desired Picks page for that sport. A similar version of this module is also available on the top of the Picks page.
How do I get on the Top 10 CrowdScore Leaderboard?
There are two top 10 lists that we track during the season including “This Season” and “Last 7 Days” which appear on the homepage for each sport. In order to appear on the season top 10 you must be in the top 10 rank in that sport and have met the minimum picks requirements for the season at that time (it goes up each season trimester). The same goes for the last 7 days except that the pick minimums there are lower. By doing well with your picks and reaching these lists, which are on homepages where we see the most traffic, you will increase your own Trophy Room views and thus boost your Revenue Sharing earnings.
How do I earn the "MVP" award & appear on the Season Top 10 list?
The Season Top 10 List will appear on the sport homepages during the off-season. In order to appear on the season MVP and Top 10 list you must have had one of the highest CrowdScores for the entire season and have met the minimum picks requirements for the end of the season. Those fortunate enough to have earned this status are rewarded with a special trophy. The “MVP” for the member with the top season CrowdScore will get prominent placement on the sport’s homepage at the top center of the page with the remaining top 9 slots appearing below. They also earn a rare Unique trophy called the “MVP” while the other top 10 earn a Season Top 10 trophy. This exposure is sure to help get you page views and boost your views for Revenue Sharing. In general, at least 10% of the picks for the season must be met but the individual limits are set for each sport and available for you to review on the top of the "Members" page and in the “What is the CrowdScore?” section of the FAQ and Help.
What is the Revenue Share Leaderboard?
On the top right of the Member page you will see a link with a cash icon labeled “Revenue Share Leaderboard” which displays a list of all the member stats for the Revenue Sharing program. The list includes the Rank, Member name and image, with counts for each content category, as well as Friends. The Unique Views are a sum of all the qualified views from each content category and the Rev Share column shows the percent of total content that member has contributed.
How do I use the Members page Season Leaderboard?
The Members page will display a Season Leaderboard with all the members that have made picks in each sport that have met the minimum picks requirements along with their rank for that sport. The primary sport menu will control which sport you view. If you wanted to see who has the highest CrowdScore in MLB then go to Members in the secondary navigation menu and then select MLB. You can view the top ranked members along with key stats on their picks. You can also sort the data in each column from highest to lowest to help you identify the best performers in each scoring category. The default view will display the CrowdScore from highest to lowest. A message at the top of the page will tell you what the minimum number of picks required are for each sport in order to appear on the Season Leaderboard. Each page will display 50 members so use the paging links on the bottom to look beyond the first page.
Will CrowdPicks® share my personal information with anyone?
Never! Please refer to our Privacy Statement.
What time standards do you follow?
The time standards we follow are based on Eastern Time. All the time stamps you see in the News & Blogs, Crowd Notes, Game/Race Time, and the race and game start times are in ET.
Can I change my login name?
You can’t. We are dependent on our member’s credibility and if we allowed login name changes we would lose that element.
Can I have more than one account?
Obviously we can’t completely control this, but we highly discourage it and we reserve the right to remove any members who try and maintain multiple accounts. In the future, if we feel that the integrity of our site is at risk from too many multiple accounts, we may take steps beyond simply tracking IPs.
How long will Beta last?
When we are confident that all of the defects have been worked out and we have added all of the new features and content that we, as well as you, want on the site, we will move out of Beta. Hopefully in 2008 we’ll be ready. As a result of this being a Beta period, some things may change (like adding new features :), but we will try to keep the disruptions to a minimum and we welcome any and all feedback.
How does the New Members module work?
When a member makes a pick on a sport for the first time ever they will appear on the New Members list along with a count of how many days ago they made the first pick in that sport. Only members that have uploaded an image will qualify to appear on this list.
Did you read The Wisdom of Crowds?
