data ecosystem

What is SHMUUZ?

SHMUUZ is a unique visual marketplace, a highly visual, full-screen online publicity engine with easy-to-use tools.

A publicity engine?

SHMUUZ produces EFFORTLESS PUBLICITY for your business or organization or school, putting the spotlight on your departments, programs and people.

Effortless publicity?

SHMUUZ is a PUBLICITY ENGINE with easy-to-use tools. With SHMUUZ you quickly create a full-time, full-color, full-screen online presence.

Can I post something on SHMUUZ?

Yes. You can start a PLATFORM of your own.

What is a PLATFORM?

Your platform is your actual PUBLICITY ENGINE. A platform gives you lots more visibility than any one-off event announcement. On your platform you can post an unlimited number of BLURBS, supported by a single visual background STORY.

We have several departments

You might want to start a CLUSTER.

What is a CLUSTER?

A cluster is a group of related platforms, gathered into a stand-alone website. A cluster contains 5 or 25 or 100 or 250 or 500 platforms. Or more than that, if you want.

Can you show me a cluster?

Sure. Here is a cluster for DEMO UNIVERSITY.

We're big

You have lots of (back)stories to tell. You might want to start a CLUSTER.

My organization already has a cluster

You can join an existing CLUSTER at your organization, school or business. Perhaps your department, program or activity already has a platform, or maybe you can be assigned one of your own.

Who do I contact?

Email us at admin@shmuuz.com and we can get you in touch with your local shmuuzers.

Who will see my posts?

We call them BLURBS.

Who will see my blurbs?

Your blurbs will appear in your local shmuuz (e.g., for your college, organization, company), and on the BIG shmuuz as well. Everyone will see them.

What is the difference?

Your local (college, company, organization) shmuuz contains blurbs about stuff (events, programs, departments, people) at your place (organization, college, company). The BIG shmuuz features ALL the blurbs from your place, and every other place (or person, or thing) that has a shmuuz.

So our blurbs mingle

Yeah.

We're in the thick of it

You will be. Your astrophysicist will appear in the same SHMUUZ as University X's astrophysicist. And NASA's astrophysicist.

I want to publicize my business

Businesses and any other entities can establish a PLATFORM (or several platforms, a cluster) on SHMUUZ.

How does SHMUUZ work?

A person, a program or a department creates a platform . . .

Show me

Take a look at our demo.

What is a PLATFORM?

Your platform is your PUBLICITY ENGINE. A platform drives your permanent presence on SHMUUZ. A platform gives you lots more visibility than any one-off event announcement. On iyour platform you can post an unlimited number of BLURBS, and you can tell your visual background STORY.

What is a BLURB?

Each BLURB is a full-screen image with overlying text and icons. With a blurb you can plug an event, advertise a service, showcase your skills, announce an initiative, strut your stuff, reveal a secret, spread the word.

How many BLURBS can I create?

As many as you want. BLURBS can be temporary (e.g., for a one-off event), or permanent (e.g., describing an aspect of your program).

How many STORIES can I tell?

Each platform is supported by ONE visual background story. One story, many blurbs. The platform editor maintains the platform's STORY. It is the "back story" of the program or department or organization (or person).

What is a STORY, in the SHMUUZ sense?

Your STORY is told through a continuous loop of captioned full-screen images: words and pictures that convey who or what you are, what makes you tick, what you can do, how you got to where you are.

Where is the STORY?

Most blurbs include a photo icon. When you see it, click it.

What is a story slide?

Image + words = slide.

Should we tell a STORY?

Let's say you run a student organization, delivering safe water to a neighborhood with faulty lead pipes. Your STORY shows your group in action, or highlights the problem, or depicts your work in the community, or maybe presents the delivery guy and his truck.

Do we have to tell a story?

No.

Do we have to caption our STORY images?

No. But if you caption one, you will need to caption all of them, for some technical reason.

What do I need?

