facebook Andrew Mitchell has: 572 friends 11 photos 73 notes 72 wall posts 31 groups Check out my Facebook profile I set up a Facebook profile where I can post my pictures, videos and events and I want to add you as a friend so you can see it. First, you need to join Facebook! Once you join, you can also create your own profile. Thanks, Andrew Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=657320649&k=3YDU2552W66M5FBGYEV4Q4&r&v=2 This e-mail may contain promotional materials. If you do not wish to receive future commercial mailings from Facebook, please opt out. Facebook's offices are located at 156 University Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301.

or sooner.

We're back up.

For now at least.

Spank away.

oops! Linkspank is down.

Should be back online in the next 2-5 hours.

Sorry for the inconvenience!  

We are Extending the Contest!

We are Extending the Contest!

We're extending the iStuff Giveaway another couple of weeks. Win $10, $20, or a iPod Touch or iPhone 3G. Newcomers DO have a shot at the contest, especially if you spank lots of people and/or get friends to Join the Spank. To get started, just Add Contacts and get the Spank Button (which also works on the iPhone if you sync bookmarks via iTunes). You can spank your Facebook friends and email addresses even if they don't join. Happy Spanking!

LINKSPANK contest leaders are: jasonbice15, KidBaby, JO3L, maffu, HatemAmin, klr ... and you?

The LINKSPANK contest leaders are: jasonbice15, KidBaby, JO3L, maffu, HatemAmin, klr. That's in random order. You can check the scores at www.linkspank.com/contest.

The contest takes some steady spanking, that's it. Your friends don't even have to join for you to win points (though you get more points if they join). Just fill your address book, get the spank button, and get going.

You can do it buddy

If you lack motivation, check this spank:

Motivation Monday - 5 Balance Quotes

5 Reasons why Linkspank's iPhone app is the Best Ever

Apple has listed Linkspank's iPhone app on its directory of sweet iPhone apps and we are happy to announce the super-official launch of iSpank or Linkspank for iPhone.

The iPhone, Linkspank's iPhone app, and you, all have "sleek form factors"

So, this seems like a good time to present the top 5 Reasons why Linkspank's iPhone app is the Best Ever:


5. You can use it immediately. If you're not a spanker, you can enter as a guest. And if you are a spanker, you can log in with a password or get a login link emailed to you.

4. It's always new. Friends aren't spankers yet? Doesn't matter. You'll still find new, mind-blowing stuff on Linkspank. Scroll down the page to see dozens of other sources and categories to surf as well.

3. It's iPhone optimized. No flash on the iPhone = sad. iPhone optimized = happy. You can browse YouTube videos in a special category on the home page. You can even browse profiles, edit your own profile, and add new spanks....

2. Copy and Paste Problem is Solved. It's "pretty hard" to copy a web link on your iPhone, isn't it? Now, you can get the Spank Button on your desktop and sync it to your iPhone. Your world will change - you can share any page instantly and save it for yourself by clicking the Spank Button in your bookmarks.

1. Be Smart, Win Prizes. Linkspank is a smarter way to share your brilliant discoveries. Some very very modest spanking will win you a gift certificate on iTunes - and there are bigger prizes too ;-). Check the contest page.

Anyone can win in Ridiculous iStuff Giveaway

Anyone, including the past winners of anything, ever, can win iStuff in the currently running Ridiculous iStuff Giveaway.

Why? Because there are so many ways to win and it's so easy. We have enough prizes for old spankers and new spankers. Also, since you get points for bringing friends to the site, new spankers actually have an advantage in the contest if they recruit friends and spank emails.

See the contest page for scores and help pages.

Win Big (or Small) in the Ridiculous iStuff Giveaway

The Ridiculous iStuff Giveaway is running at www.linkspank.com/contest.

 

What you can win and how:

- iPhone 3G: via raffle or high score -

- iPod Touch: via raffle or high score -

- iTunes/Amazon gift certificate: recruit a couple friends -

 

Even your boss could do it.

 

www.linkspank.com/contest

An eloquent video explaining some points:

Picks: The Day the Internet Stood Still

Here are three picks for the day today. They have been published here using our new "publish spank" feature, which you can find by clicking "more actions" under a link.

Not the funniest South Park clip ever, but it has some solid moments.

If this video were on YouTube, it would probably be taken down already, due to the fact that South Park has released all its videos on www.southparkstudios.com

This video has been around since September but it's still good. When I see a video like this, I'm amazed that it has gotten 3 million views, but also that it has gotten *only* 3 million views. The reason, I think, is that sharing content is so inefficient - a problem that Linkspank is working on and is already the best thing ever for.

