If for some reason you didn't know, I was in a contest that ended the other day (in my favour). The official announcement hasn't even been made yet. This is about the single link that helped me make it to the top of the leaderboard.

I actually decided on the day the contest started that this could be a pretty interesting social experiment (and that way, even if I lost, I would still have something to talk about). So, bit.ly/voteforluke is now the most clicked link I've ever posted, and I now have some interesting facts about it that I think are pretty cool to share. The link's been shared using traditional forms of media (newspaper, radio, and I also include email) as well as new forms (Facebook, Twitter). So, what was the result? That little link was clicked a total of 5,586 times over 28 days. That's 199.5 times per day. Just note - if someone went to the YPG page itself, it wouldn't have been included in that number, so really the page could've been visited many more times. This look at the numbers isn't anything overly analyzed for now, but I thought I'd share it with you anyways.

• Out of the 5,586 clicks, 3,335 of them were from Canada, 1318 were from the US, 147 from the UK, 115 from Germany, 47 from Australia, 25 from France, 21 from Turkey, 22 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, 9 from Egypt, 9 from Russia, 9 from Brazil, 9 from Ireland, 8 from Mexico and then 498 from other countries (many many many countries). Pretty cool, huh? I guess it pays to have from friends around the world. You're probably able to tell which ones you invited to vote as well.

The Locations (just right click and open in a new window to see it clearly):

• So, how did people hear about the link? 2,220 came directly to the site, either via Email or typing it into their browser after hearing it on the radio or reading it in a newspaper, 2128 clicks came from Facebook, and 695 came from Twitter. The next closest was an interesting place, TweetDeck, a Twitter desktop application. It surprised me at how many clicks came from only this app! The rest came from a huge variety of other places. Forums, websites, blog posts, Google, etc. 

• The most clicks came in on February 28th, with 1,719 and the 27th, with 699 clicks. You can see the graph below for yourself. Lulls came in the middle of the month, which makes sense considering not a whole lot of promoting was done during this time.

The Timeline (right click and open in new window to see it more clearly):

• Facebook is pretty interesting to look at as well. If you posted the link to your Facebook status, I can see exactly how many people clicked it from your profile. There were literally hundreds of people that posted the link in their statuses. Most people don't visit profiles to click the links though - they just click on the home page, so many people that posted it in their status may not appear on the summary. This is important, because it shows that people don't really pay a whole lot of attention to a person's personal profile. I suppose when friends visit Facebook, they see what's on the News Feed, then head to what they actually came to Facebook to do.

• The hardest data to track is when people typed in the link themselves. I was on total of 3 radio stations (more than once each time) as well as in 4 newspapers. None of these were paid advertising so comparing it to an ad in a newspaper is difficult to do.

• Bit.ly also gives you access to which Twitter accounts tweeted about the link. Unfortunately bit.ly doesn't go back all the way to February 1st, so I don't know how many times it was Tweeted, but it was around 50 times a week.

So, what does it mean? Well, in my case, social media clearly had the edge in my winning this contest, but only by about 100 clicks. That being said, the difference between traditional media 'clicks' and social media 'clicks' is almost too small to compare.

Bottom line: I definitely needed both to win this contest. Neither one alone would've won me a darn thing, so thank goodness I know how to use both.

See, interesting things can come of something that was supposed to only be the 'vessel' to the contest.

-Luke

Ps - if you want to see the data in it's full glory - you can have a look at all the stats here: bit.ly/info/bH2tmR It keeps going up, by pretty big numbers even though it ended!

You are such an amazing person (yes, you). You voted, you invited, you shared. Some of you did much much more than that. For an entire month. That's an incredibly long time. I'm so lucky to have people in my life that care this much - it's amazing! 

If you go to the site (at this moment) you'll see a "The winner will be annouced soon" sign! I'm hoping that changes soon to my picture. ;)

Last night my hopes were incredibly low. I didn't think this was going to happen. Then this morning I was down by about 200 votes. And then, a wonderful broadcaster from Toronto named Amber MacArthur Twittered ( http://twitter.com/ambermac ) the link and asked for people to check it out. That one link got me over the top, and with the last minute support of others today, up by almost 350 votes before the contest closed.

If it wasn't for the extra above-and-beyond support of a few people (and businesses), this would have never happened. If you think I've left someone out, please tell me! I'd hate to do that. These people have been working for 28 straight days to help.

