HAPPY MAY FAMILYSEARCH! We’ve made it to the most exciting month of the year. It’s warm outside, the trees are green, the flowers have bloomed, and BillionGraves has kicked off their favorite event of the year – The 3rd Annual Million More in May!
The BillionGraves Million More in May Competition is a friendly event geared towards adding 1 Million (yes, that’s a 1 with six zeros behind it!) unique images to the BillionGraves database from all over the world. In April alone, BillionGravers added over 414,000 unique images — without even trying! With your help, BillionGraves can easily reach their 1 million record goal, and make a lot of people looking for those records eternally grateful for the hard work. Imagine the millions of genealogist that will be helped by adding 1 million headstone records!
If you have one, pull out your calculator watches and lets look at how EASY reaching 1 million records really is!
- BillionGraves has over 100,000 Users
- Their goal is to reach 1,000,000 records
If only 1000 people go out and take only 1000 photos, they will easily hit the 1 million photos mark!
If every user takes only 10 images, they will hit the 1 million photos mark!
It is VERY easy to hit the 1 million record goal, but they NEED YOUR HELP TO DO IT!! Now, for those of you that really want to help and earn something while you are at it, BillionGraves is stepping it up this month with a fantastic prize!
(Let’s face it, everyone likes FREE stuff!)
As always, the greatest reward for your efforts comes from knowing that you are preserving invaluable genealogical records as well as making them readily available for family members to locate. Each record that is created is another record that is added to FamilySearch.org where it can be used by millions of people!
It’s not worth getting 1 million records if they aren’t done correctly!! PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE follow all the guidelines for taking the “PERFECT” picture! Need a refresher? Read this great article about the 7 ways to become the photographer that every genealogists loves!
However, they’ve got a little something that might help get you outside and into the cemeteries with your smartphones (Download the BillionGraves iOS App HERE, Download the BillionGraves Android App HERE) – BOTH ARE FREE!
If you upload 50,000 unique images, or transcribe 75,000 records, BillionGraves will give you a brand new, 16GB (4G-LTE capable) Apple iPad Mini! How’s that for an incentive?
That’s right, this isn’t a drawing for one iPad mini! EVERY user that uploads over 50,000 unique photos or transcribes 75,000 records will get their very own iPad mini, straight from Apple and unlocked to be compatible with any cell carrier.
A SPECIAL NOTE FROM BILLIONGRAVES:
Taking 50,000 photos and transcribing 75,000 records is no small feat! Only a small handful of people have ever achieved it, and they did it for free! This time, BillonGraves wants to show their contributors, who really go the extra mile, their gratitude! Not everyone will be able to reach 50,000. But then again, it wouldn’t such an accomplishment if it were easy!
BillionGraves wants to give an iPad away to everyone!! Unfortunately, BillionGraves is a FREE site and wants to keep it that way! Remember, their goal is to document the world’s cemeteries and make it available to anyone and everyone for FREE!
They like to spice things up and give back as they can and will continue to do prizes and giveaways! So for anyone who wants to step up and be a part of a very small elite group of volunteers, this month’s prize is just for you!
A Helpful Tip
A great way to reach your goal is to grab your friends and head out to the cemetery as a group!
If everyone in the group logs their different devices into one account, your efforts will be combined, making it easier to hit your goal! Once you hit the 50,000 photo goal or 75,000 transcription goal, switch it up and combine efforts under another person in the group and earn multiple devices!
Note: Only one prize will be given per username, and will be shipped to the username the efforts are performed under.
Other Helpful Tips
- Register! It’s 100% free and 100% necessary if you’re going to participate in this competition. Like BillionGraves on Facebook! It’s simple to do and keeps you constantly up to date will all the new amazing things we are doing at BG! They are growing like crazy! So keep up with the great new features and follow them on Facebook!
- Make sure that you have the latest BillionGraves app. Check the iTunes App Store or Google Play for any updates for your device.
- Make it a habit. Go to the cemetery regularly—incorporate a local cemetery into your daily walk or bike ride, and snap some pictures along the way.
- A word of advice: don’t wait for Memorial Day. The decorations at the cemetery for that holiday actually make it MORE difficult to collect images—people have to transcribe the content, and flower arrangements and other decorations can easily obscure that important content.
- Contest begins May 1, 2014 and ends May 31, 2014 @ 12:00 am GMT (That’s 6 pm MST)
- For more information about contest rules, visit the BillionGraves blog article here.
