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Post by Steaphany on Dec 1, 2011 0:59:17 GMT
...There are no prizes to be won here... Steve, May I suggest holding photography competitions which do offer either a monitory or equipment prize for the winners ? I have seen photography competitions where monitory prizes are funded by entry fees, most often in the $25 to $50 / image range, sometimes even higher. In the case of equipment prizes, the competition could partner with one or more sponsor company/companies, either manufacturers or retailers, to provide the prize(s) for promotional advertising associated with the competition. Obviously, with fstop only having 50 members, we should start small, potentially with a $5.00 entry fee per submitted image. Have the funds split in half to fund the winning image prizes and half to fund the forum. ( You can even promote the competition as a fund raiser to cover forum operations and forum promotion ) If we can secure sponsors to donate physical prizes, then all the entry frees can go towards the forum. Additionally, the sponsor could promote fstop and their involvement in the competition to their customers which will also build membership. In the end, this will distinguish fstop from other forums, create motivation for participation, attract membership, and build reputations for the competition winners through post competition sponsor recognition and advertising. Reason for Editing: fixing typos |
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Post by robmarshall on Dec 1, 2011 22:49:06 GMT
Steaphany, (I know you addressed it to Steve). I am not opposed to this, but there are several problems. I used to belong to a bridge-camera forum (halcyon days  ) and they had a sponsored monthly comp of a 'new' camera (it turned out to be a refurb). It did attract a lot of interest though. I'm not sure in the current financial Armageddon we would get a sponsor as we are such a small site. Charging an entry fee, might also be problematic, and might be tricky to administer with our set-up. But perhaps we could explore this further. I'm not sure about the competitive element that this would inevitably introduce to the forum. What do others think? Comments please. |
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Post by Barry on Dec 1, 2011 23:05:03 GMT
To be honest I just like the 'Assignment's' that are set monthly, where we can get involved if we want to. (Although 'Heat' is going to be challenging ;D ).
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Post by The Wirefox on Dec 2, 2011 6:51:10 GMT
Steaphany, I have considered this a few times over the last few weeks. I did (I may still do) belong to a forum where a monthly comp was in place. I think it was Lowepro who acted as sponsor and chipped in with a camera bag every month. There were 3 aspects of this that interested me. Firstly the same small group of photographers were entering every month. The rules of engagement were very strict in terms of the level of PP, content etc and finally their weekly challenge was far more popular than the prize driven comp.
Nevertheless I am open to forum opinion on this subject because I think it is fundamentally a good idea if managed properly and as we have seen on a certain other forum they can draw members in. One of the things that did irritate me a little was that many of the competition entrants never contributed to the regular forum and that was a great shame because from the standard of their work it was clear that they had a lot to offer the community at large.
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Post by chrisc on Dec 2, 2011 11:25:52 GMT
One of the things that did irritate me a little was that many of the competition entrants never contributed to the regular forum and that was a great shame because from the standard of their work it was clear that they had a lot to offer the community at large. Then make participation a pre-requisite to entering competitions. No converse, no play. |
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Post by Barry on Dec 2, 2011 14:42:51 GMT
Then make participation a pre-requisite to entering competitions. No converse, no play. It would require a bit of coding, but maybe you would need at least 20 posts difference in your post count to be able to enter the following months challenge/competition. |
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Post by Steaphany on Dec 3, 2011 6:09:40 GMT
Then make participation a pre-requisite to entering competitions. No converse, no play. It would require a bit of coding, but maybe you would need at least 20 posts difference in your post count to be able to enter the following months challenge/competition. I agree that forum participation should be a prerequisite, but this would be fine if the posts provided substantive content and weren't just a bunch of "pokes" or empty filler just to satisfy the competition post counter. |
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Post by Barry on Dec 3, 2011 9:51:14 GMT
I agree that forum participation should be a prerequisite, but this would be fine if the posts provided substantive content and weren't just a bunch of "pokes" or empty filler just to satisfy the competition post counter. That is where the Moderators come in, having done this previously on another forum. Members can be advised at first, but if they continue then they are banned. Although I think this would be a very rare case. |
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Post by Steaphany on Dec 4, 2011 4:18:18 GMT
Another potential for "required participation" would be to author a tutorial, whether as a video or a document, that can serve as an equivalent to post activity.
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Post by Stevewebb on Dec 4, 2011 8:00:05 GMT
I would be a bit concerned with this at the moment especially with a still quite small membership.
Comps like this have the potential to create an "us and them" situation where members with not so much experience, knowledge or gear are put off by this gallery of the "best of the best" shots every month.
There is also the potential for things to get political and have people falling out, which amongst a small membership would not be good at all.
It is perhaps a good thought for the future as our numbers expand a bit more and I definately agree that regular participation in the forum would be a good condition of entry to avoid "1 post peter" type members.
In the meantime, I am perfectly happy being involved in a community with no egos, good conversation, great sharing of advice and techniques and some great photos.
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Post by chrisc on Dec 4, 2011 13:13:35 GMT
DITTO!
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