Yes, and we’re big fans of James Surowiecki’s book. We were excited to see someone put a name to something that we have believed for a long time. This book also influenced our method for gathering data on our “Picks Page” independently as possible instead of sharing results with you prior to your prediction. The biggest difference in opinion that we have with Mr. Surowiecki is that we believe we can get even better results with a smarter crowd, which is why we created our “CrowdFilter,” so our members can screen their data to their liking. We truly believe that “experts” are no match for a large group of informed “amateurs,” and we plan to launch a few other websites in the future to test this belief. Regardless of what you believe, we highly recommend that you buy and read The Wisdom of Crowds.
Is CrowdPicks.com owned by or related to any team or league?
CrowdPicks.com is not licensed, endorsed or approved by, and has no connection in any way with The NCAA; The Collegiate Licensing Company; NBA Properties, Inc.; NFL Properties LLC; and, NHL Enterprises, L.P.; NASCAR, Major League Baseball or the PGA. CrowdPicks is an independent fan site that was created by fans for fans.
What is CrowdPicks Mobile and how does it work?
Our members now have access to key information from the CrowdPicks.com web site by simply using text messaging (SMS) on their cell phones. You will be able to read blogs, review game odds, and check the LeaderBoard across all the sports offered. All this information can provide you with the flexibility you need when you’re on the go, whether you just want to catch up on the latest blog or show your buds at the bar what the line is on the game your about to watch. In the future we’ll provide additional features including the ability to make and view your picks!
Using CrowdPicks Mobile is easy. Simply text “crowdpicks” to “DotCom” (368266) and then follow instructions on the menu. The best way to set it up is simply to create a new contact in your phone called “DotCom” with “368266” as the phone number. When you want to access us on the go just send a “crowdpicks” text message to your “DotCom” contact - it’s that easy. Once you’re in the main menu just enter the number corresponding to each menu option and you’ll be on your way to getting all the info you need right on your cell phone.
Keep in mind that we don’t charge you for using CrowdPicks Mobile but your service provider may charge text messaging fees if applicable.
How do I read the Picks & Stats module in the Trophy Room?
Every member that makes picks will have their results appear in this module. At the top of the module we display your “Last 7 Days” and “This Season” scores including the CrowdScore and your performance in score categories (W, ATS, and O/U) and we summarize the results of each picked game. Each section is separated by dates with all the games you picked on that day. Once a game starts your predictions will be removed from the Picks page and will appear in the Picks & Stats module which will update once the game ends. You can switch sports by using the secondary sports menu (links) on the top of the module or use the primary sports menu on the top of the page. Each checkmark indicates a correct pick for that category. Clearly, you want to see a lot of checkmarks in your module. Several sports have three categories including Win/Loss (W) prediction, Spread (ATS) prediction, and Over/Under (O/U). You will also note that links for paging will appear at the bottom of the page once a certain number of picks have been made and scored. We also capture and display the Line (Vegas Spread) AT THE TIME YOUR PICK WAS MADE – the closing Line may be different than yours. We also display the final score of the game so you can have a reference for comparing your predictions. If a “P” appears in the ATS or O/U column it means that you “Pushed” and no change to your score occurs for that category result.
How do I select my favorite sport and favorite teams in my Profile?
In the Trophy Room, on the bottom of the profile module, you will see a link to “Update Profile”. Simply click the link, select the “Manage Profile” link to access the Profile page where the favorites are located. Use the radio buttons to select your favorite sport and the drop down menus to select your favorite teams. By making these selections we will be able to provide you with alerts on when those games are available for picks and allow members to filter content by favorite teams and allow you to find others with the same favorite teams.
How do I upload an image or picture for my Profile?
In the Trophy Room, on the upper left of the page, you will see the profile module. Simply click the Upload Image link, select an image file (.jpg, .gif, .bmp) under 3Mb. We will trim your image to fit inside a 200 x 200 pixel box, so to maintain higher quality, you may want to resize the image yourself before submitting.
How do I use the CrowdPicks Badge in the Trophy Room?
