Common sense is not so common.

In this lovely bubble we call Silicon Valley, I’ve noticed (at a surprisingly early stage) that a seemingly “tough” company problem can be “easily” solved with a contest. User participation is so relevant in this age of internetz that it just seems like a natural, easy, and cheap fit! Right?!

Here are some fun ones I noticed:

• Art
• Search algorithms
• Videos
• Visualizations
• UI- ok not a contest per se, but still fun

Another plus about contests is that it (sometimes) gets people to research about their site, which eventually means free marketing. “What’d you do this weekend?”. “Oh I was looking at the Netflix data set and tweaking my DNA matching program to make it work with user-movie combinations instead of ATCG combos.”

Sounds like too simple of a theory right? That’s because it is just that. It allows a win-win situation for both the company and its users; site value and user vanity! At the end of the event the company will absorb the eagerly awaited winning product(s) and wrap it in a nice blog entry bow branding their online system as one that was created by a user, for a user.

Party on marketers!

10:32 Halo 3 beta DL is not yet available for Crackdown owners!

… in between, I check the forums that is growing so much that responses are paginating every 10, then 5 then 2 then -1 minutes
12:07 Twitter breaks 

… figured that going to the last page of the forum and skimming through dt of posts will tell me when the download is actually available; either that, or someone will shout “ABOUT TIME BITçHéz!”.

Ok, my name isn’t Joe but I do have one eye that is currently out of commission. Couple of bruises later, I’ve locked myself up in the bedroom (luckily there is a master bath) because I keep slamming my sides against the wall or wall corners. Thank goodness for wifi!

this.

1. Don’t panic.

2. Give time for your initial craptastic impression to wear off.

3. Ask your (fuming) partner what they suggest you do to remedy the situation. Tell them to be as specific as possible; this is no time to play mind reading games. Don’t forget to bring your partner breakfast in bed before this chat.

4. Understand that you probably will be dealing with this person or these people for the rest of your lives, so take your partner’s advice and not your baby’s daddy’s cousin who had the same issue with their 4th ex gay partner.

5.  Add a personal touch by writing/saying your own words and not just reciting them from the cheat sheet your partner gave you.

6. Work around the problem by gaining friends around the target(s). They will put in a good word for you if and when the topic arises.

7. Wash, rinse and repeat.

If it was meant to be, new family will learn to like you, which means your partner will like you more, which means you can get more cake.

If it ends in you vs the family, gtfo.