Giveaway Winner AND a Facebook Update

26SepApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

You remember how, last week, I talked about the kindness of knitters and crocheters? I told you about Mel’s request for handmade washcloths for Haiti and about how one member of our SpaceCadet community was so generous as to buy a Mauna Kea kit for us to give away? I found both of those things so incredibly inspiring — simple reminders that we have the power to use the smallest kindnesses to lift us out of our day-t0-day existence.

But if last week was inspirational, this week was just plain fun! I loved the response you guys gave to the washcloth appeal — sharing patterns, encouraging one another, and at least one person was so inspired she immediately knocked out a slew of washclothes (ten of them!).

And as for the Mauna Kea giveaway… you guys went NUTS! We had a ton of entries, and reading through your comments on what you like about the pattern was not only incredibly fun but actually really helpful and informative for both Mel and for me. Thank you all for participating!

Now I know you’re dying to find out who is getting the kit so, without further ado, let’s announce the Mauna Kea giveaway winner! It’s…

Luv2CUSmile

And her (or his) comment was,

“Love the story and that there are some people in our community who are just giving because they can and have a heart to do so.

Thx for the chance to you and to your anonymous donor.

This sweater is lovely with the defined sides following the torso shape. Love this and the blues it is shown in. Can wear with jeans, slacks or a skirt!”

I couldn’t agree more! And it’s a sentiment that was echoed again and again in the comments, so I think I speak for everyone when I say how grateful we are for the generosity of our wonderful anonymous sponsor. Really, just such a cool thing to do!

Luv2CUSmile, please send an email with your name and postal address to info(at)spacecadetcreations(dot)com, and we’ll get you on the dyeing list for your Mauna Kea kit!

Facebook Update

I just have to share this with you guys. You remember when I showed you this?

This is the power of likes and comments on Facebook posts. You can read the full story here, but the long and short is that when you don’t regularly like/comment/share someone’s Facebook posts, Facebook starts showing you their posts less (and less and less…). And when you do like/comment/share their posts, Facebook puts their posts more regularly into your timeline — and starts showing their posts to lots of other people too.

And here’s the proof… After that I wrote that blog post, tons of you started clicking like/comment/share a lot more often, and just look at what that did!

Isn’t that awesome?!? So you guys get to see more SpaceCadet updates in your timeline and, in turn, Facebook then shares SpaceCadet with lots of other people too. Everyone wins!

And that “share” button? That’s where the real power is. Check this one out — lots of “likes”, lots of comments, but it’s the sharing that made the different here:

But then…

But then… if the Knitty blog happens to pick up your post and happens to share it with all of their readers on their Facebook page, THIS happens…

And then your website immediately crashes! Which is, y’know, kind of awesome too.

But listen, isn’t it amazing how powerful those likes/comments/shares actually are? And there’s news this week that Facebook has tweaked its algorithm yet again, so that it pays even more close attention to which posts you interact with, to determine what to show you in your newsfeed… and what to leave out.

So if there are companies (or even friends) that seem to have fallen off your Facebook radar, make sure you take a moment to click something on every post they put out. It means you’ll see more news from the folks you love to hear about …and they’ll suddenly be just as blown away as I’ve been!

The Reason You Won’t See Me on Facebook

04SepJanuary 31, 2016 By Stephanie

Facebook is an amazing resource — a way for everyone to keep up with their friends’ news, family photos, hear about upcoming events… and maybe even look up an old boyfriend or two.

And it’s a great way for me to keep in contact with you. Not only can I share with you what we’re up to at the SpaceCadet studio (or just what I’m up to on a Saturday morning) but, unlike many other channels, Facebook gives you and me a wonderful opportunity to interact — to ask and answer questions, to have a conversation, for everyone to share thoughts as a community.

Where has SpaceCadet gone?

But maybe you haven’t seen so much of SpaceCadet in your Facebook stream lately? Maybe you think I’ve gone quiet? Maybe we’re not up to much lately?

Nope, the real reason you don’t see much of SpaceCadet any more is that Facebook recently changed its policies for business pages like ours. Whereas in the past, our posts used to show up in the news feed of everyone who liked our page, Facebook now shows our posts to only a tiny fraction of the folks who follow us.

Let me show you what I mean. The SpaceCadet page has over 1200 followers, but look at the number who got to see these recent posts:

200? 100?!? Sometimes it’s been as low as only 50! That’s hardly any of our followers, and it’s really disappointing when I want to share stuff with you guys but I know that only a few people are going to get to see it.

Now, the reason Facebook is doing this is that they want me to pay to “boost” my posts and to be honest, as a business person, I’m ok with Facebook wanting to make money. SpaceCadet has an advertising budget and I’m happy to spend it, but paying Facebook to “boost” every single thing I post is not really the best use of that budget, so I don’t do it very often.

