Buy. Register. Download

The name has changed. The URL has changed. The experience has changed.

No longer does AAPG have a “Bookstore online.” It has become the “AAPG Store.”

And the Store is the online place to buy, download and register for AAPG events.

The first phase is completed, which means books and products are both available for purchase, along with AAPG education event registration.

In other words, you are now able to purchase either item in one location.

Over the next several months I’ll get into the nitty-gritty details – this month is a chance to introduce you to the “Storefront,” details page and shopping cart.

Searching

As you can see in the accompanying graphic, Search Store is highly visible and searches all fields of the site. It accommodates ISBN numbers, author names, titles, publishers, descriptions, product or event codes, notes, address fields and more.

The listed results include available products and education events.

The default search results are alphabetized by title. You have the added option of sorting by price and date.

Moving down the right side of every page you’ll notice first the cart summary. As you add items to your cart this window will maintain the title and pricing tally.

(If you are a member and do not see member prices, you’ll need to log in before your member rate will appear.)

Special Items, when available, display next. These are rotating specially priced or promoted items that are available throughout the site while shopping.

Education Events and Product Categories are pre-searches provided to hone the items you wish to consider.

You’ll notice seven education event categories – including “All.” This displays an alphabetized list you may sort by date or price.

The product categories have an expanding menu interface keeping your category list more manageable.

Popular Searches is a tag cloud displaying what other users have searched for most within the Store – the larger the word, the more often it has been searched.

The Storefront also highlights promotions, specially priced items, events that are about to expire, new releases, best sellers and more.

Details

The familiar details page includes social objects to let you share your interest, make recommendations or tweet about your purchase.

Inspect the graphic by rolling your mouse over the image. When available, this enlarges the graphic provided for greater detail viewing.

Additional information you may see when viewing a product or event includes items others purchased along with the item you are viewing, as well as suggested products or events based off of similarities between what you are viewing and what we have available in the Store.

For the education events detail you’ll discover expanded details that are better organized.

Add to calendar runs a script that adds the event of interest to your calendar.

The map feature shows the location of the event you are considering if it is a physical course. This embedded Google Map then allows you to look at other information of interest surrounding the venue, get directions and additional options Google provides.

Other important information highlighted in the details include if the product you seek is sold out, the event you want to register for is full, and other such messages.

Out of stock products give you the option to request notification about availability, as applicable.

Shopping Cart

It is very simple to not only view your cart but to update it.

Your cart summary is available on every page, and at any time you can select View Cart/Checkout to edit. To increase or decrease the amount of an item in your cart, simply modify the amount field and choose “Update Quantity.” To remove an item completely, change the quantity to “0” (zero), update and your item goes away.

Should you leave your cart for a day or two and return to make your purchase, your cart will reflect the availability of your items immediately so there are no surprises about trips or classes being sold out or products being out of stock.

When shipping options are available, you may estimate your shipping before purchasing your item. Explanations of each shipping option also are included.

If you have a coupon code simply enter it in the Coupon field. We now have the ability to offer discounts on events, products, shipping and more.

When customers are logged in, you always are able to view previous orders.

Ever lose a receipt or been hunting for a confirmation?

View Previous Orders gives you a list of all your purchases. It includes a summary of each order and the option to print or to email any receipt or confirmation.

Likewise, if your purchase was to be available for download, you find the link for that item in this list.

What’s Missing?

Not much. The top navigation provides access for Members who need to pay their dues or update their profile, change their password, make a donation or access the archives to which they subscribe.

Likewise, Members Only has updated its top navigation so you can easily return to the Store to buy, register or download; view your cart or check your order history.

Just remember http://store.aapg.org for all your AAPG books, products, services and education event registration.

Good browsing!

I’ve been working on the new conference debuting in August of 2013.

The program looks really promising and I just noticed that November 15 is the deadline for posting your paper.
That’s in two days.

URTeC is a new conference that SEG, SPE and AAPG thought would meet a growing need. As geoscientists gain greater access to what is underneath the earth, the creativity it takes to extract that old reservoir in a new way has birthed some unconventional approaches to the process.

This, I believe, was the inspiration for the Unconventional Resources Technology Conference.

I was just reviewing the list of topics for people to submit their papers under. It’s very impressive.

What a great venue, too!

From what I read Denver, Colorado, is the area where much of the technology has been launched in order to creatively “see” into the Earth and then come up with minimally invasive methods to capitalize on that information.

So, have you submitted your paper yet?

It looks like it is definitely something which covers industry-wide topics from discovery through production.
The theme “This Changes Everything” echoes the different this conference can make for the world and the industy.

Good browsing!

