Dear Readers (particularly those that are bent out of shape by Sklose's electrical tape headboard in this post), we totally understand your confusion and wanted to address it. This is what happened...
January Jumpstart Rules: An Explanation
Basically we sent all the top vote getters to our judges panel with the instructions to elect one winner in each of the four basic categories:
- Best Hack
- Best Fabric
- Best Decorative Painting
- Best Paint or Finish
This is what it looked like to them:
Now, it is true that our intention was for the judges to ALSO award the last two out of this top vote getting group, but we did not make it very clear, so that THEY thought they could award these last two categories to anyone in the contest.
- Biggest Wow Factor
- Most Likely to be Copied
To their credit (and to our poor communication), they followed the contest closely and pulled out some dark horses, and three of them REALLY thought that SKLOSE would be the most likely to be copied - which is, after all, what we asked of them.
Now, we have - after a number of years - settled upon a bicameral decision process (like our Founding Fathers), which doesn't really make sense if you REALLY TRUST THE PEOPLE, but we found that our results were MUCH BETTER when we made this shift, and you, the people, have actually liked the results better too (believe me, we got a lot more negative email when it was ONLY a reader popularity vote).
So, we think that even despite the fact that we (the organizer) communicated poorly, those that made the first decisions (the readers) did a really good job, as did the final decision makers (the judges). Otherwise, we'd be far less happy with our January Jumpstart than we are, and we think it was a really great month.
In addition, we were heartened by the fact that in the end out of our SIX POSSIBLE WINNING SPOTS, we really did get six clear winners and runners up. While nothing is perfect, all of these folks, readers, judges and contestants did a great job and produced a really rich group of solutions to problems, all of which got your sweet attention.
We hope that even if you don't feel like making a black electrical tape headboard, you gained something NEW and WONDERFUL from all of these entrants and judges, and we promise to be even clearer and more foolproof next time.
Best, Maxwell & Co.
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Jan Jumpstart 2008 - newsRelated Links
- The Judges Choices: Sarah Humphreys from Martha Stewart
- The January Jumpstart Contest: 6 Categories & Schedule
- Jan Jumpstart Judge: Rebecca Robertson Pasanella from Martha Stewart
- January Jumpstart Rules: An Explanation
- The Judges Choices: Erin Wylie from Martha Stewart
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Maxwell & Co., you are an ongoing delight. Pretty much anything you do with your web site is just fine with me.
view viola's profile
Can we draw some 2008 Superbowl comparisons here? I love an unusual outcome! It was a super informative, inspiring and entertaining Jumpstart for me. Thanks to all of the participants.
view wig3000's profile
that clears it up! I thought the electrical tape was great. I mean, I've got tape--I could do one right now!
view Christine (the one in DC)'s profile
Iâm sorry, but this clears up little.
..."we sent all the top vote getters to our judges panel"
The question is, how did you determine the top vote getters - the finalists? Two independent tallies say you did not send all of the top vote getters to the judges.
Also, why are there two painting categories... 1) Best Decorative Painting aka Best Use of Paint or Finish 2) Best Use of Paint or Finish aka Best Decorative Painting? In the finalist announcement it's called one, in the winners post it's called another and visa versa. Basically they are both one category.
this is getting really old. Adios.
view Steve02's profile
Oh man! I can totally see how that would have made things confusing for the judges and I can totally see how it's a perfectly honest misunderstanding. What I can't see is why people take things so darn seriously. Who doesn't like a little surprise every now and then?
Loved the JJ contest and appreciated all of the hard work and thought that went into all of the entries! Thanks for the explanation, Maxwell :)
view STLcolleen's profile
Dear Maxwell et al: you all did an outstanding job and have nothing to apologize for. I really enjoyed the contest, learned a lot, and even feel emboldened enough to attempt a very modest repainting of a dresser I can't afford to replace. You can't please all the people all the time, and am sure you know by now that there's something about online discussions that brings out an argumentative and unsoothable quality in people at times. Viva free thinkers and DIY wall stickers!
view KarenH's profile
thanks Maxwell!
view suziegoombs's profile
The bicameral approach enriches things in an interesting, informative and productive way.
Neurosis is an interesting thing also, eh?
Thanks for the fun.
view Lavren's profile
I liked Sklose's headboard. But regardless, this was not a popularity contest. The judges are there to judge, not to run the statistics and pick the top vote-getters.
Now the democratic primary/superdelegate debacle, that's another matter...
view luz's profile
i liked the idea of this contest and i don't mind little fudge-ups or miscommuniques. i'm more interested in the stuff people submitted and that you continue posting cool stuff for me to look at :)
view kdkaboom's profile
I have no problem with teh bicameral decison making process. Unfortunatelty, this decision was not an example of this, rather it was a unilateral choice on the part of the judges that compeltely ignored the desires of the voters.
Why not ask the judges to re-vote following the original intentions? Just because it was an honest mistake, doesn't make it fair (to the contestants OR the voters).
view phaedrus's profile
Apparently the problem is AT's calculations determining the finalists and excluding numerous entries - not the judges.
view Reese's profile
Steve02 - you rock! I'm rooting for you! Hang in there....
Seriously. I doubt you'll get any further than this...but I'd guess the loosely based judging from Jumpstart won't happen again...
view emilyk's profile
i think it was fine. i didn't get to participate this time, but i plan on doing so next time. it seems fair to me. maybe next time when you have us vote, we could see the different categories. that way, we wouldn't be comparing apples & oranges. good job! this was my fav contest so far. it was inspiring & i wish you had it a few times a year.
view mariegael's profile