Many of you from Fall 2006 contest and before are likely to remember the Featured Blogger feature that we had in place. Basically, the moderators and administrators would pick a few bloggers throughout the contest and feature them. Well, it got to be dead, in a way, as the same four bloggers were featured for nearly the entire contest. This was deemed unfair by many ProU members. So, we have developed a new system.
Now, we are asking you for your input in choosing who to feature. Simply fill out this nomination form, and your work is complete. The nominees then go through a selection process by a committee of moderators to determine who should earn the title. The selection criteria includes recent activity (bloggers that have been inactive are ineligible to become Featured Bloggers), correct grammar and spelling, and are in good standing in the community (no recent warnings or violations of the Terms of Service). Additionally, Featured Bloggers show originality of thought and exemplify the ProU motto: Think. Speak Up. Reach Out.
Additionally, everyone will be able to see all bloggers that have been featured as of the launch of this feature, by simply visiting www.progressiveu.org/featured. The profiles of the bloggers (yes, there will be profiles as well) will be placed on the front page for about a week, so you can be sure that the blogger featured on the front page is only featured recently. We hope to announce the first blogger by the start of the next contest, and will be accepting nominations starting immediately.
As usual, we ask that you do not nominate bloggers simply because they are your friends, nor do you refrain from nominating those who you strongly disagree with. All nominees will be given consideration, but we cannot promise that every blogger nominated will be selected.
If you have any questions, you can either direct them to the Featured Blogger forum by starting a new topic here, or you can e-mail featuredblogger@progressiveu.org, and one of our moderators will be happy to assist in answering your questions.
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make me win already.
"it's silly, no? when a rocketship explodes and man still wants to fly. some say man ain't happy truly, until man truly dies. o why?"
-Prince
Cool idea. Gives some more exposure to others... although I don't really know who I would nominate. Maybe later.
What's the benefits of being the Featured Blogger (besides having your name on the first page of the ProgressiveU website)?
Because your name is on the front page, you will get more hits to your blog. If you are participating in the contest (not everyone who is featured is), this means more points for additional reads on your blog. Since reads are often the deciding factor in who wins the contest, that implies a better chance at winning the contest.
Of course, not everyone who is nominated is featured, which is an important aspect of this feature. Only those who are exemplary in their blogs will have the chance to be featured.
~C
Read the news
Nominate a featured blogger!
When is the featured blogger chosen?
Once we receive a nomination, we put the nomination up for a vote. Once we get a clear consensus as to whether they should be featured or not, we send out a questionnaire to those we vote yes on. Once we get those back, we write up a summary of the blogger, and change the front page announcement on Sunday, assuming we have someone to feature.
This week, we've gotten a ton of nominations, and probably 3/4 of them will be featured, but I'm not sure if we've sent out the questionnaires yet or not.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!
Thanks for the reply. Does everyone vote, or just the higher ups of Progressive U? And what do you mean that 3/4 will be featured? There is more than one featured blogger at a time?
All the active faculty members vote (which is usually 6-7 of them), but we don't feature anyone who isn't nominated first.
We only feature one blogger at a time, but we have a running list (so we can go many weeks without nominations), so when we select someone to be featured, we send them a questionnaire and keep it on file until we feature them.
We don't feature everyone who gets nominated. We usually put them on hold if they're new, or haven't blogged in a while (even if they comment all the time), and typically disqualify them if they've had a TOS violation in the past... 60 days, I think... not sure on that number.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!