How do you stay encouraged on SQUADHELP?

Just to point something out:

All of the contests I’ve won have been with either zero stats on my profile, or a low percentile rank. And it was like that for the entire month of October. My rank must have been recently calibrated and it shot up substantially to 93-96%.

So in my case, I am on the leaderboard last month, #2. And all of my wins were with no stats or low rank. So I have to strongly disagree and say at least in my case, stats have played no role. Will it in the future, I can’t say. But people will still pick your entries if you are new or have low stats. They just want a great name that speaks to them.

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In most cases that’s prob true. But I do believe there are times when the CH can’t choose. They start looking for reasons to pick one over the other. In that situation I personally don’t think it far fetched for them to look at who submitted the entries and how many times they’ve supplied a winning name, not so much actual stats.

If you’ve got two names and you’re torn between the two, I think it’s likely someone that has won 20+ contests over someone who has won 0 is going to naturally give favor to that name, imo. It could be a sign or whatever they need to help them choose, which in my opinion is irrelevant to the quality of those particular entries, and the ability of the creatives. Unless of course the CH cares to really look at how long each creative has been at it, how many contests each one has entered compared to the next, what contests they’ve entered, etc, (which would be highly unlikely) then it’s a false representation of the potential of the entries and creatives.

I know it’s not a huge problem, but I do think it occasionally puts some creatives at an unfair disadvantage and me personally, I prefer a level playing field rather it benefits me or not!

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I believe what @woods has written is true. as my rating has not been anything higher than 80% …and yet i keep doing my thing…and to show my efforts are well appreciated is seeing myself on last month’s leaderboard ranked 5th …amongst thousands of creatives …and here i am again today walking my creativity to the top of the leaderboard…i believe even if the creative is just joining us today, as long as the potential and creativity is there, i dont see any reasons why he/she cant make the leaderboard… We are a Squad…WHAYASAY from NIGERIA

I’ve never made leaderboard, but have made Top Trending several times. My score stays in the 80 - 90% range. I think right now it’s at 86%. I’ve only won once. And I’ve been doing this for almost 3 months now.

Again, imo, I don’t think the CH is looking at scores and stats. If they’re looking at profiles they prob just compare wins. Plus, this scenario is in regards to an indecision between names. So maybe your wins have just been the obvious choice for the CH, in that scenario of course they don’t care who appears to have better chops for this. But what if it’s not the obvious choice and the CH starts looking at who has more wins to help them lean one way or the other. If this is being done even occasionally it’s an unfair advantage. If someone is just starting out and the other person has 20+ wins, it’s going to automatically make the CH feel that person has more experience and make them feel more confident about that entry. Even tho they may not have noticed that one creative has been at it for a month while the other has been at it for 2 years. If a CH does look at the profiles, I highly doubt they’re comparing how long each creative has been at it etc. they prob glance at wins and say well this is the better choice because this person must know what they’re doing.

@WHAYASAY Sure, you’re doing great and congrats!!! I wish I had half your talent!! But, I wonder how many contests you’ve lost due to this? Maybe a few, maybe none. But I wonder how you’d feel if you learned you’ve lost 5 contests due to this. I bet you’d care then, regardless of how good you’re doing :wink:.

But unfortunately we’ll never know because SH doesn’t track when a CH views our profiles. I wish they would…it’d put my competitive, level-playing field seeking mind at ease!

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There are two types of CH

First: - they will pick one of the best rated entries very quick - within a week or so. They trust their own choice over history/profile. They will make up their mind on the base of entry. - I like that!
(Everyone has equal chance to win if entry is in top list).

Second: they don’t decide weeks after rating the contest. They are undecided - seeks further info on the entries/persons they rated high.
Checks profile…possibly picks on the based of profile.
Some times picks winner from unrated or low rated entries and skips ‘Love it’ list.
I never won this type of contest even though I have the only one -Love it !!!

Just my observation!

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Question. What is the reason a CH is able to view our stats and wins if not to help determine a winner?

If it were for transparency so the CH knows we’re real people then wouldn’t just having our name and profile pic available, as well as a link to communicate with us resolve that issue?

So for those of you who think this isn’t being done or isn’t an issue, why even make the stats and win count available? What benefit is it to the CH if not used as a deciding factor??

