As CrunchGear enters its fifth month of existence, we wanted to start something to honor you, the readers, who continue to make this possible. So I’d like to announce our new ongoing commenter appreciation series.
The concept is much the same as our CrunchRace 2000 contest, except this one will be ongoing. Prizes will be given at random on a weekly basis. All you have to do is comment and use a valid email address.
And since I don’t think this would be a very good announcement without a winner. CrunchGear commenter webonics has been selected as the very first winner of the series for his continued commenting. He will receive a brand new 2nd Gen iPod Shuffle.
This is just the first of many, many prizes though. So lets get those comments rumbling.
I like free stuff. :D Keep up the good work, I love coming to your site to see what’s new in tec gear.
Phones…smart phones…a nice new one would be awesome!!!
Is it a random “Price” that you pick each week to determine the value of the “PriZe”? Sorry for being nitpicky (maybe that’s why I look like the rat?) on the generous announcment; I’ll try for more positive comments to earn a prize.
Cruch gear rules! Hooray! Awesome!
I like that the “nitpicky” guy misspelled “announcement.” Tee hee!
webonics wrote a kiss ass comment earlier today about how much he loves crunchgear:
“On a lighter note…I think the photo is hilarious.
I don’t think the intent of the post is political in nature hence the oversight of China’s participation in the embargo.
Anyway, I love CrunchGear and I value your articles for what its worth. Thanks for crunching away to bring me the latest in gadget news and some light-hearted humor during my workday. Cheers! ”
This “contest” isnt going to create any kind of real discussion like on Techcrunch or Lifehacker for example. it will just create more ass kissing rather than real discussion. Some how I doubt my comment or Ravneet’s comment will win:
“Lately CrunchGear has become nothing but a ad-hoc relay machine, re-posting news from around the ’series-of-tubes’, with no proper research into the article, time given into proof reading, no professionalism seen.”
General asskissery won’t win. That being said, webonics has always been supportive of the site and that’s why we picked him. Go back through our entire history, there he is commenting diligently.
The fact of the matter is, there will be people who bitch-and-moan about everything we do. It’s the whole damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.
So yes, you probably won’t win for spouting insults at us. This is a way to reward those who contribute to making the site better.
I’m not saying you have to kiss our asses. Criticism is welcome, but comments like Ravneet’s is not constructive in the slightest. He wasn’t even supporting argument, he just used the critical tone of your statement as a platform for useless negativity. You on the other hand, expressed a valid point and there is absolutely no reason you would be held from winning.
Anyway, as I said earlier in this comment, webonics has been reading our site from the beginning. He commented more than anyone in the CrunchRace 2000 contest and has commented more than anyone since. I stand by the decision to award him the first prize in this contest.
Pssh…they’re just trying to get more traffic. You know it’s true! They can’t lie to you forever!
haha! I might as well start commenting on this site. Bravo!
Oh wow, now I feel all guilty for not commenting for ages. Like I’m only coming back now because of bribery or something.
Or something.
Now “that’s” a great idea!
What’s crazy is often times, the comments contain better content than the articles.
Not around here though, just other places. ;)
Jarett, of course we want more traffic. We don’t exist without traffic. But we want that traffic, you, to be informed and entertained. Part of that information comes from our readers, who tell us when we’re wrong or when something we mentioned is on sale somewhere or whatever. Your comments, negative or positive, help us in our coverage and in turn, help our readers. And unlike other sites, all you have to do is type in a name and leave a comment.
I like writing for this site’s audience because you are well informed and I don’t have to talk down to you. I made the mistake of doing that a couple times here when I first started and you all let me know it. And if it takes giving away prizes to continue getting valuable feedback, then so be it. We are looking for real comments. Real discussion. Bill’s comment above is on point: often times, the comments do contain better content than the articles.
Thanks, CrunchGear. I very much appreciate the prize and recognition.
erik – Thanks for your comment. I think one “kisses @ss” when one knows that there is something to be attained as a result without making any real effort. I had no idea or pre-knowledge of CrunchGear’s Commenter Appreciation program. I simply wanted to respond in the post after some of the comments were completely off topic (discussing CrunchGear’s negation of the political situation with North Korea rather than keeping to gadgets/devices/gear) and were a bit brutal toward CrunchGear without providing anything substantive to the conversation. CrunchGear is as much about the blog posts as it is about the community comments. My comments were honest. Thanks for spreading your holiday cheer, bro.
Awesome CrunchGear, keep up the commenters appreciation coz we need some!
Odd, I comment but they must get tagged as spam or stuck in moderation…