My mom Cindy, Kristin Clancy, Alyssa Song, Kara Nagel, Holly Xu, Amber MacArthur, Chantal Clarke, Lindsay Trice, Bruce County, Country 93, 101.7 The One, 98.7 The Beach, Light Stalking, The Walkerton Herald Times, The Post, The Mildmay Town Crier & The Mantel.

You know why you're on this list. You helped an immense amount (by vote or supporting me every day) & deserve something special.

Also, I need to thank all of the people I live with and see every day. This is all they've been hearing about for an entire month now, and they somehow remained my friends.

So, it's my birthday tomorrow. And, as one person that voted noted on Facebook "This is like an awesome personal gift - I like gifts I give myself the best." It's so true. All of you have given me this amazing present - the best gift ever. It's more than just the camera too. It's how much you all care, it's so evident, and I would do the same for you in a heartbeat. I'm sending all of you giant virtual hugs (and real ones if I see you in person too!).

You're all absolutely incredible. Have an amazing night & again, Thank You. Every post, every vote counted, and it was a collaboration of many things that helped turn this dream into a reality.

With all my heart,

-Luke

Hello everyone,

First, as I've said in every note, thank you so much for your amazing support. I don't know what I'd do without you, and I certainly wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for all of your posting, nagging, voting and loving.

I really hope - that 22 hours from now - I can send you a message of joy and excitement - but at this point I'm not banking on it. I'm a reasonable person and I truly believe everything happens for a reason. Perhaps I'll have a miracle by tomorrow night, but perhaps I won't.

The other competitors are truly great people (I've talked with a few) and their photography is absolutely beautiful as well. Any one of them deserves to win, and I don't want to be bitter about anything.

Again, thank you so much. Without you, I would be nothing.

-Luke

WHAT A WEEK!

First, thank you all so much for getting me this far. You are what's gotten me to where I am now, and for that I am extremely grateful.

I'm currently behind by about 100 votes, and growing in distance. Don't worry yet though, I've still got a few things up my sleeve (and I know some of you do too). 

**One thing I ask this week is for you to send emails. Email is still a great way to contact people that don't often respond to Facebook requests, and asking people to forward is great (my Mom is fluent is email forwarding). If you'd like me to forward what I've already been sending around to you, I'll gladly do so. Just send me your email!

So, for now, 

Thank you... I'll get back to you in a week (perhaps before) with another update on how things are going. I was going to say 'don't disappoint me'... but you never could!

And... if for some reason... http://bit.ly/voteforluke

-Luke

_____________________


The last thing I'd like to share with you is some hating on the picture and those who have been sharing it that I've received... and I'd like to share my response as well. I hope you agree. Enjoy.

"Julie H":

Came here because of the spamming in a community trying to get votes. This isn’t such a great photo, first off it’s crooked. The horizon isn’t horizontal and that is distracting. There are other things that could be better and the subject is rather common. I just had to say something because this contest isn’t fair to all people who entered.

My Response:

Thanks everyone for your continued support. I really don't know what I would do without you.

And to Julie (and anyone else interested),

I didn't choose this photo to be in the contest, I didn't even enter myself. It was taken candidly on a walk in Bruce County and later uploaded to my Flickr account to share with others. Perhaps if I had actually chosen to enter the contest I may have even chosen a different photo, or at the very least straightened this one. At the same time I think perhaps it's imperfections are why so many people from my community can connect with it, because it's not perfect. Bruce County isn't perfectly symmetrical and just sandy beaches everywhere (though there are very many). It's a mixture and variety of fantastic things that combine to create something much more than perfect.

To me, that's what this contest is about. Bringing communities together to help celebrate something fantastic and bring back memories of a place so many people have enjoyed and our hope for it's continued enjoyment in the future. I don't have a professional camera, this was taken with a simple (cheap) point & shoot. I have never strived to be a photographer, simply someone that loves to share things that I like, I know of and find with the people I love (and to meet new people as well). Perhaps there is an area you know of in your community with the same qualities that, upon further inspection has much more meaning and value to you in a photograph than many thousands of other people would see.

To me, this is not a photography contest, it's a way for great communities to express their love and pride for where they live their lives. And to have friends, family and community members that will share this photo with others (even strangers like you) to help us achieve a goal? I think that's pretty fantastic.

Thanks,

-Luke

(We know the link doesn't work yet. For now, click here to vote.)