The CrowdPicks Badge is really important because it allows you to help us grow the community, which in turn increases pageviews and the revenue share payout. The badge is located in your profile module (upper left in Trophy Room) and also allows our members to show-off their sports cred. You can insert (copy/paste) the Image or Forum code into any HTML-compatible text field such as message board, private messages (like the one on our site), email signature, or a web page. In some cases you will find that only one of the codes will work so play around with it and spread the word via email and message boards! Simply click on the “Click Here to Create your CrowdPicks Badge!” image and link, select the sport you want to create a badge for, and then copy/paste the code into the application you want – it’s that easy!
How does the Bio feature work?
Members can display any information they want in the Bio section including links to your web site or blog. Simply select the "Edit" link and type in any information you want to display. If you want to display a link make sure to include the correct format of http://www.mylink.com. If you want the link to display as a label then preceed the URL with the one word name of your label and a colon. For example, if you enter "Blog:http://www.mylink.com" then the word "Blog" will appear as a hyperlink to the www.mylink.com destination.
How does the Team Expert feature work?
When members make 5 or more picks on a team they become eligible for a Team Expert status which continues indefinitely across seasons without resetting. If your CrowdScore for picks on that team are in the top 5 for the entire community, you will be listed in the Team Experts list on the top left of the team page and also have the team logo appear in your Profile module in your Trophy Room. In the Profile module we display three team links randomly but you can view the entire list of teams you have expertise in by clicking the “View All” link which will expand the module and display all the team logos. Just click the “Collapse” link to minimize the module again. Obviously, if you make more picks, you will increase the number of teams you can become an expert for but you need to score well to make the Top 5.
How do I use the Recruit feature?
This tool will make it easy for you to recruit all your friends to CrowdPicks. You can either import all your contacts from your webmail accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, or Hotmail. Simply enter your email address and password and we’ll automatically retrieve all your contacts that don’t already have a registered account at CrowdPicks. If you want to manually add contacts to recruit just use the “Add Contacts Manually” button and then enter the email addresses in the text box provided. You can also include a personal message that we will add to the email text sent to your friend. We’ll check to make sure the people you recruit are real, someone other than you, and that they actually use the site. Keep in mind that if you recruit a friend that uses or has used the same IP as you have used in the past, you will not receive a recruiting credit and will not be eligible for a trophy or recruit views! If all our recruiting criteria aren’t met we may take away any benefits you receive including trophies and any Revenue Share unique views.
How do I use My Crowd in the Trophy Room?
My Crowd allows you to monitor other members who you want to track. You build a list of friends and the My Crowd module will allow you to conveniently view their avatar with recent content posted and quickly access their Trophy Room. More importantly, it will allow your friends to see your content and thus improve your participation stats and earn you more money in the Revenue Share program. Once you recruit a member to be a friend, a request is sent out and once accepted their avatar is added to your list. Clicking the “X” to the right of any avatar in the Remove column will permanently remove that friend from your list. The order of the friends that appears is ordered from top down by most recent content posted and then a random shuffle on the others to keep things fresh. You can recruit non-members by using the Recruit feature on the main navigation menu on the upper right of the pages. Also use the “Recruit a Friend” button on the top of the module as another option. You can earn trophies for recruiting friends that are non-members.
What is "Revenue Tracking"?
