Announcement New Look and Feel for PriceScope Education

[psadmin]

Dear PriceScopers,


We're proud and excited to introduce the newest member of our team, John Pollard as our Director of Education!

John is an Educational Specialist who has worked for diamond retailers, laboratories, and producers located all over the world. He has provided training for leading luxury brands, conducted workshops in New York, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and Antwerp, and given seminars for JCK Las Vegas, IGI, AGS, the GIA Alumni Association, and numerous US jewelry retailers.


John is the perfect addition to the PriceScope team and will help us in our continuing mission to educate online diamond and jewelry consumers.


We look forward to working with him to update existing and crafting creative new educational content for our community.


Join us in giving him a warm PS welcome and feel free to share any ideas you have for us.


Thank you!

Andrey & The PriceScope Team

 

[bright ice]

Congratulations John Pollard!

You’ll be a wonderful addition to PriceScope and everyone will benefit from your expertise in the industry.

 

[cflutist]

Congratulations JP.

 

[Karl_K]

kicken kewl!!!

 

[marymm]

Great news - congratulations John Pollard and yay PS!

 

[Texas Leaguer]

This is a wonderful development!

You have meant so much to this community as a participant JP. I look forward to seeing your contributions as a Pricescope director.

I know you will be outstanding!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yay! I've missed seeing John around here and his expertise certainly is valued!

 

[jp201845]

Congrats John Pollard, you are Pricescope's diamond guru!

Amazing !!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Congrats JP!....

 

[MamaBear]

Congrats!

 

[Maggiemeans]

Great news! Contratulations..

 

[kenny]

Congratulations John!

 

[yssie]

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the story of a forum staple become a tradeperson. It’s such a special thing, every time it happens - that joining conversations with a ton of people you’ve never met can convey enough knowledge and inspire enough confidence to choose a new career, or choose a new research venue, or choose a new sales model. But I think this might be the first time I’ve seen the story of a forum staple become a PS tradeperson!!

JP you’re one of the most beloved staples on this forum!! And you have a gift for explaining things to people who don’t know everything you know. I remember reading your posts before I joined PS... Back then of course I didn’t know that all your various hats - your day job, your side gigs, were in education, but I wasn’t at all surprised when I found out!! Your posts here on PS have always been soothingly loquacious (I find them soothing ), unfailingly decorous, and inimitably knowledgeable. I always end up thinking about whatever you said for a while afterward, whether that’s convenient or not. I never move on with mind blank. I’ve bested you exactly once. I’ll stay gleeful for years because I’m confident it wont be happening again

You’ll be such an asset to PS!! I can’t wait to see what you do with the education pages - PS 3.0?

Congratulations friend!!!!!

 

[MMtwo]

Wonderful news for Pricescope and the viewership.

 

[KristinTech]

I hope he’ll talk music and percussion every once in awhile, too!

 

[bright&shiny]

Congratulations!

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Hi John! Great News! Best regards.

Jeff

 

[caolsen]

Welcome to the best corner of the interwebs!

 

[John Pollard]

Hello PriceScope Community.

Thank you for the generous comments above. I was thrilled to be offered this opportunity. There is such a wealth of material to work with here, from content nearly 20 years old to new developments every day.

The way people access info has completely changed since PriceScope started. The ongoing need to stack voluminous information on a single page in a keyword specific way (for SEO), is diametrically opposed to delivering short bursts of content to the palms of readers' hands which they'll consider "kewl" (nod to Karl).

PSA: On new EDU pages I'm adding anchor links in light-gray text. You can use them to jump directly to that spot on the page.

Example A: If you wanted to help someone on the forum understand carat weight versus spread with a graphic. Just put #Spread at the end of the page URL to jump to that spot.

https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-carat#Spread



Example B: When you see two anchors it's your choice... Either #Basics-3 or #Lighting could be used to link someone on the forum to this section.

https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-carat#Lighting



I'm placing anchors throughout the new pages.

Hope it's helpful. And again, thanks for all of the kind words.

John

 

[diagem]

Hello PriceScope Community.

Thank you for the generous comments above. I was thrilled to be offered this opportunity. There is such a wealth of material to work with here, from content nearly 20 years old to new developments every day.

The way people access info has completely changed since PriceScope started. The ongoing need to stack voluminous information on a single page in a keyword specific way (for SEO), is diametrically opposed to delivering short bursts of content to the palms of readers' hands which they'll consider "kewl" (nod to Karl).

PSA: On new EDU pages I'm adding anchor links in light-gray text. You can use them to jump directly to that spot on the page.

Example A: If you wanted to help someone on the forum understand carat weight versus spread with a graphic. Just put #Spread at the end of the page URL to jump to that spot.

https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-carat#Spread



Example B: When you see two anchors it's your choice... Either #Basics-3 or #Lighting could be used to link someone on the forum to this section.

https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-carat#Lighting



I'm placing anchors throughout the new pages.

Hope it's helpful. And again, thanks for all of the kind words.

John

Welcome back Sir John..., congratulations and best of luck! Looking forward seeing what you cook up.

 

[whitewave]

Wonderful! John is a fantastic educator!

