Sector 4 Shows Big Gains

Sector 4 is on FIRE! Yes, my friends – we had a good week. Here’s the elf numbers:

North Pole Tracker Elves: 8,767
Freelance Tracker Elves: 2,374,554
Total Tracker Elves: 2,383,321

We topped the word with 131% growth last week in elves. Nobody added more than we did (well, percentage-wise). That gave us a world-leading boost in reports, too:

North Pole Tracker Elf Reports: 57,862
Freelance Tracker Elf Reports: 7,598,573
Total Tracker Elf Reports: 7,656,573

That is a 90% boost over the number of reports for last week – which is HUGE.

So congratulations! Sector 4 is making big contributions for the Santa effort this year. Thank you!

Feedback from Santa:
Another stellar week, Sector 4. You are becoming a force in Operation Merry Christmas. You have no idea what your efforts mean for my ride in your sector this year. I’m so excited to get there because I know so much more this time around. And that’s thanks to you. For this week, please invest a little time in reporting on yourself. I want to know my elves. Elf Tubby will show you what needs to be done! – Santa

Instructions for this week, please send in the following reports:

  1. If you haven’t done so, please file a Home and Family Report – click here
  2. Please send in an Elfie Selfie – click here
  3. Time for Another Local Christmas Report – click here
  4. Please update the weather – click here
SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Halfway to our Report Goal

Hello Trackers!

As we approach the final full week before Christmas I’ve got some good news…and some bad news. First, the good news:

We have crossed over the halfway point to our goal. As of late this morning, we are over 500 million tracker reports so far this season.

This is historic. We have never had so much good information before. Our analysts are busy stuffing the database Santa will use when he takes flight with information he’s never had before. If he left right now, he would have roughly ten times the amount of current information than he has ever had in the past.

If we were to stop everything right now, we’d have set a record and Santa would be flying more prepared than ever before. Congratulations and THANK YOU.

And, now the bad news:

We have crossed over the halfway point to our goal.

500 million is only half of what Santa says that we need. And it has taken us all year to get to this part. That leaves us just 12 days to get the other half billion.

Can it be done?

Well, we know that it always comes down to the last two weeks. Every year. But this year is different because we’re chasing a report goal, not an elf goal.

How many elves do we have?

In all five sectors we now claim a total of more than 46 million elves.

Doing straight math, if those 46 million elves just did about 11 reports EACH in our last 12 days, we’d meet the goal.

But that’s a really dumb way to think about it.

We’re going to get millions of new elves in the next 12 days. And those elves are going to give us more reports than just 11 reports, right?

So, relax. Listen to your elf supervisor. Send in the reports he or she is asking for. Be ready to report on something new once Santa takes flight. We’ll make that goal, don’t you worry.

Now, on a topic entirely different.

You might hear some weird stuff over the next 12 days about Santa’s sleigh. Don’t freak over it. It doesn’t concern us, okay. Let’s keep our eye on Santa and getting our job done in helping him get around the world no matter he flies, alright?

Elf Roger Star

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Santa Answers Questions

Santa here. I send greetings to my fellow elves! Thank you for your excellent work so far this season. We have a couple of weeks to go and I was asked by the organizers of the Tracker Elf Conference to participate in Questions and Answers. You elves supply the questions and I supply the answers.

We have been at this a couple of weeks. These are all questions that came in from the Tracker Elf Conference survey. We have filtered out the usual “What am I getting for Christmas?” and “What time will you be to my house?” kind of questions. We want to focus on tracking, getting around the world, and fulfilling our goals for Operation Merry Christmas.

Here we go:

Q: How does your sleigh fit so many presents?
A: It holds a lot but not the whole world’s worth of presents. Long before I launch from the North Pole there is an effort called Operation Airlift which is run by North Pole Flight Command. They launch thousands and thousands of sleighs before, during and after my launch. These sleighs are mostly freighters that move things around. Part of that operation is a complicated process that sees my sleigh constantly re-supplied. As I stop and make visits in homes those sleighs and the elves and reindeer assigned to them re-supply my sleigh. All night long this happens, all over the world. It is a massive operation largely unseen by the world. Part of the magic of Christmas Eve is that it is the one night of the year when seeing a flying sleigh is really possible because there are thousands of sleighs out there – not just me. Great question. 

Q: What’s the hardest problem while taking the big trip, and is their anything we can do to help you out?
A: The biggest challenge is not knowing what I’m going to run into. That is why what you are doing now, in the weeks before I launch, is so helpful. The more I know about a home, a neighborhood, the weather, trees, fences, dogs, traffic, new construction, etc. the better I am able to do my job. The best thing you can do is to be thorough in your reports and think like I have to think when I fly. Be eyes up. When you see something that would concern anyone coming into your neighborhood with a huge sleigh and flying reindeer, say something. 