Just launched in January 2008, our Revenue Sharing program will financially reward the top content contributors - if you are building the community, then you should benefit in the rewards. The Revenue Tracking module will allow you to monitor your views and earnings. We will track the unique page views to every member's trophy room, blogs, news, videos, and recruits (each friend recruited equals 50 views). These are what we call “unique” or “qualified views” (unlike “total views” which includes non-members) and they appear under the Page View Details in the Revenue Tracking module. No matter how many times you view another member’s blog, the qualified view from you will always be counted once for that specific content. Trophy Room views will be limited to members only and only increment once per day regardless of how many times you visit that page. Each time our calculator runs throughout day we rank all members based on views and assign a percentage to each. We will then take a portion of our ad revenue and distribute it based on the percentages, usually at the end of the month. Note that due to rounding, some members with identical monthly Rev Share % displayed may receive a slightly different $ credit. There will also be a minimum balance required before we will allow you to withdraw - $10 initially but likely to increase. You can use the “Pay Me” button to get the cash at any time but you must be 18 years of age or older to participate – no exceptions. This program also requires you have a Paypal account and we’ll simply deposit the credit, minus the fees, to your Paypal account – usually right away. We will not send you a check or any other form of payment – you must have a Paypal account. If your earnings reaches $600 during any calendar year we will be required to report the earnings to the IRS and therefore will need to collect and confirm your Name, Address, and Social Security number. We will provide a secure interface for collecting your SS# if your earnings exceeds this limit. If you don’t provide this info we will not be able to provide any more payouts to you. If your CrowdPicks account is inactive for 8 months and you have a Revenue Sharing credit, it will be forfeited and returned to CrowdPicks. CrowdPicks staff and their immediate family will not participate in revenue share and although their unique views are tracked, they are not counted for payout and display 0s in the Revenue Tracking Module. Once again, your privacy is important to us and we’ll never share this info with anyone.
Remember that CrowdPicks has the right to delete any content they feel is not appropriate and this will reduce your view count so posting bogus content, clicking your own content repeatedly, and trying to recruit yourself won’t get you anywhere, except maybe banned from CrowdPicks. Our Terms of Use covers additional details about the program terms.
How much money are we talking here? How much can I make?
Right now you won't be able to make much. We're going to put in a few hundred dollars per month and everyone will get a share of that. In the future we would hope that by adding more members and making more revenue we will be able to share a much bigger amount.
People keep posting the same news story as me to steal my views, can't you prevent that?
Currently you cannot post a link to the exact same story as someone else, but there are usually similar stories out there, so there isn't a perfect way to prevent this. In the future we will be adding "featured content" which will favor blogs and videos over news links so we hope that those that take the time to provide well thought out opinions rather than just a news link will be more common.
I don't understand how you are counting views?
First off, for the purpose of managing the Revenue Sharing, we are only counting "unique" views from registered members, so if you have some friends viewing your stuff on the site, those views don't count until they register for the site. We use several pieces of information to determine if a view is “unique” including IP addresses, User Names, and other information. The "total" views which are tracked in your profile section of your trophy room, will increment for non-member as well as member views. We count 5 types of member views; Trophy room views which count every time a member visits your trophy room every 24 hours. A news link, video and blog view gets counted once, the first time someone views any of that content. Finally, when you recruit a friend we’ll credit 50 views for each one with a unique IP address that join CrowdPicks.com.
Do I get credit for viewing other people's trophy rooms?
No, they do. You however will add a link back to your trophy room every time you leave a note, or comment on a blog, video or news story.
What are the best ways at boosting my views?
There are 4 main ways to help improve views:
1. Have a big friend's list. The more friends that you have, the more links back to your trophy room.
2. Add quality content. The well thought out blog or latest video will get much more attention than a news link. If you always add quality blogs you will develop a big following faster than the person spamming news links all day.
3. Be social. Add your opinions, comment on content, leave notes for your friends on the site. The more that you get your name out there, the more popular your trophy room will be. And while you're at it, update your profile so people can find you through your favorite teams or part of the country.
4. Make accurate picks. Nothing helps trophy room visits more than sitting on the top of the leader board.
How does the Revenue Share Leaderboard work?
On the top right of the Member page you will see a link with a cash icon labeled “Revenue Share Leaderboard” which displays a list of all the member stats for the Revenue Sharing program. The list includes the Rank, Member name and image, with counts for each content category, as well as Recruits which each count as 50 views. The Unique Views are a sum of all the qualified views from each content category and the Rev Share column shows the percent of total content that member has contributed. This information will be very important as you compete for your share of the dollars and cred!For additional information on Revenue Sharing click the “Read more” link below.
