Megan sent me an e-mail Thursday night:

I wanna make our FB page even more kickin than it already is.

Like these:
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- State News
- Economist
- Mustang Daily

When I got into the office today Megan and I brainstormed. We wanted a linked image to our survey. We needed a "FAN US NOW" image like the New York Times. We needed a blurb about who we are. We wanted a way to share cool, creative, and interesting stories out there on the Web. We've added all this functionality.

We also wanted some things that good old HTML might not solve, like an auto-import for the photo of the week.

For now, we've revamped our Facebook presence and I for one think it's an improvement. What do you think?

Labels: facebook

We just found out that we are a Pacemaker Finalist again! This is the second year in a row that we have been a finalist, and we could not be more excited! This award is the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize for collegiate student media, so to be nominated for it is a HUGE honor!

Labels: pacemaker, razorback

We're proud to introduce a new Web marketing strategy for the Razorback called the "we do" campaign. We've placed these "we do" cards on campus to draw people to our site. We're placing them at Starbucks, the Union, and pretty much any place that students gather.

The cards have "do you remember..." and "we do" on the front. The back has our web address.

The questions on the cards include "do you remember the year the football team's train derailed on the way to a game?" and "do you remember the year UA changed its mascot to the razorback?"

Megan and I originally collaborated on the idea in late November. Now, it's coming to fruition. After putting out just a few cards, e-mails and comments poured in. And we had a problem: we'd lost the answers and they needed to be on the Web site ASAP!

So, we spent half a week pouring over yearbooks and checking the facts. The one that took the longest? "Do you remember the year students launched a rocket to rival Sputnik?"

I finally found the picture in 1958, page 50.

I then pushed the updates to our About page, using skills I learned from Chris Coyier at CSS-Tricks.

The idea was good, but we didn't thoroughly think it through. Throwing cards with questions out causes angry students wanting answers. I mean, who wouldn't like to know when President Nixon came to campus? Exactly.

Labels: cards, marketing, nixon, remember, sputnik

Hey everyone!

We are giving all UA students and faculty the chance to sound off on their Fayetteville Favorites!
What's the best way to ditch class?
Best late-night food stop? (T-bell anyone?)
What's the weirdest place you've ever called the Hogs? (Megan once called them in the wee hours of the morning in London...)

We want to know! We will publish the results in the 2009 Razorback yearbook, so be sure and make your voice heard!

You can find the survey on our Web site, yearbook.uark.edu or you can just go right to it with this link:
http://yearbook.uark.edu/survey.html

So go check it out, and then tell your friends to check it out! We can't wait to hear what you think!

Shannon and Megan

Labels: campus, Fayetteville, fayetteville favories, students, survey

We're currently at work on our next deadline, which includes some profiles of some very interesting people on campus. 

Labels: Bubba Hog, deadline, fans, yearbook

Hey everyone,
Sorry for the long silence, but we were out of school for almost a week and out of power as well! Fayetteville took quite a beating from Ice Storm 09, and we haven't been able to get out of our apartments, much less make it to school to work on our impending deadline.

A few words about the storm:
It hit Monday night, and the ice and snow is just now disappearing from most of the city. The ice was about an inch thick at some points on cars, trees, homes, sidewalks, etc. The majority of the damage though was from fallen trees. This is definitely the worst winter storm Fayetteville has ever seen, and the town looks like a war zone. Huge trees lost limbs like they were matchsticks, and giant trunks either split right down the middle, or just were completely uprooted from the weight of the ice on their branches. Whoa.
Our wonderful city crews have been out clearing debris, but there is still so much to be done, there's no telling when all the limbs and wreckage will be cleared. More than 38,000 are still without power, including our very own editor in chief, Shannon Sanders. She's going on Day Five with no electricity, heat, etc. And she's not very happy about it.

And in addition to knocking down trees, canceling classes for four days and stranding thousands without power, Ice Storm 09 took some serious chunks out of our plan for making this deadline. We have to send 72 pages ASAP, and we were already working on a tight schedule. Now we have lost a week of time in the office, our writers and photographers have had to push back interviews and photoshoots, and this week in addition to playing catchup, we will also have to take RSO group photos. Yikes!!

Oh, and we still have to design a freaking cover. No big deal.
So more to come, as the drama unfolds here at the Razorback. Also, check back soon for new Photos of the Week, and some great new Facebook pics of the ice and snow!

Labels: campus, damage, ice storm, weather, yearbook