I see these Tier-A creatives very often submit 20 entries right off the bat, early access and all, and I’m just like “Isn’t that a bit overkill”?
I think it’s a bit ridiculous that every contest has an average of about 100 to 150 participants and 600 to 1000 entries within the first few hours. Especially when you realize 60% of the participants only submit 1 to 2 entries…
In Mind Field S1 • E5 Michael shows how people are less likely to be happy with their decisions when they are given a lot of options to choose from rather than fewer. If you really have 20 entries I’m sure you can at least single out the top 5 of them no? (You can always add the other ones later if the CH doesn’t like them.)
Yes I realize that Mind Field is very different from this situation because entries aren’t necessarily all the same quality but, I mean, even when you look at the “Tier-A Creatives Only” contests they very often have just as many entries as the lower tier ones; (realize that the average amount of entries per user then is probably twice as high than in the lower tier ones…)
This is a multi-dimensional and multi-factor topic. Yes, I’m not going to deny that some of the people that do this are just winging things at the wall to see what, if any, stick. However, this is not the case for all. The same that not every issue that can be brought up applies to all. You also have to remember that many of us have been a part of SH for years … many of us over three years, several of us over five years, and then there are some that have been here from the beginning. Assuming that a good majority of these people have been reasonably active within the past, or even now are relatively active, these ‘elder’ members have amounted quite a library of ‘past entries’ for many types of contests and business/product categories. Now, many people are buying the names as they can that hold the most promise or sub them for premium or standard. However, for many it would be financially impossible to buy MANY of these. So, instead, they just keep an idea of their past entries either on-site or even in a spreadsheet for some of us more indepth obsessors. At the beginning of a contest, some can go through the brief and then go over their past entries and come up with similar that they think may be a good idea, or even sub past entires themselves. Several of us have learned that most CHs aren’t entirely sure EXACTLY what they want so offering them different naming styles and spelling styles is the way to go at the beginning. This shows more option and via rating and/or comments/feedback, a creative can then begin to decipher more of what the CH may be looking for.
So if you have the entry capability and have the resource or have done the research in the past for similar types of contests and can come up with several ideas – this, of course could account for this. No, it’s not every T-A creative and it’s not every one of those that does enter that many this is doing this. There are going to be ones that just sub a lot for their own personal reasons or even thinking that it increases their chances. Does it always make it wrong or does always it make it right? No. There’s cases for each. It does have its benefits and its consequences and probably in each scenario. However, we’ve talked about this in many past discussions and there are arguments to each side of the coin. I think that’s why SH have settled upon the system that is in place now. No matter the LIMIT that is set … whether it is low or high, though, there are always going to be people that hit that limit and sub a lot out of the gate. Everyone has their reasons. And sure, it can be overkill or seem as such in cases, but i’ve come to learn that it’s just best to worry about your own entries and doing what you can to meet brief and come up with the best outcome for the CH and hopefully ultimately you. Saying that this is a reason possibly for unrated entries isn’t off the mark, but it’s only one possibility out of many. It may not help the case, but there’s no real way to tell the sole cause and then you have to take into account that each case and scenario is going to have different reasons. SH would have to contact and ask each independent CH/CHteam as to why this happened for their particular contest.
You are right in many ways, my friend. But some got the very dark side of the coin. I have been on the site for five years, but I have a rating less than any newbie, while I sell domains and occasionally win contests. But I do it with great difficulty. If I had more entries in each contest, I would surely have a better chance of winning, as it was before. So I am against the current percentile system. However, I respect the choice of the team. If this system works and helps someone, I’m happy about it. Such a large structure like SH cannot be liked by everyone, the main thing is that it works stably. But in our business, the most important part is creativity. Not personal enrichment, but helping the customer find a name. Those who come to the site for quick earnings are very soon disappointed and leave. Only dedicated word makers remain. The only thing I’d really like is to add the seniority percentile: 0)