What are the terms of the Revenue Sharing program?
CrowdPicks.com Revenue Sharing Agreement. This Agreement is a contract between you, a registered member of CrowdPicks.com and WSC Group, Inc., the owner and operator of CrowdPicks.com and applies to your use of WSC Group, Inc.'s Services including the “Revenue Sharing” program. You must read, agree with and accept all of the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement. We may amend this Agreement at any time by posting a revised version on our website. The revised version will be effective at the time we post it. In addition, if the revised version includes a Substantial Change, we will provide you with 30 Days' prior notice of Substantial Change by posting notice on the "Terms of Use" page of our website. We last modified this Agreement on October 5, 2007. This Agreement contains several sections.
1. Our Responsibility
2. Eligibility
3. Getting Paid
4. Account Balances
5. Disabling Revenue Share
6. Your Liability
7. Errors and Unauthorized Transactions
8. Disputes with WSC Group, Inc.
1. Our Responsibility
1.1 WSC Group, Inc. is only an online entertainment provider. WSC Group, Inc. makes payments to registered members of CrowdPicks.com. If you receive Information about another WSC Group, Inc. User through the Service, you must keep the Information confidential and only use it in connection with the Service. You may not disclose or distribute a WSC Group, Inc. User's Information to a third party or use the Information for marketing purposes unless you receive the User's express consent to do so.
1.2 Intellectual Property. "WSC Group, Inc.”, and “CrowdPicks.com," and all related logos (excluding logos and names for teams and leagues), products and services described in our website are either trademarks or registered trademarks of WSC Group, Inc. or its licensors. You may not copy, imitate or use them without WSC Group, Inc.'s prior written consent. In addition, all page headers, custom graphics, button icons, and scripts are service marks, trademarks, and/or trade dress of WSC Group, Inc. You may not copy, imitate, or use them without our prior written consent.
1.3 Assignment. You may not transfer or assign any rights or obligations you have under this Agreement without WSC Group, Inc.'s prior written consent. WSC Group, Inc. reserves the right to transfer or assign this Agreement or any right or obligation under this Agreement at any time.
1.4 Notices to You. You agree that WSC Group, Inc. may provide notice to you by posting it on our website, emailing it to the email address listed in your Account, or mailing it to the street address listed in your Account. Such notice shall be considered to be received by you within 24 hours of the time it is posted to our website or email to you unless we receive notice that the email was not delivered. You may access your transaction history and Balance by logging into your Account.
1.5 Program Tracking. It will be our responsibility to track page views to determine the allocation of funds to each eligible participant. We will try to prevent click fraud and may actively monitor participant activity. If we suspect a participant is engaging in click fraud we reserve the right to terminate your access to all or any part of the Website and/or Services at any time, with or without prior notice, and without liability to you.
2. Eligibility
2.1 Eligibility. To be eligible for our Revenue Sharing program, you must be at least 18 years old. You may only hold one registered account participating in the Revenue Sharing program.
2.2 Identity Authentication. You authorize WSC Group, Inc., directly or through third parties, to make any inquiries we consider necessary to validate your identity. This may include asking you for further information, requiring you to take steps to confirm ownership of your email address or financial instruments, and verifying your Information against third party databases or through other sources.
3. Getting Paid
3.1 Getting Paid. In order to get paid and have WSC Group, Inc. distribute your earned funds, you must be eligible and have a valid Paypal account. We will not distribute funds using any other process including checks or wire. If you cannot open a Paypal account you will not be able to participate in the Revenue Share program.
3.2 Taxes. It is your responsibility to determine what, if any, taxes apply to the payments you make or receive, and it is your responsibility to collect, report and remit the correct tax to the appropriate tax authority. WSC Group, Inc. is not responsible for determining whether taxes apply to your transaction, or for collecting, reporting or remitting any taxes arising from any transaction.
