Taking competitions to next level? by Xavier Russo

ooh love the singer/songwriters, etc idea! maybe even some poster design?

i think competitions are a great way to get us creative-bunnies thinking a little bit differently. so any or all are welcome with much love

I think that’s a great idea Xavier, a platform where anyone can start or promote their own competitions would be quite unique on the internet which is a rare thing these days, the benefit it could provide to the Bubble site as far as traffic and promotion would be huge and that benefit would flow on to us users, plus it should provide hours of fun.
Will have a think about what features should be inlcuded but ‘’vote buttons’ would be a must.

Great idea. Since my business is creating promotions/competitions, I have a bit knowledge on the subject. If I can assist any member wanting to set-up a comp, let me know. Happy to give free advice for a worthy cause………but a note of caution….I’m a stickler for the rules.

point-and-click voting system with real-time graphs of how entries are polling?

I love competitions – love ‘em. Buuttt …
my gut instinct to the proposal is a bit shy of a free-for-all. It depends on your goals for this activity and I think it has the potential to be Pandora’s Box. Sorry, not meaning to be negative but offering some thoughts for consideration. My reasons are:

1. The little experience I have had in running competitions has almost all been the same pattern – regular and huge numbers of comps have a tendency to generate short-term mad enthusiasm but to peter off beyond revival and I do admit there has been no real analysis of why (and Sharon may beg to differ with this trend).

2. If the proposal does take off and become hugely successful, would it still gel with what Redbubble is all about (and I don’t presume to know this intimately, but as a user for the past month I have ideas about what it means to me)?

3. What is Redbubble’s motivation here? Am I right in assuming it’s the Bubble taking a bit of a step back to encourage the RB community to do some of its own marketing. The more the merrier – definitely – although it seems to be a bit like attracting more suppliers and occasional consumers, perhaps to the exclusion of attracting consumers or with a focus on attracting more consumers being left to some other marketing activity.

Please don’t take this as criticism because that’s not my intention at all. I am trying to get to the bottom of why I am uneasy about an idea I would have thought I would love. And to be honest, none of the above has explained that to me at all!

PS perhaps on point one, I would suggest some kind of mediation, limit, rule, over view, Redbubble adjudicator or for want of a better … um … term – control.

Thanks for the comments everyone. There are a bunch of issues that need to be carefully considered here, so the more input the better.

To Anne’s point, what is our motivation?

• Firstly, we like the creative energy and opportunities for artists that competitions (and collaborations or art projects) bring to the RedBubble community. They’re fun for both artists and their audience.

• Secondly, we want to run more RedBubble competitions to help grow the site, but we’re not 100% happy with the existing approach (i.e. tagging + favouriting) since it has issues with unintentional voting, unlimited entries, etc etc. We want a better competition system to do future (global) competitions properly.

So if we’re going to build a toolkit for ourselves, we thought why not make it available more broadly. Folks will organise their own competitions anyway using journals or forums, so why not make it easier?

It’s also something that we as individuals like and would use. Bridget is currently recording her first album, and loves the idea of having her cover designed by someone from RedBubble.

Oops, formatting issues. Sorry for shouting.

as stated in the forum, love the idea Xavier, maybe a voting system similar to the song contest one would be better, everyone can cast one vote to an email?

another idea…..perhaps getting some sponsors on board to contribute to prizes/cross promotion for some comps could work. The winner/s could be judged by the sponsor providing the prize.

I have 000’s of small business contacts (from a previous life)…most of whom are DESPERATE to find inexpensive (i.e. cheap) means of advertising. What if there was a way that a small business owner could purchase a $50, $100 or $200 advertising spot…banner…whatever….at the top of a competition page. Their sponsorship would provide prize money for the winner.

Small business owners are also potential buyers :-)

Lots of things to be considered here, and I don’t think any solution will be 100% perfect and win the approval of everyone.

Things that I’d like to see introduced that may make it more objective (fairer?) for everyone ……

1. Limit the number of entries to 2 or 3 for each participant.
2. No previously published work is eligible.
3. “Blind” voting system – the artist remains anonymous to the voters.
4. One vote per person only …. or, allow voters to make their own “short list” of 5 favourites.
5. Users with multiple accounts may only vote once.

Just my 2^¢^ …..

Oooops, I forgot …..

6. Pimping your work = disqualification!

Competitions are always great for boosting the imagination or creative skills, so it all gets a vote from me! A voting button as well!! Very cool!!
How you go about it doesn’t bother me really, but I like Graeme’s ‘rules’. And Lee’s ideas about sponsorship from outside the bubbles is great too. Sharon is right… gotta have strict rules about everything.

max two entries gets my vote, as does one vote per user (or top 5 as stated), bit of a shame if previously published work isn’t permitted though…

Jessica, I know what you mean about previously published work but I was trying to look for a way where it a) encouraged people to make new work, and b) tried to keep “clique” voting to a minimum (I’ll vote for your entry if you vote for mine). Of course, some artists styles will be instantly recognisable but, if entrants are anonymous, and the work has never been seen before, voters will never be 100% sure. Just looking for ways to try to level the playing field for everyone ….

These are just ideas to promote discussion … no “rules” …. yet! ;)

Well I know when I found RB I was inspired to join because of the 100 per cent RB tshirt competition. Then when I kept visiting RB I would have to go hunting for the competition because I kept forgetting the right tag search.
a) So a competition section on the home page would be great.
b) A voting button instead of current system would be far more streamlined as well.
c) Agree that guidelines for member run comps are needed.
Overall I think competitions are great as they provide alternative possibilities for artists, who like me, do not want to publish their fine art online, yet love doing other creative projects.

i love the idea – i always find it helps the creative process to be given a goal to shoot for

Setting goals here on RB for a whole bunch of people who are here for the fun and interest would be grand – those like me who don’t really think they will sell anything but if so it would be good – those that like the community element etc. And also for people that have other lives but need the cereativity that the Bubble offers.

Great for motivation, inclusion, collaboration, increasing skills and abilities, participation etc etc – all good for community building.

However competitions mean competiveness – one reason I left the commercial arts industry many years ago and never went back. So, I like Grahams suggestions and thinking behind them.

I too am not sure about previously unpublished work but agree with where you are coming from Graham.

I really like the idea of collaborations in competition – such as you may have already had. For instance collaborations between writers and visual artists (poets and photiographers matching pieces or producing something new and exciting). It seems the writers here don’t get the exposure they deserve and I am sure would like. I know some writers I’d love to work with who are not currently Bubblers for instance, and who would join through that collaboration.

.)

Could I also suggest levels. I am not sure how this would happen but with all the community sports events I have been a part of (national and international) there are entry points for ‘beginners’ to ‘advanced’.

I think there would be some mileage for that here too since there’s a range of skills and experience in the Red Bubble community. Especially if the motivation is community building. Stops it from being too elitist or exclusionary and guarantees participation.

Not sure of the logistics but I am sure it could work. Self registration worksin the sports communities I am part of. Question is, what does each grade or level mean? Needs some thinking and collective understanding.

Thats it

Yep, collaboration is an area we think is well worth exploring further. I personally love the idea of encouraging different types of creative folk to work together on joint projects (with competitions just one way of doing this).

There’s already been some really cool member-organised collaborations, like the Ping Pong series by Kookylane and FireRabbit

Great points about the range of skill levels and how we make this fun & inclusive, as well as something that encourages people to aspire to improve.

Thanks for the specific suggestions too – e.g. blind voting, limits on entries, limits on voting, etc. Keep them coming!

Whoo! Photoshop Tennis!