You can also find Super-Official Spank Picks on the Spankdroid's wall, just as and you can spanks on anyone's wall.

Inbox Management Feature: Mark all as Read / Delete All

In response to your requests, we've added a mini-feature that should help with Inbox management for those who occasionally get buried under spanks.

Look for these buttons at the bottom of your Inbox:
The first button will remove the "NEW" tag from all of the spanks and messages on that page. The second one will send all of the spanks and messages on that page to the trash.

Your feedback and suggestions improve everyone's spanking experience.

The Winner of the Hawaii Trip is...

The results of the Launch Contest are in. Thank you to everyone who has spanked or been spanked!


JO3L, our winner, will get the choice of his prize and joins the hall of Spankmasters. (You can see the all-time achievements of the community on the lifetime scores page, until the next contest starts).


JO3L

626 points

mcm

265 points

maren2000

255 points

djperry1973

156 points

DebbieK

134 points

J617UnderTheCity

88 points

We'll be having another contest soon, so stay tuned for your Monthly Spank and messages from the Spankdroid.

Who Will be the Next Spankmaster?

The contest is drawing to a close within the next 24 hours. Winners will be announced within the week, probably on Monday or so. The delay is partly for the purpose of suspense and partly so that quality ratings can adjust after the contest is concluded.

Then, one of the Top Six -- the "Top One" you might say -- can start planning his or her Hawaii trip.

Spanking can get you Everywhere.

This Top One will also receive the honorary title of Spankmaster, which has been bestowed on fewer than ten spankers to date. You become a Spankmaster by winning a contest.

Contest Standings and Tips for One Week Remaining!

The Current Top 6 to Go to Hawaii or Vegas

There is roughly a week left in the contest! Here are some tips.

1. Add emails and facebook contacts to your Address Book and spank them. You get points when they read your spanks and when they sign up.

2. Remember your Quality Rating - so far, the winner of the contest has usually also had the highest Quality Rating during the contest. Take note that the contest scores settle after the contest is done.

3. You can get Personalized Contest Advice so check it out!

4. Can YOU win? Honestly? If you import, invite, and diligently invite a bunch of contacts, you could. But the longer you wait to start, the better you'll have to be :-).

New Features: Publish your Linkspank Wall, Read your Inbox in iGoogle, and RSS feeds for walls

Today we're trying some new publishing features to help you share Linkspank with us, and to stay connected yourself to the Spank at all times.

Publish your Linkspank Wall on MySpace or your Blog

You can get this widget and publish it on MySpace, your blog,
or anywhere you can paste a code

Read your Linkspank Inbox in iGoogle

Add your Linkspank Inbox to your iGoogle or feed reader

Follow an individual's wall, or all your friends' walls, via RSS feeds

Finally, you can follow your favorite friends' spanking, or the spanking of people you're not friends with, via RSS, if you do that sort of thing. Check our publishing tools page for more information.

These features are new, so let us know what you think. Hopefully your face will be melting off with excitement.

No Friends? You can still go to Hawaii

Linkspank is not about collecting friends -- it's about communicating with them.

That's why you can spank email addresses or Facebook friends, and they can read your spanks just by clicking. (Email addresses can read in one click; facebook friends have to add the Linkspank app once.) And you get points for these spanks.

What does it mean? It means you can spank your friends, even if they aren't spankers yet. And you'll get points, and if you're good you may have a shot at Hawaii. And if your spankees happen to join the spank, you'll get more points still.

Get your Content Featured on Linkspank TV

We've got a 100% new episode of Linkspank TV coming up. The last episode was awesome, but this episode is going to rip the arms off of the last episode and use them as chopsticks to eat it.

Watch the last episode.

If you are a blogger, Internet TV star, comedian, stuntman, pro wrestler, clown or the next Tucker Max, you may want to consider spanking your materials on Linkspank, and getting your friends to spank those materials onward. Because the best of the best recent spanks will be featured on Linkspank TV. And of course, your spanking effort could well set you on the way to a free trip to Hawaii. Thank you.

Be Friends with Elaine

Elaine truly wants you to be her friend.



www.linkspank.com/elaine

Then you can spank each other. If only all friendships were this simple.

Don't know what a Spank is?

If you don't know what a spank is, or how to spank, check out our new orientation page:

www.linkspank.com/orientation

Which you can also find as "Orientation" under the "More" menu on the site.

We are constantly working on making the beautiful and delicate art of spanking as clear to newcomers as we can, with a minimum of effort required (since we are not here to work after all). Hopefully this is a step up. And if you have confused spank friends, pass it on... thank you.