Q: How many tracker elves would you like to see do their job this year? Why do you love the tracker elf program?
A: We used to worry about how many elves. We thought the more elves we have the more reports we get. We learned that’s not true. We made changes this year to weed out the people who wanted to be elves but wouldn’t do the work of elves. We have fewer elves this year than last year. That does not matter because we are getting more reports and better reports this year. I am expecting MUCH better results in my flight this year because I simply have better information. I love the fact that we have whittled things down to elves who really care, really work and really celebrate Christmas. This is fun. 

Q: Can you magically just fly?
A: No. No magic about it. It takes training, talented reindeer, talented elves, expertly designed sleighs and lots of speed to fly. 

Q: Does Santa give gifts to grown-ups too who believe, or just to kids?
A: This isn’t a tracking question but I feel it is an important one. There are no grown ups to me. Just children. So the answer is yes. Understand? 

Q: How is the sleigh situation going?
A: Pretty rough. Not too worried about it though. 

Q: Dear Santa, Thank you for everything. If you could answer one question, have I been being useful to you as an elf so far? I would appreciate it if you could tell me specifically what more I need to do to be a better elf for you as a tracker elf, an elf educator, or a reindeer therapist?
A: Hi, Elf Ulan. You are an exceptional elf precisely because you ask questions like this. You are extremely helpful to me, especially as you share information about your country and customs. Your voice, as is the voice of every elf, is very important. So keep talking. Keep participating. Keep sharing. Keep asking questions. Your elf supervisor keeps track of your performance. If there are problems you will hear from them. As for me, I’m very happy to have you as an elf, doing all that you do. 

Q: Do you remember me?
A: Of course. I remember every believer and every elf, even those who live in California. I think this question comes from a different thing than just one particular person living in one particular place. It comes from being a little older and experiencing Santa different as an adult. Am I right about this? Yes, it changes as you change. But I always remember you. Remember that. 

Q: Who is the most amazing elf?
A: Hahaha – trick question! Mrs. Claus is the most amazing elf. 

Q: Why do you say “hohoho”?
A: I don’t, actually.

Q: Do you go to all the houses of your believers? Even if they are grown up?
A: I go where I am welcomed and invited. Some don’t want my inside their house and I understand and respect that. 

Q: Are you upset when people don’t believe in you or say mean things about you?
A: No, we don’t have time for that. 

Q: How much water could we leave out for the Reindeer team?
A: I appreciate this question. Figure on about a cup per reindeer. I want them to stay hydrated but too much water is a problem too. So keep it simple. A cup, no ice. Just water. Thank you! 

Q: How do you deliver to boats?
A: Boats are easy. Moving trains, planes and busses are a much bigger challenge. I’m just glad for very athletic reindeer and advanced sleigh technology. 

Q: Does Santa still come even while your tracking? Has Santa ever missed homes before and why?
A: I send out bed time advisories from the sleigh. Usually around 8pm to 10pm local time. I expect everyone living in the area of the advisory to do it. Even trackers. That being said, sometimes family traditions and events keep some people up later than that. That’s okay. I try to remember those things and not get there too early. And yes, I’ve missed homes before and had to go back. It happens because I’m not perfect and the information I have is not always up to do. That’s another reason why the work of trackers is so important. 

Q: I know you been doing this for years but is it any chance for you to retire and probably have someone else take it over?
A: No. Don’t believe the stuff of silly movies and television shows. 

Q: What is the very first thing he does after he gets back to Santa head quarters on Christmas day?
A: Celebrate Christmas with Mrs. Claus. 

Q: What if you get hurt on your flight?
A: Good question. We have a number of plans in place to deal with emergencies. We have elves everywhere on Christmas Eve. And I do mean everywhere. 

Thank you elves for your questions. If you have more, post them in the comments below.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Sector 4 Gets in Gear

I’m so proud of you, Sector 4! We had a big BIG HUGE week.

Here are the elf count numbers:

North Pole Tracker Elves: 6,972
Freelance Tracker Elves: 1,024,751
Total Tracker Elves: 1,031,723

We cleared 1 million elves last week! Who saw that coming. Of course, that meant a lot to our tracker report totals as well:

North Pole Tracker Elf Reports: 29,282
Freelance Tracker Elf Reports: 3,996,529
Total Tracker Elf Reports: 4,025,811

That is an increase of 113%. GREAT WORK!!!

Feedback from Santa:
I told you things would get better and boy, did they! I’m so very happy with all the work you are doing. Whatever caused the increase in elves last week also caused everything to get better in Sector 4. In fact, I think we can now have you guys worry about some other things we need to be paying attention to. In Sector 4, now that there’s more than a million of you, we need to look up. Elf Tubby will instruct you on what information I will need about roofs and chimneys in your area. It’s important. Especially for those few areas that have chimneys. I know it’s summer there is most areas and nobody thinks about their chimneys. So I want you to think about them, okay? If you don’t have chimneys, that’s ok. I could use your advice on how to enter a house without a chimney. I welcome your ideas. Thanks for all your help! — Santa

Instructions for this week, please send in the following reports:

  1. Roof Report – click here
  2. Chimney Inspection – click here
  3. Ground Report – click here
  4. Weather Report – click here

Gracias! Let’s keep it rolling!

