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The purpose of this award is to recognize sites
that present information in a manner that educates as well as entertains. The Chameleon's Eye Award was created in August
2003 replacing the retired POTZ award.
Chameleons have one of the most
sophisticated eyes in the animal kingdom. They are described as
binocular (each eye moves independently of the other) and are probably
the chameleon's greatest and most important sense. Combined they provide nearly 360 degree
vision without turning the head, and allow the chameleon to see in front
of and behind him at the same time. When searching for prey, the eyes are constantly
moving in independent directions. When the meal is spotted BOTH eyes
lock on the target and the tongue ZAPS it with lightning speed and near
perfect accuracy.
If your site catches my eye, I will focus both
eyes and all attention on it. I need to learn something and enjoy the
presentation.
Over the past ten years or so, I have watched the
Internet develop from an interesting toy into a powerful and almost imperative resource. When I purchased my first chameleon, there were very
few websites available on the subject. I created ChamownersWeb to educate and
entertain interested parties on the subject of chameleon care. I have always believed that
learning should be FUN.
Today, there are many more websites on chameleons
and nearly every business has a website. If you can not find it on the Internet,
you probably do not need it anyway.
This award program is designed to help webmasters
create an "eye opening" experience for their audience thus helping
them accomplish their
mission. It also recognizes those who have "opened eyes" and enriched the
Internet and our world with their sites. I have listed some of my
favorite resources on the "Website Resources" page and I have
created the "Through the Chameleon's Eye" webmaster tutorial to aid webmasters in
building better sites. Visiting award winner's sites is another great way to
learn. In developing this award program, I have learned much and
made many changes to my website. I find myself visiting sites that are well off
of my normal travel path and it can be exciting. The Chameleon's Eye award is
not "given" it is "awarded". The site must meet the requirements set forth in
this award program.
A concerned webmaster will learn something from
each site they visit. I have found that visiting sites whether to apply for
their award or to evaluate their site for my award, I always come away with
something. Many AP sites give lots of good advice about web page design. Many
others display cutting edge coding or creative uses of coding.
Site traffic or popularity has NOTHING to do with
the award criteria and will not be considered or reviewed. Nor will awards
earned from other Award Programs have any bearing on selection. I am not interested in whether
your site is W3C compliant or how clean the coding is. In fact, I have recently stopped
scoring the page load times and graphic reductions as well. I use a cable modem
so I am not concerned about these issues personally. Since this award is for MY
opinion, I no longer score these areas. I view it in 1024X768 resolution using MS Internet Explorer V6+. These
two parameters account for
over 75% of my main site's visitors, and are the
most common. Your site should look good in 800X600 resolution as well as it
accounts for about 20%. Most viewers who do not use Internet Explorer are now
using Firefox, and a small number of resolutions currently exceed 1024X768.
I am only concerned with how your site looks, loads,
functions, and informs. Is it aesthetically pleasing? Do all internal and external links work properly? And
last but not least, does it present accurate and entertaining information? If I
did not learn something from you, do not expect to earn the award.
It is not required that you link the award to this site but it is appreciated. It is required that you display the
award either on the home page or on an awards page. If at any time the content of your site falls
below the criteria for website selection as outlined, I may ask that you remove
the award from your site.
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Now let's look at the Mission Statement. |
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