ici blog

Aug 10 / 5:58am

New Voting Process for ici Award

by ici Team

Originally, the ici award allowed anonymous voting based on the voter's IP address which is normally a unique, static value for each workstation. The voting system stored the IP address when the vote is cast and prevented that voter from voting again for the same applicant in the same day.

We have discovered a flaw in this voting system. Some workstations are assigned dynamic IP addresses while other workstations share one IP address. The most common example of a dynamic IP address is a dial up service such as AOL. Anyone using such as service will be able to vote multiple time in a day for the same applicant.

In order to address this flaw, we will require all voters to sign in prior to voting.

Please be assured that although, going forward, registration will be required by voters for the ici Mobile App Award, you have not lost any of your previous votes. The current change -- requiring all voters to sign in as a registered ici user -- will prevent individuals with dynamic IP addresses to vote multiple times for the same applicant in a single day. We are doing everything possible to ensure a completely fair chance for all applicants, and registration is the best way to accomplish this. All votes received prior to this change in policy have been maintained.

Just to reiterate, all voters will be reminded to sign in before voting. Registering is a simple process that only requires a unique email address. As mentioned earlier, ici has a strick privacy policy; registration information is used by ici only to ensure the integrity of the voting process, so the email addresses will never be used for marketing purposes by ici or any other organization.

We apologize for any confusion this might cause. Our goal is to make the system as fair as possible for everyone.

Aug 5 / 10:12am

Add Sizzle to Your Mobile App Award Application

by ici Team

Are you applying for the ici Mobile App Award? Remember, the winner is determined by anonymous online votes. To give yourself the best chance to win, try the following:

Post the ici award widget on your web site and Facebook page (available on the 'Status' tab of your application - if you have trouble finding it, let us know!)

Send appeals to your Facebook and Twitter fans.
Create a short YouTube video to promote your entry, and link it to the ici voting page and your web site.
Post your application information, i.e. "Why Your Organization Deserves My Vote" in your blog or Facebook wall.
Include the award info in your newsletter distributions, and give your subscribers the vote page link to forward to their friends!

Oh, and a reminder: 87 days may seem a long way off, but if you are sitting on that entry remember the earlier you submit it, the better chance you have to get votes. (Your supporters can vote for you only once per day...)

Sample ici Award Widget

Use the widget code on the 'Status' tab of your application to add this widget to your web page. From this widget, your fans will link to the vote page.

Good luck, and remember we are here to answer any questions. Just e-mail award@icihere.com!

Aug 1 / 8:42pm

So Why Is ici Focusing on Arts and Culture?

by Joan Smith

In tough economic times, it is a sad reality that arts and culture are usually the first to hit the chopping block when government and foundations cut back on spending (never mind that any number of studies can show that arts funding spurs significant social and economic returns -- that's another discussion in itself). The cruel irony is that this economic pinch coincides with a time of exponential growth in consumer-level mobile technology -- technology that cultural organizations in particular could harness to enhance programming, services, and audience outreach. Audiences who are quickly adopting this technology are ready to be challenged and engaged in new ways, yet most arts organizations lack not only the money but the technical resources to keep up with this demand. In ici's early planning stages, it was clear in our discussions with art programmers, administrators, and marketers that there is no shortage of need for innovative technology -- the stumbling block is simple lack of resources.

Thus came the decision to shape ici with the needs of the nonprofit arts and cultural community in mind, and also to support this community with dedicated channels within the ici platform at no-cost -- no strings attached. The reward for ici is seeing our technology actualized at an optimum level by the most innovative users (early examples have included POST/Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2010 & 2011 and Philagrafika 2010). By helping creative organizations thrive and take advantage of exciting new technological possibilities, we are doing our part to promote the arts as a relevant -- and necessary -- component of a healthy society.