Contest is Wide Open

Here are the current Top 6 for Hawaii:

The contest is still just getting started and it's anyone's game. If you like surfing on the web, and wouldn't mind surfing in Hawaii, you should strongly consider getting your spank on. Check http://www.linkspank.com/contest

Part of the beauty in this contest is that you can win either competitively or by reaching certain point levels.

If you still don't know what a spank is, or you generally feel lost, check our Orientation Page. We are working on a new version of that page, which you may find more educational for spanking.

Contest Standings for March 1

Here are the current Top 6:


This contest is still WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE open.

If you're new, you can get 30 points by completing your profile.

How to Win the Hawaii trip and other Questions Answered

Here are the current Top 6 in the contest to go to Hawaii or Vegas:

And now, some FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Try yelling "FAQ". It sounds pretty cool.

Q: How do I Win? What do I have to do?
A: invite Friends, and Spank. Note: If your recruits use Linkspank a lot, you get more points for them. Another note: you can get points for friends you spank, even if they don’t join. Either way, you want to keep a good Quality Rating.

Q: What if I don’t know how to spank?
A: In that case, check the Orientation Page and the How to Spank page. After you do those you should know what a spank is. Otherwise, contact us.

Q: Can I play if I have no friends on the spank?
A: Yep. You get points for spanking emails and facebook friends. And when friends join you get extra points.

Q: I just joined and I have no friends. Do I really have a chance to be number on in the contest?
A: Honestly, yes. New spankers arguably have an edge, because the points they get for recruiting friends can count during the contest. And the points you get for spanks tend to spike suddenly after an initial dull period. It is quite true that you can take the contest, especially if you get moving in the first week or two.

Q: When does my score update?
A: “Periodically,” about once a day. You can update it yourself by visiting your Score Tracker. You can also see your personal Contest Advisor on whether you have a chance to enter the Top 6 and be in striking distance of Hawaii or Vegas.

Q: Can people not in the US win a Hawaii trip?
A: We’ll give the prize to people anywhere, as long as we can figure out how to buy you your ticket. If you are not in the U.S., we’ll arrange for a trip that has the same value as the Hawaii trip… e.g., if you’re in Japan, we won’t fly you to Hawaii but to a comparably awesome place. For people living everywhere, we can’t guarantee exactly what your prize will be, but we are enthusiastic to give you a bitchin prize.

Q: I’ll win an iPhone or a Wii if I get 2000 points, but I have 2 points right now. Is it really possible to win those things?
A: It’s hard but yes. You’re going to have to bring in friends, spank often, and be skilled. The point levels are based on the performance of spankers in previous contests, changes we’ve made to the point algorithm, and the length of the contest. Sure enough, winning those prizes will be difficult, but we think it’s possible. The point system is extremely scientific and we are always striving to make it as fair as possible. Also, do take note that the point system is a little counter-intuitive and your points will jump up after a bit of spanking.

If you’re having any other problems, confusion, questions, or philosophical insights, just contact us.

Unleash the Tidal Spank

Let us hereby declare the public launch of Linkspank: we exist, and the world should know about it. Word was leaked by Mashable last night; we'll have many exciting launch-type events and communications coming up.

What does it really mean that we are "launched"? Well, for one thing it means the contest has begun. You'll see that there is lots of stuff to win, and different ways to do it. More details on that in the coming days.

Get spanking, winning, laughing, crying, whatever.

Customer Service via IM

I don't look very much like this
but I have a similar enthusiasm for customer service

Happy Monday. In an experiment which may last 10 seconds, but who knows, spankers who have questions about the site, suggestions, or problems, can now reach our massive staff of hundreds of customer service employees by IM "linkspank" on google talk, yahoo, aol, or msn.

We won't be on IM all the time... maybe not even often. But if you happen to see us and you have a question, reach out!

(If we later unfriend you, it's because the service worked "too well" and we couldn't handle the volume.)

Carry on.

Spankathon being merged with Contests going forward

Dear Spankers -

The Win a Wii / Spankathon initiative has been popular - we've given away Nintendo Wiis to spankers, and there are still some pledgers who are on the way to win.

Starting now, we're not allowing any new Spankathon pledges. We're going to build this concept into the next contest, to make things a bit simpler.

To all those who have made pledges - you can still complete them and get your prizes, of course.

We are still continuing our great tradition of awarding prizes for skilled procrastination.

Do you know about our Sexy Map Feature?