At AAPG we are starting the holiday shopping season even earlier with our second annual Pre-Black Friday sale. Sneak a Peek at the 66 sale titles – 33 are 50% off of member price and 12 of the titles are $5 Bargain Books. The sale starts at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, November 16, and ends on Tuesday, November 20, at 11:59 p.m., USA CST.

Featured titles include:

• Memoir 33 – Carbonate Depositional Environments
• Memoir 81 – Seismic Imaging of Carbonate Reservoirs and Systems
• Memoir 89 – Natural Gas Hydrates: Energy Resource Potential and Associated Geologic Hazards
• Memoir 94 – Thrust Fault-Related Folding
• Studies 59 – Carbon Dioxide Sequestration in Geological Media
• Archie 1 – Petrophysical Evaluation of Hydrocarbon Pore-Thickness in Thinly Bedded Clastic Reservoirs
• Regional Highway Maps for the Southern Rocky Mountains, Northern Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest, Southeastern Region, and Texas
• Methods in Exploration 14 – Horizontal Wells: Focus on the Reservoirs …

and many more. Also discounted are three books in our K-12 series. Earthscapes, Focus on Minerals, and SOIL—More Than Just Dirt would make great teacher gifts.

Visit bookstore.aapg.org now to purchase your favorites!

Standard shipping and handling rates apply. International shipping via courier method only.

Congratulations, Joshua Work! You won the $300 Visa gift card.

Joshua’s name was randomly selected from just over 1500 participants in the T.I.P. survey that ended the last day of September.

We’d like to thank all of those who completed the survey. Your feedback is being used to guide changes and updates to the AAPG website.

What we learned.

It’s interesting that about a quarter of the respondents to the survey were not members of AAPG so we know there is recruiting potential.

It pleased us to see, too, that  just over 80% were able to find what they were looking for. What were you looking for? One-third were looking for papers or publications, then education and training followed by meeting details.

Over half reported they found the site easy to use and close to 95% were satisfied with their experience.

This means we can improve and we plan to. Your feedback and comments will guide us as we work to create a website that is clear, quick and vital to the AAPG member and the industry it serves.

Good browsing!

Vicki Beighle, manager of AAPG Member Services Department, says simplification of the membership application process is the new site’s best feature.

“It’s easy, fast and, unlike previous versions, applicants can remit payment with submission of the form,” Beighle said.

“An applicant can save the application in order to complete later,” she noted. “It also gives members email feedback about what steps of the process they have completed.”

Member applicants can select the graduated dues plan that fits their income. Student applicants can exercise the option of the Chevron sponsorship.

Knowing where applicants are within the processing of their application is an asset. Previously, applicants could wait as long as one month before getting feedback.

Data entry by staff is eliminated, too, as all details go directly into the membership database.

The end result is a quicker completion of the application process.

Go For a Spin?

Let’s take a quick spin through the new online application system.

There are several ways to get there but here are two:

1. AAPG Site Short Cuts dropdown menu – just select “Join Online.”
2. Home page’s left navigation menu – roll over “About AAPG” and select “How to Join,” or by selecting “Join Online.”

Put on your “new applicant hat” and let’s begin.

First stop should be “How to Join,” to read about the different types of membership, a review of the Code of Ethics included with the AAPG Constitution and Bylaws, and where you can learn about the graduated dues program.

Next, choose “Join Online” – and since you’ve never purchased anything from AAPG, you’ll select “new account.” Here you submit your account basic details including a password of your choice. If you already have an AAPG account you simply enter your account number with password.

This opens the “profile update” window. Upon completing all required fields you click “update profile.” If any information is left out, you will be prompted to complete the missing data.

Upon successfully updating, a validation email is sent to the email you provided

You are now ready to submit your application. So, locate and select “New Applications” in the gold navigation bar.

Choose the form option that applies to you. As a new applicant you’ll want to choose from one of the top four in the list.

The resulting description explains your selection – and if it is correct, click “apply online.” If not, hit the back button or click “New Applications” again and make a different selection.

The previous information you provided is carried forward into the full application. Member applicants are asked for education background, work history, the names of three sponsors and graduated dues options. However, if you’d prefer to not enter each of this data, you may upload one document that includes all this information.

Student applicants are asked only for education background details.

At the very end of this page the options of submitting, saving or deleting your application are available.

Once all information is completed, click “submit.” At this step you’ll be asked for valid credit card details to complete the process.

A confirmation of your submission will be shown on screen and an email is sent with your member number and other details.

Once submitted, you may log back into the system using and check the status of your application under the “Submitted Applications” link in the gold navigation bar.