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Elf Frank Myrrh Gets Personal in New Podcast

Santa Trackers Podcast
Santa Tracker Podcast
Elf Frank Myrrh Gets Personal in New Podcast
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Elf Frank Myrrh, North Pole Radio News lead news anchor, gets personal in a new episode of the Santa Trackers Podcast.

In this episode Elf Crash Murphy hijacks the hosting duties in the podcast to interview Frank. Crash asks questions on behalf of fans and listeners who have written in. Crash attempts to get a little information about Frank, including where he is from and how he got into radio.

Frank does tell his elf story, albeit hesitantly. But when it comes to the questions from fans that’s when things take a very interesting turn.

This episode was prepared in advance of the Elf Chat with Elf Frank Myrrh scheduled this weekend on SantaTrackers.net.

If you have additional questions for Frank in advance of the chat, feel free to ask them in the comments below.

Elf Harold

 

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Sector 4 Barely Improves

Feliz Navidad, Elves! Greetings from Ecuador.

Last week was not as good as I hoped. In fact, we barely moved the needle this year.

Of course, this is par for the course for Sector 4. I don’t know why that is. In my years over this sector I have seen us kind of cruise along in recruiting and reporting and THEN at the very end we surge. It happens most of the time. Could that be the case this year? I hope so. It seems the closer we are getting to launch the more behind we become in our goals. I am hoping we can see some good progress this week! Here are the numbers:

North Pole Tracker Elves: 2,789
Freelance Tracker Elves: 537,330
Total Tracker Elves: 540,119

And here are the report tallies:

North Pole Tracker Elf Reports: 11,993
Freelance Tracker Elf Reports: 1,880,655
Total Tracker Elf Reports: 1,892,648

It is still pretty early. But I’m hoping for a good jump by this time next week.

Feedback from Santa:
Hello, my fellows elves. I know Tubby was really disappointed last week but I have to commend you because your elf totals compared to a year ago are UP. So good job there! He is right in that the number of believers in Sector 4 is huge, so we should be growing our elf base larger too. Part of our problem is that our efforts are still quite small in Spanish and Portuguese. We’re working on that though! So be patient. Those elves we do have who can follow along in English or have the patience for an online translator are doing an exceptional job. So don’t be discouraged. In fact, how are you doing? I’m going to ask Tubby to address this question personally and he will be directing what you need to do. I want to hear from you individually, okay? On my mind right now is the weather, particularly in South America. I know Greenland is going to be dark and stormy, because it always is. It’s like Wyoming, except much much larger. Tough place to be! In any event, thank you for your efforts and keep plugging away at it. I know you are few compared to other sectors but you are doing a great work! – Santa

Instructions for this week, please send in the following reports:

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Biggest Week of the Year So Far

Greetings Elves!

I am pleased to report that last week saw a huge increase in the number of new elves and new reports tallied in North Pole Flight Command.

This is not entirely a surprise. The week of Thanksgiving usually sees a big increase in interest in tracking Santa for Santa. So many people out there, for whatever reason, decide the week of Thanksgiving that they want to become elves. We give them that chance.

The big questions to be answered are: What kind of elves will they be? Will their reports really help Santa? Can they get enough training behind them in time to really know how to file a quality report?

The answers to those questions only come in the weeks ahead. For now, here are the numbers:

North Pole Tracker Elves: 117,620
Freelance Tracker Elves: 13,639,943

Total Elves Tracking Santa for Santa = 13,757,563

As you can tell, the vast number of new elves are freelance elves. That has a huge bearing over the quality of reports we are seeing in Flight Command. I have met with each elf supervisor to discuss this issue. Most elf supervisors are thrilled to have so many new elves but most are also frustrated because the report data they are receiving is not good.

In fact, elf supervisors have decided to start “culling” elves while in season – meaning they will dismiss those elves who either submit sub-standard reports or no reports at all. They just don’t have time for people who want to be elves in name only. I’m sure they will address this individually in their reports this week.

Elf Moe also reports a number of issues monitoring the Elf Community on SantaTrackers.net. This is not surprising, just disappointing. Knowing and living by the Elf Code is new for many elves and we’re trying to give as many elves a chance as we can.

As far as reports go this week, it was very productive:

Reports from North Pole Tracker Elves: 106,251,961
Reports from Freelance Tracker Elves: 176,824,740

Total Reports from Tracker Elves Worldwide = 283,086,701

This new tally shows that we are 28% to goal, roughly, so far. This is an acceptable performance.