During the calm before the storm that will be our next contest, we thought we'd point out a sexy, relatively secret feature of Linkspank: the maps.

At any spank, you can click "menu" and then "map for this link":

In the menu: see where it says, "map for this link"?

If you're interested in the history of a link, you can click it and go to a map:

Sexy

Suggestion: hover your mouse over "Watch this Link Spread" and then click "From the First Person".

It's a "young" feature and we hope later to make it easier to use and add the ability to do more with it.

What do you think? Damn sexy?

Contest Slightly Delayed Due to Insane Awesomeness

Spankers,

Our Launch and Launch Contest are slightly delayed, not due to any problem but rather an unmanageable abundance of procrastination-related awesomeness that we are preparing for you.

Stay tuned, it should be starting "very soon".

If you don't have your contest strategy down yet, check out the Orientation Training Checklist to become proficient and ready to go after Hawaii.

Schedule Hawaii for Monday

The next contest (I know it's been a while) is likely to begin Monday, or slightly earlier. The prize will probably be a trip to Hawaii for 2 or Vegas for 4, your choice. Giving away a Hawaii trip last time was too fun for us not to do it again!

This is where skilled procrastination can get You

To keep everyone in the game, we will have two divisions AND some of our previous winners will be exempted from winning this time.

This contest, as often, we will make slight changes to our points/score magic algorithm. Everything you've read in the help pages and know from experience will still be true...just the "magic" part of the magic algorithm will be a little different. Just part of what we do to make sure that good spanking is rewarded!

If you're new to our contests, here are some tips to get started:

Be friends with Spankdroid to get contest alerts.

Check out the contest page.

Read about how to win prizes.

What does the Facebook app do exactly?

Our facebook app has some new added features and awesomeness. Here's what you can do with it:

* Join the spank in one click, using your facebook info (first name, last name, location, and your friends' names)

* Log in to linkspank via facebook. So, you don't have to remember or know your linkspank login (or even have one). We don't see your facebook login - facebook takes care of logging you in.

* Spank your facebook friends. You can send spanks to your facebook friends. They appear in your address book in Linkspank. When you spank 'em, they get a notification. Then they can click through to get to their Linkspank inbox.

* Some other little stuff - your Linkspank Wall of recently spanked links can be displayed on your facebook app and so forth.

The fastest way of sharing any link, with facebook friends, emails, and/or spankers - is and forever will be to use the QuickSpank button.

The linkspank app "loads" your facebook friends. This process is nothing more than what any facebook app does when you invite your friends to add the application, or you choose who to give a beer to or dropkick or do whatever you're doing with the app - we're just pulling up your friends' names and pics so you can select them.

By the way, we don't try to get your friends' contact information, like their emails or anything of the sort (this is not allowed by facebook although some other sites have tried it recently).

Happy Spanking!

New Feature: Save Groups of Recipients with a private nickname

We are testing a small but much-requested feature: now, when you are spanking some contacts, you can save them under a single name -- for example, "My Best Friends" -- and then spanks those contacts in the future with the click of a little button.

See those black buttons? Ultra-fast spank nicknames,
that you can save as you spank by checking that little box under the recipients
and picking a name

It's just another way that we try to make Linkspank not only ridiculously fun, but also ridiculously convenient. Spank your friends faster than ever - by email address, facebook, or at a spanky profile.

We are testing and improving this feature, so let us know what you think. After all, this feature was your idea.

A Memo from Elaine

Just released are four instructional videos as part of our new "Dear Elaine" series. We'll be incorporating them into the New Spanker Orientation process.

By the way, you can find Elaine, our host of Linkspank TV, at www.linkspank.com/elaine. She likes having lots of Spank Friends so her profile and add her!

How to Spank


How to Spank ALL your friends


How to Win Stuff


How to Win a Wii

Spank your Facebook Friends

You've poked them. Now it's time to spank them.

Your life gets cluttered easily, and that includes your Facebook. Linkspank is helping to increase the fun AND reduce the clutter. It sounds impossible...but it is the truth.

You can now spank any of your Facebook friends, and they can join the spank automatically in one click.

Once you've added the Linkspank application in facebook, you can start typing their names and spank them immediately. (They also appear in your Address Book.)

Start typing a friend's name and you can spank them in facebook

If you have previously added the Linkspank app, try logging into Linkspank via facebook and this should make sure your Facebook contacts are imported.

Your facebook spankees receive your spanks as a notification:

Your spankees can pick up the Spank with minimal effort.

Give it a whirl and let us know what you think. With the stuff managed in Linkspank accounts, and with no need to create a new profile, your conscience can be clear as you spank the crap out of your friends.