Each BLURB needs a single big photo. And you need the info that's in your head. Type it into the fields we provide, upload the photo (or take a new one on the fly, right in the application), and leave the rest to our magic SHMUUZ churner.

How big is a big photo?

Big is BIG. Your images should be at least 900px wide, even bigger if possible. Around 1500px wide is ideal. Photos taken with a cell phone are much, much bigger than that. You can send them intact. We scale them automatically.

Describe the ideal photo

The idea photo is BIG, with few or no words, with its important stuff in the center or a little off to the side (but not on the edge).

Why BIG?

So it doesn't get pixelated.

Why should it be centered?

Because it will be cropped dynamically to fill the entire screen, no matter what shape or size the screen may be.

No words in the photo?

Yeah. There are words printed OVER the photo. It gets confusing if there are lots of words IN the photo.

Our photos look great

We have a secret way of making that happen.

Why should we build a platform?

Because you want a full-time, full-color, full-screen online presence. Whenever someone is looking for someone (something) like you (or a program or organization like yours) they will find you (it) right here, all the time, in full-screen captioned living color.

How will we be featured?

Your blurbs about events, happenings, accomplishments, skills or services will each be tagged to appear in all appropriate searches, both on your local shmuuz cluster / website and in the big (inter)national SHMUUZ.

How do I post an event on my platform?

To create an event BLURB (or any other kind of blurb) with a full-screen image, you will simply need the basic info [title, date and time (if relevant), place / address, a short description]. Add the 'event' tag. And a big photograph --- send a big image, or take it right here with your cell phone. We will process it behind the scenes so that it loads quickly and looks great.

How many tags?

Each post can have up to six (6) tags.

Why do my photos look so great?

We do stuff to them.

Who can work on my platform?

You can assign helpers to edit your platform. All you need is their email address. You can assign each editor to one, two, or more of your platforms.

How can I manage a CLUSTER?

You can assign helpers to manage your cluster. All you need is their email address. Each COORDINATOR has the same privileges as you (the owner) do, except that they cannot add or delete other coordinators.

How do I post my program on my platform?

To create any kind of BLURB with a full-screen image, you will simply need the basic info [title, place / address, a short description]. Add some tags. And a photograph --- send a big image, or take it right here with your cell phone. We will process it behind the scenes so that it loads quickly and looks great.

Can I create a blurb without a picture?

Not really. Just keep a few large pictures around for when you might need one.

My photos look really good

They really do.

My department already has a platform

Maybe you want to submit some info for a blurb, or you have a photo and caption to add to the story; discuss it with your editor.

Who can see us?

Each entry in SHMUUZ.com appears simultaneously on your organization's shmuuz platform or cluster (stand-alone website) and on the big all-powerful SHMUUZ site.

We're really small

You will look bigger on SHMUUZ. You might be fine with one platform. One story, many blurbs.

We need LOTS of platforms

Big guys will want to have a CLUSTER: maybe one platform for each department or division, or one for each program (e.g., baseball, basketball, lacrosse, etc.), one for each researcher or lab or organization member. Something like that. Or one for each and every person! Email us at admin@shmuuz.com or you can simply get started here.

There are lots of clusters at my university

Maybe we can tie them all together in a SUPERCLUSTER.

There might be a thousand platforms ...

Then that would be a MEGACLUSTER.

Is there no end to SHMUUZ superlatives?

Yes, there's not.

I have an idea

Tell us about it.

Should I shmuuz or should I yelp?

SHMUUZ -- because shmuuz is event-driven (and shmuuz-driven!) and dynamic, while yelp mostly provides a standing presence.

Is shmuuz like craigslist?

SHMUUZ provides a permanent full-color, full-screen platform; it doesn't just post temporary announcements, but it does that too.

Is shmuuz like facebook?

SHMUUZ is event-driven, not update-driven. Lots of shmuuz events (and lots of publicity), all the time. And no comments.

Big picture equation please

BLURBS + STORY = permanent presence.

Show me

Take a look at our demo.