Answer:  Multivariate Testing (or MVT)

So what is it?  According to Wikipedia:

…multivariate testing is a process by which more than one component of a website may be tested in a live environment. It can be thought of in simple terms as numerous split tests or A/B tests performed on one page at the same time. Split tests and A/B tests are usually performed to determine the better of two content variations, multivariate testing can theoretically test the effectiveness of limitless combinations…In a nutshell, multivariate testing can be seen as allowing website visitors to vote with their clicks for which content they prefer and will stand the most chance of them proceeding to a defined goal.

Two Beaconfire staffers, Shiloh and Jo, recently won our Leadership & Innovation Award for their work on MVT, and I had the opportunity to sit down with them and find out more about it.

(more…)

Beaconfire has been honored to work with Special Olympics on their online holiday fundraising campaign this fall.

Basing our message on their new Be a Fan campaign and our design on elements of their soon-to-launch new Web site, our online campaigns and marketing team, led by executive sponsor Ali Cherry, worked to craft a compelling message supported by arresting visuals to encourage people to support the Special Olympics this holiday season.

Most BFWire readers are probably familiar with Special Olympics, whose mission is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition to more than 2.5 million people with intellectual disabilities in over 180 countries worldwide.

Working with Special Olympics on their holiday campaign has given us the opportunity to profile some of the remarkable athletes, coaches, and volunteers who benefit from and work with Special Olympics in the accompanying email appeals, which promote being a fan of unity, joy, spirit, and giving, and contributing to creating a world of acceptance, inclusion, and dignity for all people.

A few years ago, it seemed most of the new technology buzzwords were music to the web accessibility guru’s ears. Words like standards and XHTML compliance helped developers compose more accessible Web sites.

But what about this new generation: Web 2.0, AJAX, RIA? Well, to the web accessibility specialist, it’s like seventeen car alarms going off at once. With so many moving parts, how can screen readers and other assistive technologies keep up to ensure a user-friendly experience to those with disabilities?

Well, let the music play, because now we have ARIA.

(more…)

Beaconfire is proud and excited to announce the launch of our refreshed Web site. It’s been in the works for several months, and it’s finally ready for public consumption. Our last major redesign occurred about three years ago, and the site was looking a little dusty.

Some of the new site features include:

• An interactive Flash design portfolio
• Fun facts about the team members at Beaconfire
• Blog postings integrated across the various sections of the site
• New options to sort and filter our ever-expanding client list

Most Beaconfire staff members had a hand in working on the site at some point over the past few months. Rahul and Adebo led the tech work. Creative Director Eve put together the new look. IA whiz Amy created the new site architecture. Eric, Elizabeth and Ali worked together on a new tone and copy for the site. Tim and Marissa did the HTML cuts. Michael acted as the executive sponsor, and Lynn was our “client” and did all the user acceptance testing. And Jennifer managed the project and kept us all moving in and around a very busy fall for our clients.

Part Two of a Two-Part Series

In our last episode, we explored why the iPhone is the Devil, and the downfall of Western Civilization as we know it. Or is it?

Fortunately, in addition to the aforementioned tools of evil, there is a tremendous range of applications that can be used to better yourself or the world around you. In spite of having one of the many Solitaire applications, the noble stuff is what I like to show people when they ask if they can see my phone. And this category of apps continues to grow, as non-profits and other civic-minded folks realize the potential of the iPhone to help bring their message to the masses. There are even personal finance applications, which I have to imagine will advise one to stop wasting their money on virtual beer applications. (iBeer was $2.99, last I checked.) More of my amazing insights, below the fold. (more…)

Step 1: Take 6 interesting blogs about technology and non-profits

• NTEN Blog
• Gavin’s Digital Diner
• Confessions of a Non-Profit Executive Director
• Wild Apricot
• Michael Stein’s NON-PROFIT TECHNOLOGY BLOG
• Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology

Step 2: Aggregate them all via a Yahoo! Pipe

• The Pipe (feel free to clone)
• The Pipe’s RSS Output

Step 3: Consume the feed with Wordle

Step 4: Mess around with screenshots in Photoshop for 15 minutes because people still hate Java Applets