Besides, if Facebook is a community, it feels a bit creepy to turn every comment I make into some kind of a paid advertisement. A lot of times, I’m just sharing cool stuff with you guys.

There’s an Easy (and Free) Solution!

BUT there is an better way for you to receive SpaceCadet posts again. I can’t increase the number of posts you see without paying for “boosting”, but YOU can pull our posts back into your news feed easily — and for free! All you have to do is start clicking “like” on our Facebook posts (or, even better, leave a comment or share the post). The more you interact with our posts, the more of our posts Facebook will share with you. That’s all you have to do — just start clicking “like”.

And it’s not just your timeline you’ll be affecting. When you click “like” and “share” or comment on a SpaceCadet post, everyone else gets to see more of what we’re up to as well. Want to see how powerful it is? Check this out…

When you click “like” or share and comment on my posts, you’ll begin getting all the latest SpaceCadet news in your timeline again (along with behind-the-scenes pictures from the studio and some random shots of my lunch or my WIPs…). And, y’know, I’ll be so excited to see you again! I love sharing all the cool stuff we’re working on each day — and I love it even more when I get to hear back from you about what I’ve posted.

So here, hop over to our Facebook page right now and just click “like” on a bunch of posts (or please, leave us a comment or share a couple of posts). And before you know it, SpaceCadet will be back on your Facebook radar again!

PS –I really do love the interaction that happens on Facebook, and so I’d love for SpaceCadet to have more followers. If you think something I’ve posted would interest your knit-friends on FB, I’d be really grateful if you’d share it with them by clicking “share” as well as “like”. Thank you for spreading the SpaceCadet love!

LAST CHANCE to enter for a $25 Gift Certificate!

24OctApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

The contest to win a $25 SpaceCadet Gift Certificate ends tonight, so — quick! — make sure you’re entered! All you have to do is go the SpaceCadet Creations Facebook page and click the “Like” button right at the top — and that’s it, you’re in with a chance!

After that, you can earn up to four additional entries by:

Share this contest with your friends on Facebook
Tweet a link to this contest on Twitter
Mention this contest in a post on Ravelry
Subscribe to this blog, if you haven’t already.

And then leaving a comment to let me know that you’ve done it.

Full details on how to enter can be found in this post here. Thanks for entering and GOOD LUCK!

The SpaceCadet’s Facebook Page — and Free Yarn!

11OctApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Facebook is where you catch up with your friends. And keep tabs on your workmates. And feed your curiousness about your old classmates… and maybe your old boyfriends (but, ermm… perhaps it’s best if you don’t look up old boyfriends — let those sleeping dogs lie).

And now, Facebook is also where you can keep up with everything to do with the SpaceCadet! The SpaceCadet Creations Facebook page is live at last and it’s filled with news, colours, fiber, and yarn, yarn, yarn. Is there anything better than that?

Well, yeah… there is. Free yarn is better! And so, to celebrate the launch of the SpaceCadet Facebook page, I’m giving away a $25 gift certificate to one lucky winner — and all you have to do to be entered is to like me. What, you already like me? Awwww, you’re so sweet! But, hey, let’s make it official: go to the SpaceCadet Facebook page and click on the “Like” button (see the big red arrow in the picture below). Everyone who clicks that button between now and Sunday 24 October will be entered to win!

(And if you’re already a fan and clicked that button, don’t worry — that just means you’re already entered!)

Once you’ve done that, I’m giving you four extra ways to earn additional entries:

Share this contest with your friends on Facebook
Tweet a link to this contest on Twitter
Mention this contest in a post on Ravelry
Subscribe to this blog, if you haven’t already.

And then leave a comment here to let me know and giving me your Twitter/Rav/Facebook name so I can tie it together.

So that’s five ways to enter — and the winner gets to pick $25 worth of SpaceCadet goodies to feed the fiber-addiction! Hey, who loves ya?

Small print: Contest begins on 11 October 2010 at 00.01am and ends 24 October 2010 at 11.59pm. All entries must be made during that time to be valid, with the exception that “Likes” made previous to the start date will be considered valid as well. All entrants will be verified and must complete the mandatory entry (that is, clicking the Like button on the SpaceCadet Creations Facebook page) before completing the ‘extra’ entries. Completion of ‘extra’ entries must be mentioned in a comment on this blog post to qualify, and comments must include the commenter’s Twitter or Ravelry name (as applicable). Invalid entries will be disqualified. Winner will be announced on this blog and must respond within 72 hours or we reserve the right to choose another winner. SpaceCadet Creations reserves the right to substitute prizes. Prizes cannot be redeemed for cash.