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Here is something to remember, too. The CHs aren’t creative themselves - or else they would not be on the site looking at us as resources to find what they need. So … I don’t think all of them can even convey what they want in their draft. Some cannot fully explain their need, exactly how many words or letters are appropriate, whether or not they would appreciate an injection of humor, etc. However, in most cases, they know what they like when they see it, even if it is to collect a few choices to throw onto a table in a board room for the “the group” to consider. All other ideas will fall to the wayside, whether or not they are good or great or downright fantastic to our eyes and ears. Sometimes we have to fish for approval and adjust as we go along, but that is the challenge. I’m not concerned over my rating, I don’t even pay attention to it. I’ve trended, so I know I’m being considered. I’ve yet to win, but that means I haven’t hit the right button yet. But I am not a 24/7/365 player, either. This is fun for me, and if I become too concerned or involved, then it will become a job. I’m not ready for that just yet. So let the games continue, and I’ll keep creating as I go along! PS, if this was to become a job, I already know I like my coworkers :smile: Everyone is so inspiring!

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As if it is not enough to be discouraged I get an insult from a CH today after trying SO HARD to make progress on their contest. Man, I am fed up.

@Commulinks if you need to talk, you can send me a message on the site. That stands for anyone. As far as what happened, don’t let it get to you. If it is crossing a line, though, you know what you should do, and you should do it. Otherwise though, let it roll off. Honestly, I have seen your history and your ability and you definitely deserve to be here and are better than letting a picky-picky CH knock you down. No, it’s not right if they insulted you and that is why the reson for my aforementioned comment of doing what you need to do if it falls within that range. I can understand being fed up though. Trust me. For the past two weeks I have been right there. There are a few things that are irking me and that aren’t necessarily fair, but I am just doing all I can to keep this fun and to take it in stride and see just where the cards fall. So keep your head up and know that, again, we all may compete on the site, but outside of that and here on the boards – I’m here for you at least and I know that there are several that would echo those words. :gift_heart:

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@rareworthy How incredibly sweet of you to say all of this! You made my day! That one just hit me the wrong way when I thought had finally made some headway on that contest. They aren’t the first and won’t be the last and there have been many very nice ones. Thanks so much for your encouragement. It means a lot.

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Trust me you are meant to stay, av seen most of your winning entries and trust me am a big Fan …don’t let a Ch pull down your relentless creativity… We are a Squad!

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I guess you are very right …i will try my best to step it up …

I really like this Forum …i get to communicate with great creatives all over the world …e.g @woods30 i love most her winning entries tooo…nd her relentless efforts when it comes to trending

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Thank you @WHAYASAY This platform has been very fun for me. I’m not at my job anymore and this is a much needed creative outlet. Get my ideas out there. Exercise my brain a little. Take a break from the spit up and choochoo songs over here with my newborn and toddler.

I’ve tried to read books as a hobby, I enjoy that. But my kids pretty much interrupt me every 5-10 minutes. After months trying to get through the same book I realized I needed to find something different. Enter Squad Help! It’s great for 5 minute bursts of thought.

I love the talent on here. Very positive community. Lots of opportunities to push your mind and make extra cash. My husband is really happy I could find a new enjoyable hobby that works with my lifestyle. He surfs, I have SH lol.

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Hello Fellow Creatives. I am a Newbie and just came across this forum which really hits the mark. I am truly amazed at the awesome talent here. When I started entering contests a few weeks ago, it seemed everything was NO, NO, NO. When I received my first Like and then LOVE, I was BEYOND excited and surprised that I would even attain that amongst such talented individuals. But now its been NO every day, all day! Talk about a roller coaster ride. It is encouraging to read your comments and know that practice makes perfect and I am not alone in my struggles. Many thanks!

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Yea yea, you are not alone and you are welcome to share your experience and thoughts with us …we are a squad. Welcome to the Large Family :grinning::grinning::grinning:

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Much appreciated @WHAYASAY

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Since this has gotten a bit buried a bit and after several days, I thought I would repost this, @Chasity2ku I hope you don’t mind, because I know this is something that is bothering me a bit and for every person that speaks up about it there are probably at least five others that aren’t saying anything. So for us, and those that don’t come onto the forums or those not speaking up, could we get an answer to this @RachelSH if you might be able to find out?