When your application has been accepted you will be notified via email and your status will change in the “Submitted Applications” web page.

Anyone wishing to apply to join the AAPG may use this application process. All start with “New Application” in the gold bar at the top of the Profile Update.

All applicants receive confirmation emails after each submission so be sure to approve “aapg.org” in your email client address book so notifications will land in your Inbox.

Good browsing!

Summer officially starts on June 20, but AAPG is always ahead of the cookout, er, curve. We’re kicking off Memorial Day weekend with our annual summer book sale.

Our “Summer’s Coming” sale started at 12:01 am on Friday, May 25, 2012 and will last throughout the weekend. Ending on Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 42 titles are on sale – many are 50% off the List price.

Featured titles include:

• Memoir 77 – Color Guide to Petrography of Carbonate Rocks
• Memoir 81 – Seismic Imaging of Carbonate Reservoirs and Systems
• Memoir 89 – Natural Gas Hydrates: Energy Resource Potential and Associated Geologic Hazards
• Studies 53 – Seismic Interpretation of Contractional Fault-Related Folds
• Studies 59 – CO2 Sequestration in Geological Media
• Archie 1 – Petrophysical Evaluation of Hydrocarbon Pore-thickness in Thinly Bedded Clastic Reservoirs
• Highway Maps for the Mid Continent, Northern Rocky Mountain, Southeastern and Pacific Northwest regions.

A full list of titles will be available today at bookstore.aapg.org. So grab a pen and mark your calendar because summer will be here before you know it.

Of the 15,179 members eligible to vote, 4,742 have done so. That’s a 31.2 percentage of participants.

I lost my log in!

Not to worry. There is a link provided in the online voting system to have your log in sent to you.

It’s fast. It’s responsive. It will take you less than 5 minutes to complete a ballot.

So do it now!

You may review the candidates’ backgrounds within the voting ballot.

If you want more information before you vote, visit the officer candidate page to read their reasons for accepting this nomination. Or watch their videos to hear them state it in their own words.

Good browsing!

Below is the result of that challenge. It’s only been a week, but the video has already racked up 858 views.

For the first time the IBA ceremony was held on a Sunday and was open to the public. The video combines student-shot footage with that of professional cameras.

According to YouTube statistics, most of you watched this video on Facebook (now do you get my clever-ish title?); USA and Thailand are the top two suppliers of its audience (is that a surprise?).

Now that I’m back in my office, I’m getting my hands on the other footage I didn’t get a chance to work with at the Long Beach ACE. You can look forward to seeing more videos popping up on AAPG’s YouTube channel as well as in the completely redesigned Video Vault.

What’s next? Pittsburgh ACE 2013! What opportunities (and challenges) will it bring? More videos? Live blogging? Faster press room WiFi? Anything is possible!

We made it! We surpassed 4,220 (late, but we did it) and you helped. THANK YOU!

Your AAPG Web team has already posted a video on YouTube about the IBA experience for 2012.

There are videos from other sessions that will follow on the AAPG YouTube channel.

As these become available they will be announced on the AAPG home page and through the Twitter feed and Facebook wall.

Did you find AAPG Executive Director David Curtiss on Twitter? It was David who tweeted first about the winners of the IBA competition. Follow @DavidKCurtiss to get an inside perspective on AAPG.

We want to recognize the students who volunteered during the meeting to post to the AAPGStudents Twitter feed. And to recognize the students who volunteered to capture interviews on video that is still forthcoming.

I still need to get their names but these students did a great job.

I was mostly in the AAPG Center and watching the Twitter feed fly by. It kept me up to speed on what was happening throughout the meeting, and anyone who stumbled on it that was not attending,  would have had a feel for what was going on. If you were one of these, hopefully it inspired you to begin saving up now to attend the meeting in May 2013 in Pittsburgh.

With our AAPG social presence growing, remember you may always StayConnected through the major social posting outlets. We’ve listed them on the AAPG website and occasionally add to it as more AAPG areas learn the value of pushing information through these mediums.

Good browsing!

Yesterday, April 22 (04/22), we fell short of the 4,220 goal by only 29 followers.

The tweets were really flying during opening session last night as awards and honors were presented. Before that the Imperial Barrel Award announced its winners and David Curtiss, AAPG Executive Director – Twitter feed: DavidKCurtiss – was quick to break that news.

It’s Not Too Late

I’m an optimist and I believe we can make 4,225 by 04/25.

We are now at 4,206 and only need 19 more to reach that goal.

If you are attending the annual meeting, I’m located at the Explorer booth in the AAPG Center and would love for you to pop in. We can speak of social media and how we may help you through the Internet (an how you may help promote AAPG).

Good browsing!