3.3 Payment Limits. If you have a Revenue Share credit, you may not receive more than $600.00 USD per year in funds without submitting a social security and other member details (name, address, etc.) so that we may meet our legal and financial obligations of providing you a 1099 form. If your social security does not match the name and address information provided to us by an independent third party service, we will disable your Revenue Share account and withhold your funds until updated and accurate information can be provided which does match.
3.4 Payment Review. Payment Review is a process by which WSC Group, Inc. reviews certain potentially high-risk transactions. If a payment is subject to Payment Review, WSC Group, Inc. will place a hold on the payment and provide notice to the member and delay payment. WSC Group, Inc. will conduct a review and either clear or reverse the payment. If the payment is cleared, WSC Group, Inc. will provide notice to the member.
3.5 Payment Currency. All payments will be made to members in US Dollars without exception.
3.6 Fees. All fees for transferring balances will be the responsibility of the participant and will not be covered by WSC Group, Inc. The current fees for transferring funds from CrowdPicks to you charged by Paypal, is 2% of withdrawn amount or $1.00, whichever is lower. This fee may change and it is the responsibility of the participant, through their relationship with Paypal, to understand current fee structure and future fee structure changes.
4. Account Balances
4.1 Balances. If you do hold a Balance, WSC Group, Inc. will hold your funds separate from its corporate funds, will not use your funds for its operating expenses or any other corporate purposes, and will not voluntarily make your funds available to its creditors in the event of bankruptcy.
4.2 Assignment of Interest to WSC Group, Inc. You agree that you will not receive interest or other earnings on the funds that WSC Group, Inc. handles as your agent.
5. Disabling Your Revenue Share
5.1 How to Disable Revenue Share. You may terminate your Revenue Share feature at any time by logging in to your Account, and sending and email from the CrowdPicks website (Contact Us link) or letter Upon receipt of the closure request, we will cancel any pending transactions and you will be sent any Balances you have remaining. You will be excluded from any future participation in the Revenue Share program but will be allowed to continue to participate in the CrowdPicks community. However, if you attempt to close your Account while we are conducting an investigation, we may hold your funds for up to 180 Days to protect WSC Group, Inc. or a third party against any risk.
6. Your Liability
6.1 Your Liability and Actions by WSC Group, Inc. If you engage in any restricted activities, as determined by our Terms of Use, we may take various actions to protect WSC Group, Inc., and our members. The actions we may take include, but are not limited to the following: a. We may close, suspend, or limit your access to your Account or the Services (such as limiting access to any of your Revenue Share feature, and your ability to make withdrawals, or edit the account) b. We may hold your funds for up to 180 Days if reasonably needed to determine if the account will be permanently closed and the funds forfeited. f. We may take legal action against you. WSC Group, Inc., in its sole discretion, reserves the right to terminate this Agreement, access to its website, or access to the Service for any reason and at any time upon notice to you and payment to you of any unrestricted funds held in custody for you.
6.2 Account Closure, Termination of Service, or Limited Account Access. If we close your Account or terminate your use of our Services for any reason, we will provide you with notice of our actions. If we limit access to your Account, we will provide you with notice of our actions and the opportunity to request restoration of access if appropriate.
7. Notification of Errors and/or Unauthorized Transactions
To notify us if you believe there has been or will be an error or unauthorized transaction on your Account, telephone WSC Group, Inc. Customer Service on unauthorized access issues at 402-505-7975, or for other issues email info@crowdpicks.com or write to WSC Group, Inc., Attn: Revenue Share Error, 6825 Pine St, Omaha, NE 68106. If you initially provide information to us via the telephone, we may require that you send your complaint or question in writing within 10 Business Days after the phone contact. We will advise you of the results of our investigation within 10 Business Days after we receive your notice. If we have made an error, we will correct it promptly. If we need more time, however, we may take up to 45 Days to investigate your complaint or question. If we decide that we need more time, we will provisionally re-credit your Account for the amount you think is in error within 10 Business Days after we receive your notice. If we discover a processing error, we will rectify the error. If the error resulted in your receiving less money than you were entitled to, WSC Group, Inc. will credit your Account for the difference. If the error results in you receiving more money than you were entitled to, WSC Group, Inc. may debit the extra funds from your WSC Group, Inc. Account.
