Ideas for the next competition

iceman (Mike) · #1 30-09-2005, 09:05 AM

Well, you can still smell the smoke from the party poppers after our 1st birthday competition has just wound up, but it's time to think about the next competition now.

I'd like to run a competition that culminates around xmas time

(yes, there will be prizes) and i'm after your ideas on what type of competition we can run.

The quiz competition was great and the people that entered commented on how much they learnt while researching it, but there were limited entries and it could well have been because the questions seemed a little difficult at first glance.

So I'd like the next competition to be something a little "easier", where more members can participate. At this stage, I think I'd like to keep the format where the correct or best entries are put into a draw for the winners to be pulled from a hat. But it doesn't have to be that way, and it will depend on what you actually have to do to enter.

So, put your thinking caps on - given that it's now October (well, tomorrow it is anyway), we've probably got about 2-3 weeks to come up with a format for the competition, a couple of weeks for me to arrange sponsors, prizes, do the page on the site etc, a couple of weeks to announce the competition and then a couple of weeks of accepting entries. That would take us all the way to xmas. So we need to start thinking about it now!

Some of my suggestions, to kick the thought process into gear..

1) A guessing style competition - something that can't be googled, like "What's the maximum number of posts ever posted in one day", or "how many jelly beans in this jar". Something everyone can enter without any prior knowledge.

2) Another quiz, but with easier questions - questions that don't turn people off. Would encourage more people to participate. Some people might know the answers off the top of their head, others would need to google, but it would be easy enough for everyone.

3) How many words can you make out of the phrase "IceInSpace"? I know there's programs that can help people here, but again it's not necessarily the question - it's the spirit of the competition, getting people to enter and join in the fun, and then hopefully having a draw at the end.

Anyway, your turn - post your suggestions here!

janoskiss (Steve H) · #2 30-09-2005, 09:39 AM

How about instead of dumbing it down, giving more people a chance, by say giving a raffle ticket for each correct answer, with perhaps some bonus for getting all the answers right. This way the more questions you answer the better the chances of winning, but there is no pressure of having to answer everything correctly. I think that is the put off, because many people would be thinking that there is only a slim chance that they would get all answers correct.

Also with a lot more entrants judging might be quite a task, so you might want to make the next quiz multiple choice for practical reasons.

iceman (Mike) · #3 30-09-2005, 09:55 AM

Quote:

How about instead of dumbing it down, giving more people a chance, by say giving a raffle ticket for each correct answer, with perhaps some bonus for getting all the answers right

hmm nice idea Steve, even just 1 correct entry gets you into the draw - but the more correct answers you get, the more entries you get in the draw.

Quote:

Also with a lot more entrants judging might be quite a task, so you might want to make the next quiz multiple choice for practical reasons

Yes, definitely, good idea. Also that way I don't need to have multiple correct answers, interpretations and mis-interpretations, etc. It was a lot of work putting just 50 entries into excel and marking everyone, so I wasn't going to repeat it for over 100 entries!

I was looking at having online submission next time, and a multiple choice quiz suits perfectly for that.

Thanks for the ideas Steve.

But still, we're not locked in yet - more ideas guys! It doesn't have to be a 30 question quiz.

RB (Andrew) · #4 30-09-2005, 09:58 AM

I like it too.
Great Idea.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmultiple choice
mmm

.

RapidEye · #5 30-09-2005, 10:03 AM

Steve took the idea right out of my head =_)

It seems solid to me!

davidpretorius · #6 30-09-2005, 11:25 AM

spot on steve,

you want to cater for the competive guys and non competitive.

I would not bother with "How many smarties". I am here for fun and learning. I learnt heaps, I loved the questions, I loved the challenge. It was hard, google made it easier, but it was not a walk in the park. I got excited when i got them right.

based on 30 questions, 1 entry per correct answer, bonus 33% for all answers correct ie 40 entries.

if you get 200 people, you will then have up to 8000 entries!

Having the major sponsor pull something out of the hat is important, but not 8000, so get 4 hats, with the numbers 0 to 9, in there, and pull out 4 numbers to form a entry between 0 and 9999?

Striker (Tony) · #7 30-09-2005, 11:58 AM

Sounds great.....when you give out questions that people dont know they loose interest...so giving people a chance even if they dont know all the answers sounds like a good idea.

Me personaly would rather just pay someone off for 1st prize....lol

[1ponders] (Paul) · #8 30-09-2005, 12:29 PM

I still think a logo competition is a good idea Mike

norm · #9 30-09-2005, 01:33 PM

Hi ICE,

Maybe a competition in the format of a crossword?
Multiple choice answers is a great idea.
20000 word essay on Telescope design ?

Best drawing of a telescope using Windows Paintbrush ?

btw: Congrats to yourself and the winners on a great competition.