In Flight Command we are grappling with organizing all this information and making it useful for Santa. We are gratified to have new information about places we had nothing on before. It is exciting to see this. Santa has not yet seen some of this information but we have meetings set up with him soon to start presenting it to him.

Elves, keep up the good work. Please focus on your Elf Supervisor. They will tell you what is more important to work on this week.

Elf Roger Star

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Chat with Santa

Chat with Santa Claus this Sunday in North Pole Chat at SantaUpdate.com.

This event has been posted at SantaUpdate.com for about a week now but I wanted to make note of it here as well. Santa has very limited availability this year due to all of his travels before Christmas so we want to make sure everyone is aware of this event.

We have already received many questions for Santa via the other website. If you cannot make this scheduled event for Sunday, please leave your question for Santa in the comments below. We will try to get as many of them answered as we possibly can.

Chat with Santa

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Report for Sector 4

Hola, amigos! As we head into the week of Thanksgiving, this is where we stand as a sector:

North Pole Tracker Elves: 2,496
Freelance Tracker Elves: 471,221
Total Tracker Elves: 473,717

And here is our report tally for the week:

North Pole Tracker Elf Reports: 8,237
Freelance Tracker Elf Reports: 1,460,785
Total Tracker Elf Reports: 1,469,022

Our goals: 
Total Tracker Elves: 3.8 million
Total Tracker Elf Reports: 17 million

As you can see, we have a long way to go. In fact, if I’m being honest, we are not off to a very strong start. But this isn’t unusual. We are usually a little behind everyone else at this point in the season. But we catch up fast! And that is exactly what we are going to do this year. Fortunately, as you can see, Santa has faith in us:

Feedback from Santa:
How I love coming to Sector 4. There are no more happier people in the world than the good people of Sector 4. I appreciate their Christmas spirit. I am concerned for many of them this year. It has been a difficult year in a lot of places. So this week I’d like you elves to take a good look around and file reports that Elf Tubby might ask for that address how things feel and look for Christmas in Sector 4. I know this will be hard in Greenland. However, there are few people there and it should be fairly easy for the few elves we have in Greenland. If need be, Greenland is close enough that we can dispatch some elves from the North Pole there to check things out. As far as delivery goes in Sector 4 I have a number of worries. Parking the sleigh is a bit of a challenge in some areas. I don’t do rooftops much in Sector 4. But yards are typically small and I don’t like parking the sleigh on the street. What you report about the ground and pictures of places you think I can land the sleigh are important to me. We could use a few more elves in Sector 4. Please talk to your friends. — Santa

Instructions for this week, please send in the following reports:

We have much to do, friends! Let’s get elf-busy!

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Celebrate the Elf Parade

The Thanksgiving Day Elf Parade is a tradition celebrated by elves everywhere – including you! (We hope)

Just as we did last year, we are encouraging tracker elves everywhere to join in the festivities of Thanksgiving by sharing photos of themselves in their elf outfit, of their home tracking center, of their decorated trikes, bikes, scooters, long boards or other vehicular transport of choice, or even of themselves in front of their Christmas tree. You can either post them to the Elf Wall or share them via the form below.

We will collect images from this site and from SantaUpdate.com to share with everyone later.

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

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Tracker Elf Conference Survey

A tracker elf conference is held every December. This has been the tradition of the past five years. Key elves from Flight Command and even Santa himself take the time to discuss tracking Santa for Santa and what is needed in that particular year.

The Elf Supervisors are thinking of doing the Tracker Elf Conference a little differently this year. They are asking, in advance of scheduling this event, for your questions, comments and needs BEFORE the Conference.

How and when the Tracker Elf Conference will be held is yet to be announced. But we can proceed in getting your input right away.

We are asking all elves to provide the following information so we can make the Tracker Elf Conference more useful for you. You can fill this form out as many times as you like so that all of your questions can be considered:

Elf Supervisors are considering a new format for the Tracker Elf Conference this year. Your feedback on this question is very important
SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Elf Chat Scheduled

Elf Chat this week welcomes Elf Crash Murphy on Saturday, November 5th at 6pm EST on SantaTrackers.net.

Elf Crash Murphy serves as Santa’s eye-in-the-sky reporter. For more than a decade he has followed Santa on Christmas Eve and reported his activities during the Tracking Santa Around the World Show on Kringle Radio. Elf Crash has been instrumental in the development of the Santa Tracker program at the North Pole and works year round in the Elf Community at SantaTrackers.net. He is co-host of the Santa Tracker Podcast as well as the North Pole Podcast with Elf Frank Myrrh.

The chat this week will focus on Santa tracker elf questions for the upcoming tracker season.

If you cannot make the chat we encourage posting your questions for Crash below and we will make sure he answers them during the chat.

Elf Chat

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