When is the Next Contest?

Soon! Probably to begin in January.

Log in, Join, Invite Friends to the Spank via Facebook

We're testing some new features where you can log in to Linkspank through facebook, you can Join the Spank with one click using your Facebook information, and you can invite your Facebook friends to Join the Spank.

If you're a Spanker, you can help in two ways:

1. From the home page, try logging in via facebook
2. Click under "invite friends" to invite a few facebook friends, and ask them how it worked for them!

Let us know how it works so we can continue our vein attempts to satisfy everyone.

Coming soon: the ability to spank facebook friends who haven't joined yet.

Winners of the Holiday Contest.

The Holiday Contest has two winners - MrZach in the Eastern Division, and KidBaby, in the Western Divisions.

They each can choose from an iPod Touch, an iPhone, a Bose SoundDock, a Roomba, a KitchenAid Mixer, a TomTom GPS, or a Zappos gift certificate.

Splitting the contest made it a pretty wide-open game. Really our baby site could have done fine with one division but we are getting our technology ready for big multi-divisional contests coming soon.

Final Standings: Eastern Division



Final Standings: Western Division


Since MrZach has won twice now we'll probably take him out of the running, at least temporarily, with maybe the same treatment for KidBaby.

Every one else in the Top 6 will get a spanky T-shirt (send us your address), and also a Point Certificate that they can play in a future contest to add points to their contest score instantly to win a future grand prize. The Point Certificates will have big face values to help those #2's and #3's move into number one :-).

Thanks everyone for being such a great spanker!

Is your Quality Rating Insane?

During the contest, some people reported insane behavior in their quality rating. Specifically, their quality rating shot up, giving them a massive score.

This was not an error. It happened for two reasons. First, remember (due to recent changes) you now have a separate Quality Rating for each Contest. That quality rating isn't based on your whole lifetime of spanking, so it can change more easily than the lifetime quality rating can.

In particular, it's possible for your quality rating to go up or down when a bunch of people visit linkspank and read or don't read your spanks to them.

Second, the quality rating is VERY influential in calculating your score. It is designed this way to make sure that people's inboxes don't get clogged with an excess of unread spanks.

We change our algorithms from time to time. It's part of our mission to build the ultimate, most efficient procrastination machine ever. We don't change our algorithms during any contest though (that would hardly be fair).

For general info, see how to keep a high quality rating.

Get Paid to Procrastinate

An experiment:

"We are hiring Researchers to add one quick step to their daily online browsing by "spanking" a link, up to once per day. It takes just a moment and we give you at least $5.

Honestly, this is a mindblowingly easy way to get a small amount of cash each day for doing something that you already do.

If you're good at it, there may be further opportunities and even a chance to get hired as a Full-Time Procrastinator. And would that not be the best job imaginable?

For more information see http://www.linkspank.com/researcher

or contact us at http://www.linkspank.com/index.php?page=contactus

Thanks for your interest."

Currently, this position is only open to people who are Level 1 or lower at as of the time of this post (or people who haven't joined the spank). So pass it to your friends :-).

Tips: How to End a Contest

The current contest is almost over. Here are some tips on how to maximize your points (and chances of winning something) as a contest draws to a close.

Send a few Spanks on the last day. Sending a few Spanks before the contest is out can get you some extra points. How many spanks is the right amount? For most people, 3 spanks seems to be the magic number. Just make 'em good ones. :-)

Remember that your quality rating will "settle" over the next few days. People who forget this send an avalanche of spanks at the end of the contest. You totally have the right to do this, but your quality rating will almost certainly suffer, and hence your points as well.

Get friends to Join the Spank. You may have sluggy friends who haven't tried out the Spank yet. Explaining to these people that there is a deadline for their being a friend with you will motivate them... and can get you lots of extra points.

Hope that's helpful. Not that the Spank is just about contests. Tomorrow we'll share plans for new stuff coming soon on Linkspank.

Is that Nintendo Wii for today, or tomorrow?

Dear Linkspankers, another Nintendo Wii has been won through the Spankathon. That brings the total number of Wii winners so far to 2. Both of these glorious individuals will be actually receiving their Wiis in the next week or so.

Someone got their Wii in one week... will you?

Which brings us to an interesting factoid: we currently have a third, unclaimed, Wii in our office. What does this mean? It means that

if you are the next spanker to complete a pledge, you will receive your Wii pretty much immediately.

There are a couple days of red tape, but no ordering, waiting, or acting like a desperate parent shopping during the Christmas season for you!