Norm

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #10 30-09-2005, 02:08 PM

Something along the lines of what AS&T do in their mag for prizes. Write a story about anything that was memorable to you concerning Astronomy. Could be a fantastic fireball you saw, or it could've been a memorable night with your kids! I have read some great stuff in posts that could win easy.

I like to read stories like that. Not only are they entertaining but they are inspiring.

Worth a thought.

ving (David) · #11 01-10-2005, 10:16 AM

I think the "i"s have it then...

multiple guess is my fave. even if you dont know the answer you have a 1 in 4-5 chance of getting it right

bit far fetched but how bout some sort of observational challenge grade by size of telescope of course? like I say, maybe a little hard to do tho...

iceman (Mike) · #12 08-10-2005, 11:26 AM

Ok, well there's been no other ideas to rival what's already been said so the competition will be roughly in the following format:

- 30 (or so) questions, ranging from easy to harder
- Multiple choice answers
- Even just one correct answer gets you into the draw
- The more correct answers you get, the more entries you'll get in the draw (working on some sliding scale, will be detailed in the rules when it's announced)
- Competition will close by xmas
- There will be prizes, 1st 2nd and 3rd again. Hopefully bigger prizes with more value! It's xmas after all

- I'll spend the next few weeks chasing sponsors, figuring out the rules and doing up a page, and will announce it in a 4-6 weeks or so I guess.

Thanks to those that posted their ideas.

acropolite (Phil) · #13 08-10-2005, 02:22 PM

Better make question 30 "what do you think we should do for the next contest ?"...

wavelandscott (Scott) · #14 08-10-2005, 02:24 PM

Just a question that has been stirred in my mind because of the annual internal audit that we are doing at work...and the paranoia that our "review of risks" induces in me...

I have no idea of what the real rules are but, I think that each state has different rules in terms of entering a game of chance that can win you a prize...even if "no puchase is necessary"...

Probably overkill, but do make sure (for your own sake) that you (and sponsors) are covered on the liability side of things...with participants across the country (and world), you never know for sure what "opportunisitc" person might be out there...

While I do recognize that this is for fun (and it is) if the prizes are of bigger value for some the thrill of competition is soon replaced by the thrill of greed...

Just maybe I am too paranoid but, you never know...

With that said, I can't wait to see the next competition!

iceman (Mike) · #15 08-10-2005, 03:47 PM

Quote:

I have no idea of what the real rules are but, I think that each state has different rules in terms of entering a game of chance that can win you a prize...even if "no puchase is necessary"...

Probably overkill, but do make sure (for your own sake) that you (and sponsors) are covered on the liability side of things...with participants across the country (and world), you never know for sure what "opportunisitc" person might be out there...

Food for thought, Scott. I'll speak with Rod and see if he has any opinion on the matter.

Quote:

While I do recognize that this is for fun (and it is) if the prizes are of bigger value for some the thrill of competition is soon replaced by the thrill of greed...

hmm, that's true and it is a risk I suppose - the bigger the prize on offer, the stricter I'll have to be with the rules and the marking of people's entries.

But the good thing about a multiple choice quiz, is that there's only 1 right answer per question (at least, that's how I'll structure the Q's and A's). So it should be clear if someone is right or wrong and there's no room for misinterpretation.

I guess it is also possible that some "fun" will go out of it, but I hope that's not the case. The competition is my way of being able to give something back to the IceInSpace community (via the sponsors

) and it's a way for the sponsors to get involved with the IceInSpace community.

It's a great talking point and also a great way to get new members into the community.

Thanks for your thoughts Scott.

acropolite (Phil) · #16 08-10-2005, 05:21 PM

Mike, many years ago I was involved in a wavesailing club. Our contests were based simply on participation. The winner had the satisfaction of simply being the winner and all who participated were placed in a draw for the prizes (in accordance with the sponsors wishes). Needless to say the participation rate was always high and there were never any complaints by the contestants...

Rodstar (Rod) · #17 14-10-2005, 10:01 PM

I had a brief look at the legal side of such a competition a few months ago in terms of registration / permits etc. From what I can gather, so long as people are not paying to enter the competition, there is no need to obtain a permit.

Just as in the recent quiz competition, I would recommend that there be a rule that the host's decision is final, so that there are no rights of disputation regarding the winner.

Hopefully this time I will have enough spare time to put in an entry, to give myself a chance of winning.

iceman (Mike) · #18 15-10-2005, 05:49 AM

Thanks very much for your advice Rod! This next quiz will be easier (and multiple choice), and you don't need to get all 30 right to win.

So everyone should have time to answer 1 question right!

ving (David) · #19 15-10-2005, 03:08 PM

just for future reference tho mike, a questionless raffle would also work. say ticket @ $10 or $20 each with proceeds going towards IIS or some worth charity or something...

I'd buy a coupla ticket for sure

rumples riot · #20 17-10-2005, 08:58 PM

What about the sort of stuff we did at the start of the year where people have to guess what is important on todays date? Do that over say 10 days then whoever is in the top ten put them into the raffle.