Because honestly, I have been seeing a pattern with a select few creatives here as of recently, they’re always trending or on the leaderboard several times. Now, I know that everyone can have skill and luck and a lot of time on their hands but you cannot honestly convince me that there is never a CH at all that does not use profiles as a way of choosing winners. In light of this, while I understand transparency is a good thing on some levels – it can create a unfair stigma as well in cases like this. This is a crowd oriented site, as I have said a couple times now. Majority rules complexes cannot be discounted in this specific scenario of which SH is built upon. Profiles with stats, yes … they do allow for transparency for US as creatives, but it can create unfair bias and favoritism with CHs.

Case in example: Say for instance myself and xyzcreative are the only ones that have received ‘loves’ for a particular contest and there are 227 ‘on the right tracks’ and 139 ‘no, thank yous’ xyzcreative and I happened to both submit just 4 or 5 names to the contest and we both have 1 high rating. So far we seem pretty level. The only thing apart from are names at this point that can be leveraged as a deciding factor is the info on our profiles. Now wait a minute. I just now only have 1 win, only two badges at the top and a 85% rating (why none of this changed with my win, I don’t know but it didn’t) and xyzcreative has accumulated 47 wins and has 12 badges across their profile and a 98.4% overall rating. Because we are going with the possibility of a majority rules complex, don’t you think that it would be possible that the CH decides to pick xyzcreative over me without reading and or possibly understanding the stats and the system of how stats are figured out? I mean, I can see it as a possibility. Now why this ISN’T fair is because maybe xyzcreative has been here for a couple years longer than I have and has entered a lot more contests than I have or used a lot more entries than I have and it creates a stigma for at a glance possibility and also unknowing or non-understanding possibility. I have been here since June and still don’t understand the stats at times. There are creatives that have been here for YEARS that don’t understand the stats at times. Are you really expecting CHs that are bumbling around just trying to find a way to pick a name to understand them, to not use them unfairly, inexperiencedly, uneducatedly? This creates unneeded bias and stigma, in my opinion.

I think if the stats should be visible that they should at least only be visible to that personal creative and SH, or at most to the creatives, that personal creative, and SH ONLY. It can be used as motivation for us, way to know whom may be taking advantage of the system, and so on – but it should not be used as a way to differentiate worth to the CH when there are so many differences of schedules, entries, numbers of contests, skill, ability, time on site, rating differences between CHs (those that vote all down except for maybe three or whatnot or those that go back and change all non winning entries to downs, etc) to factor in that the CH would have know way of knowing, understanding, and or ability to factor in fairly at a glance or even most of the time after a bit of comparing back and forth. My inability to not be here all the time or my decision to not throw 20 entries a contest at the CH praying for something to stick should not be ever possibly held against me, and right now, there is a possibility of it – for all of us. Nay-sayers will exist while the system is working for them, of course, but in the spirit of having level-ground for us all, I think this needs to be answered and maybe even considered as something that could be an issue and has to do with some of us being able to stay encouraged and active as well. With this, I think it is important that we should not be able to be judged on these stats because they are not true reflections of anyone’s ability or non-ability without ability to consider all these factors that most, especially the CH, do not know. It should come down only to the NAME/LOGO/TAG and how WELL it fits the brand/company/product not how well we may be doing or not doing with all factors considered. If the stats were more realistic and representative – then yes … it would be able to be a possibility, but the stats are far from representative of quality and/or ability.

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I would like to present a potentially different take on what is happening because I have been paying very close attention to winning names. There are two things that I believe may have been impacting winning names. One (from my own perspective) is that I am way too focused on an exact .com name. One particular creative is winning A LOT by adding words to her domains to get the name she wants and obviously, the name that the CH wants. The other factor is one that SH has already dealt with as much as they can and that is private messages to CHs. I am not judging anyone on either of these two issues. This is simply an assessment that I made for myself about how others are winning and what I can do to improve my own chances. So along the line of the original question on this thread and the concern over profiles having an impact, I thought I would add this. I have no idea if CHs use our profiles to make decisions but I suppose if I were them, I might use that. I do know for sure that a few CHs have used it to contact me to ask me (and others, too) personally to participate in their contests. But I did not win any of those and in fact in one case I began feeling extremely uncomfortable with the personal contact and did not respond.

PS: I did NOT change my own personal use of sending personal messages to CHs. I only send thank-you messages. Never anything else through PM.

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