Feedback on FindYourArtSchool.com? (This spam=Banned)

[FYAS]

Hi,

I'm from "findyourartschool" (ie SPAM) the community here seems very helpful. Our goal is to become a great resource for potential students to find, research, request info from art schools that fit their needs.

If you have time to take a look at our site and provide general or specific feedback, we would be extremely grateful. Ultimately, we want to create the best product we can.

Some areas we could use feedback in are:

Design/Look and Feel
School Information
Search Capabilities
Navigation
Articles/Content
Submission Process


Thanks in advance!

[moroi]

You don't have any of the most prominent art schools listed. Just the same ones that advertise everywhere...

[Elwell]

You don't have any of the most prominent art schools listed. Just the same ones that advertise everywhere...

Sample search...
Degree: All
Program: All
Location/State: New York
"NO ART SCHOOLS MATCH YOUR CRITERIA"

Hmmmm.

[Storyboard Dave]

No offense but I was a little dubious as well. There are some VERY prominent art schools that have graduated some very successful people in the business and yet their schools are nowhere to be found.

Even just on reputation alone, where's Pratt, Art Center, RISD, CCAD, Otis, CalArts, CCS, etc.?

So unless something is seriously screwy on the search engine, it seems more of an advertisement for the schools who bought space there.

[Anuran]

Just like Elwell, I checked for a combination of criteria in Pennsylvania and ultimately tried the "any" options; none of those yielded any results. The search engine doesn't work.

[Elwell]

I suspect it's working just fine...

[FYAS]

I appreciate the constructive criticism. We definitely need it to get an ideas on what areas to focus on first.

We are working hard to get as many schools listed as possible, but it takes time to be able to submit to their databases in an automated fashion. That will definitely improve over time, hopefully in the very near future. So that is an issue we'll have to work hard on.

What about the usability, navigation, etc?

Speaking to the lack of schools, maybe we should list schools and send information manually just to have a better experience for our users.

Again, thanks for the feedback!

[Tomy24]

LOL! This website is a joke! You're not here to help prospective art students.

They designed the website and list all those crappy art schools and get commissions off every new recruit that apply through the website.

[WhizBang]

I appreciate the constructive criticism. We definitely need it to get an ideas on what areas to focus on first.

We are working hard to get as many schools listed as possible, but it takes time to be able to submit to their databases in an automated fashion. That will definitely improve over time, hopefully in the very near future. So that is an issue we'll have to work hard on.

What about the usability, navigation, etc?

Speaking to the lack of schools, maybe we should list schools and send information manually just to have a better experience for our users.

Again, thanks for the feedback!

Just be honest with us. If the site was truly about listing art schools, I think you guys wouldn't have been so naive to list just those few. Everyone knows there are legit major art schools in California & New York- for you guys not to list them wasn't an error in launching the site, it was deliberate.

It'd be like listing major league baseball teams and forgetting teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, and Red Sox. It's too obvious.

:nohope: :nohope: :nohope:

[Storyboard Dave]

What's also ironic is that it lists ConceptArt.org as a resource under its art school ranking article.

So unless FYAS can adequately explain just what the real scoop is behind their website and regain any shred of legitimacy, I'd be yanking the ConceptArt.org link off of their site immediately.

Not that I take any delight in it but we've seem to have uncovered a fraudulent website for promoting all sorts of art schools. Instead it seems like a thinly veiled attempt to pimp their own schools.

[Storyboard Dave]

Also if I were one of those schools listed and being promoted on their site, I'd be wanting my good name back.

[Jason Manley]

findyourartschool is apparently using spammers based in beijing china, as they have fake users registered to conceptart.org in order to trick people into going to their links, setting up question threads like:

member X "How can I find an art school"
member Y "That's easy, check out this site!"
member X "your'e awesome!


It is my personal advice to avoid this company. They will only end up causing tuition to rise as they try to middleman art students and the schools they want to go to. My guess is they only list schools who agree to give them a cut of your tuition as a finders fee.

[Jason Manley]

3 users banned. Web link censored. Spam will not be tolerated don't ya know!


:mod:

The below info is straight from their website. Apparently all those years of experience led to their being CLUELESS about online communities.


"Our Approach

Our management team boasts over thirty years of combined internet marketing experience that ranges from paid-per-click advertising to electronic direct marketing. We leverage proprietary technology to optimize and qualify leads based on search behavior, questionnaires and in-site tracking. In short, our approach is twofold — we provide partners with the hottest leads possible while ensuring that students only receive information from schools that best fit their needs, interests and career goals.
Who's Behind Find Your Art School.com

As mentioned above, Find Your Art School.com is composed of a talented staff with years of online marketing experience. However, the team also includes two former art school students who helped shape Find Your Art School.com based on their experiences as high school students seeking expert guidance. While lead generation is the main benefit for our partners, our main concern still remains fulfilling the needs of each and every student that visits our site."

[Cavematty]

It's a bit sad in the context of a community like this, striving so hard to enrich the learning experience for all.
I guess 'business ethics' and 'china' are hardly synonymous tho.

Booooo!

PS. Lol at portal smilie! ----> [portal] now thats keeping with the times :P

[Jason Manley]

the company is not chinese...so blame the questionable marketing ethics on those in the US who founded the scam.

[Seedling]

Our management team boasts over thirty years of combined internet marketing experience that ranges from paid-per-click advertising to electronic direct marketing.

Translation: the ten of us each have three years' experience spamming, trolling for porn, and playing Peggle.