 

[John Pollard]

Hello Friends,

To those still tuned in: We added an interactive clarity chart here.
https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-clarity#basics-1

If you want to take it for a spin - Are the graphics and info clear? Is it responsive? Does it work well for you?

Enquiring minds want to know

 

[femmemannequin]

Hello Friends,

To those still tuned in: We added an interactive clarity chart here.
https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-clarity#basics-1

If you want to take it for a spin - Are the graphics and info clear? Is it responsive? Does it work well for you?

Enquiring minds want to know

yes it works well for me! also its a great informative article. It covered more than what i learned in class lol.

 

[Vera W]

@John Pollard I am so late to the party Mr. P!! Please forgive me. This is fantastic news and yet I am feeling a bit of de ja vu too!! Super happy about this as you are a wonderful Teacher of many good things but especially superlative shiny rocks!!

 

[sledge]

First off, big congrats @John Pollard. The community is stronger for having you at the helm of this position. In regards to the clarity article, the content is great and I like the interactive slider. Fantastic job!

Can I offer a few minor suggestions, or requests? I offer these in a positive constructive manner.

1. At the top of each article, I think it might be helpful to have a small index so you can "quick jump" to the various sections/anchors.

I do realize you have page anchors built in, but I don't think everyone is aware of them or how they work. Also, it's not super obvious the exact anchor names. The index might be a spot where you could use the anchor names and links.

For those reading along & unaware, adding #basics-1 will take you to the interactive slider that John wanted you to see. Just as substituting in #analysis-4 will take you to the section about cloudy/hazy stones.

https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-clarity#basics-1
https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-clarity#analysis-4

2. Can you add a section about the various types of inclusions? And provide photos of said inclusions on real stones? Recently there was a thread where @Garry H (Cut Nut) and @Karl_K provided some additional insight. Adding that sort of additional commentary might be also very useful for our user community.

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I'm late to the party too, I didn't see this until today. But I wanted to chime in and say hurray! John is a marvelous educator and also an all-around great human being! And his knowledge of diamonds can't be beat!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

A great opportunity for a great teacher.

cheers--Sharon

 

[John Pollard]

First off, big congrats @John Pollard[/USER. The community is stronger for having you at the helm of this position. In regards to the clarity article, the content is great and I like the interactive slider. Fantastic job!

Can I offer a few minor suggestions, or requests? I offer these in a positive constructive manner.

1. At the top of each article, I think it might be helpful to have a small index so you can "quick jump" to the various sections/anchors.

I do realize you have page anchors built in, but I don't think everyone is aware of them or how they work. Also, it's not super obvious the exact anchor names. The index might be a spot where you could use the anchor names and links.

For those reading along & unaware, adding #basics-1 will take you to the interactive slider that John wanted you to see. Just as substituting in #analysis-4 will take you to the section about cloudy/hazy stones.

Diamond Clarity: Everything You Need To Know

What is the best diamond clarity? Our extensive guide and interactive diamond clarity chart shows you everything you need to know.

www.pricescope.com

Diamond Clarity: Everything You Need To Know

What is the best diamond clarity? Our extensive guide and interactive diamond clarity chart shows you everything you need to know.

www.pricescope.com

@sledge thank you for the detailed comments, and especially for noticing and informing others about the anchors.

I can assist with navigation. When scrolling down a page, the available anchors are listed in light gray, lowercase.



So: You could add either #analysis-4 or #undisclosed to the end of that page's hyperlink to jump to that spot.

Diamond Clarity: Everything You Need To Know

What is the best diamond clarity? Our extensive guide and interactive diamond clarity chart shows you everything you need to know.

www.pricescope.com

#undisclosed

We are still determining how to provide an anchor index/TOC. I like you top of each page idea. At the moment we're in analytics mode, working formulas, but we do want to present a menu down the road.

Speaking of menu: The "Education" and "Advanced Education" menus in the header (version on the homepage) will soon be updated to show shiny new pages I hope the community will enjoy reading and referring.

2. Can you add a section about the various types of inclusions? And provide photos of said inclusions on real stones? Recently there was a thread where @Garry H (Cut Nut) and @Karl_K provided some additional insight. Adding that sort of additional commentary might be also very useful for our user community.

Yes, in time. We plan to have breakouts for all of the Cs. For now the focus is creating new pages - while drawing-from/refining/combining old pages as appropriate. It reminds me of a move into a brand new home. There's so much that's exciting about all the "new" ahead and, simultaneously, nostalgic "oh yeah!" moments going through your old basement or attic and deciding what to keep.

 

[John Pollard]

I'm late to the party too, I didn't see this until today. But I wanted to chime in and say hurray! John is a marvelous educator and also an all-around great human being! And his knowledge of diamonds can't be beat!

HI:

A great opportunity for a great teacher.

cheers--Sharon

Ladies, I sincerely appreciate the votes of confidence and your kind words.

Tip of the hat, and thank you.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

JP,
Just a quick comment on the layouts and graphics of the new education pages. The new look and feel is much more visually pleasing and easier to read and to digest. It's a MAJOR improvement and modernization of the knowledge base.

This will be a boon to the PS community. It will encourage learning and it will help draw newbies in with professionally prepared content and make them more comfortable participating.

Keep up the great work!