8. Disputes with WSC Group, Inc.
8.1 Contact WSC Group, Inc. First. If a dispute arises between you and WSC Group, Inc., our goal is to learn about and address your concerns and, if we are unable to do so to your satisfaction, to provide you with a means of resolving the dispute quickly and equitably. Disputes between you and WSC Group, Inc. regarding our Services may be reported to Customer Service online (or telephone WSC Group, Inc. Customer Service on unauthorized access issues at 402-505-7975) via email to info@crowdpicks.com or write to WSC Group, Inc., Attn: Account Dispute, 6825 Pine St, Omaha, NE 68106.
8.2 Alternative Dispute Resolution. If you are unable to resolve your issue by working directly with us, WSC Group, Inc. will consider reasonable requests to resolve disputes through alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as mediation or binding arbitration as alternatives to litigation.
8.3 Limitations of Liability. IN NO EVENT SHALL WE, OUR PARENT, EMPLOYEES OR OUR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH OUR WEB SITE, OUR SERVICE, OR THIS AGREEMENT (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE). Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. OUR LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR PARENT, EMPLOYEES AND SUPPLIERS, TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE IS LIMITED TO THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF DIRECT DAMAGES. WSC Group, Inc. does not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to our Service, and operation of our site may be interfered with by numerous factors outside of our control. WSC Group, Inc. will make reasonable efforts to ensure that requests are processed in a timely fashion.
How do I use the Teams page?
For each sport we have provided a “splash” or entry page for accessing all the team pages for each sport. If you want to find information specific to a team then the best way to accomplish this is through the “Teams” tab in the center of the secondary navigation bar. All the teams will display on the page and can be sorted and viewed by letter (“Alpha Sort”) or by “Division”. Once a letter is selected the teams will display in alphabetical order; by school name for NCAA teams and by mascot name for Pro teams. Also note that you can access any team page by simply clicking on a team logo anywhere on the site.
How do I post Notes on Team and Game pages?
On both the Team and Game pages you will find a “Notes” module on the left side of the page. Simply select the “Add Message” link to post content. In the future, in order to post messages on the any team page’s public messages, you may have to meet some criteria such as 1. Have a CrowdScore of 70 or higher for that sport, or 2. have selected that team as one of your favorites. During Beta these restrictions will NOT be in place so for now, post away!
What is the CrowdScore?
The CrowdScore is our rating system that reflects your sports cred or knowledge level. We will track your results and calculate your CrowdScore along with an avatar that represents how good your predictions are for each sport that you make picks on. This avatar is your sports status symbol or badge, and gives you the sports cred that you always knew that you deserved. Your Trophy Room is where we display all these avatars along with stats and other special trophies where you (and everyone else) can see them. You can also see your own avatar for the active sport selected on the upper right of the site while you are logged in.
The CrowdScore, depending on the sport, may be composed of several categories including
a) The accuracy of your Win/Loss picks (W) - The ratio of correct Win picks to total picks displayed as a percentage
b) The accuracy of your Spread picks (ATS) - The ratio of correct Spread picks to total picks displayed as a percentage
c) The accuracy of your Over/Under picks (O/U) - The ratio of correct O/U picks to total picks displayed as a percentage
d) The accuracy of the score prediction - A measure of how close to the actual final score you are. If you pick the game score exactly as the result, you will obtain 100% for this category. NOTE: If you pick a score that is WAY OFF your CrowdScore will be penalized significantly!
e) How early you make your picks - Each sport will have a different threshold where the value of this category starts to decline. Once the threshold is reached you can no longer obtain 100% value and a linear devaluation will continue until game time. See the list below for pick time thresholds by sport.
Þ NFL & NCAAFB – 4 Days
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