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Google just launched prizes.org

prizes.org

31–40 of 96 posts

Re: Google just launched prizes.org

#31

Is this really a google property? It tweets for you, follows its twitter account without telling you, and spams you as well.

While I don't condone the actions, the part where you say "without telling you" is unfounded. I just went through the sign-up and there are clearly two checkboxes, which are checked by default: [x] "Share on Twitter [x] Follow @Prizes"

Re: Google just launched prizes.org

#33
Slide seems to be operating as an independent operation just funded by Google at this point (I mean, their other app is a group texting service that debuted on iOS and has absolutely zero integration with Google services/Google's other group texting service that just was released). While that is a interesting strategy, it really makes Google appear scattershot. Especially since Slide's products all reek of buzzwords and are almost stereotypically Silicon Valley startup products. If this is the plan, why didn't Google just invest heavily in Slide instead of acquiring them? Because right now Slide's main recent success has been creating awkward headlines for Google.

Re: Google just launched prizes.org

#34
post #9

This seems fairly exploitable. I post a question, and wait for answers. I create another account and answer it. I pick my own answer as the best answer, and I lose no money. I gain the information that others gave me for free.

This. When it comes to money, people will exploit it as much as possible. From their FAQ: "Do I have to pick the winner of my contest? If your contest receives less than 5 entries by the time it ends, you're not obligated to pick a winner. You have the option to extend the contest for seven (7) days for free. 'Extend Contest' and 'Contact us' link information is available on the contest page. So, what if I just forge…

Elsewhere in the faq, it says that if you don't choose a winner, the winner will be automatically chosen as the answer with the most votes.

Re: Google just launched prizes.org

#35

Screenshot when logged in: https://img.skitch.com/20110704-j2fdjyed367jcehytnqfp5mea4.p... Initial thoughts and observations: 1. It's 'Stack Overflow for the common (wo)man' with cash instead of reputation. 2. Alternative pitch: "99designs meets Yahoo Answers." 3. The top prize available at the moment awards $50. 4. The sign-up process could be a lot better. Prompting sign-up via twitter/Facebook, then prompting for…

re: 4, that is because of the namespace collision between fb and tw. ie. if I signin with my fb username and then somebody signs in with a tw account with the same username

Re: Google just launched prizes.org

#36

Screenshot when logged in: https://img.skitch.com/20110704-j2fdjyed367jcehytnqfp5mea4.p... Initial thoughts and observations: 1. It's 'Stack Overflow for the common (wo)man' with cash instead of reputation. 2. Alternative pitch: "99designs meets Yahoo Answers." 3. The top prize available at the moment awards $50. 4. The sign-up process could be a lot better. Prompting sign-up via twitter/Facebook, then prompting for…

> 7. I'm not yet convinced that there's a huge market for paid responses when the Stack Exchange network and Quora both offer large userbases who give their time to answer questions for free.

Perhaps it is this model they are trying to defeat. If an answerer has the opportunity to earn real money for their time, it might be theorized that they would opt for that over the karma systems. It makes sense for a greater breadth of expertise, as respect loses its inherent value as you grow beyond the social circles or occupational circles.

Re: Google just launched prizes.org

#37
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About a month ago, Google started showing me info here and there referring to people I follow on Twitter. I didn't understand at the time and still don't know how they matched up my Google account to my Twitter account. The Facebook request details you're quoting are not unusual.

At one point, I'm pretty sure Google asked me if my Twitter account was me. That is, they inferred it, based on some number of available signals.

[deleted]

Re: Google just launched prizes.org

#38
That's from Google? Nah. Anybody had a look at the end of the source, they used a copy-paste code for the Analytics but forgot to actually put in their own GA number.

>> var _gaq = [['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXX-X'], ['_trackPageview']];

Re: Google just launched prizes.org

#39
post #35

Screenshot when logged in: https://img.skitch.com/20110704-j2fdjyed367jcehytnqfp5mea4.p... Initial thoughts and observations: 1. It's 'Stack Overflow for the common (wo)man' with cash instead of reputation. 2. Alternative pitch: "99designs meets Yahoo Answers." 3. The top prize available at the moment awards $50. 4. The sign-up process could be a lot better. Prompting sign-up via twitter/Facebook, then prompting for…

re: 4, that is because of the namespace collision between fb and tw. ie. if I signin with my fb username and then somebody signs in with a tw account with the same username

actually, I did not have to provide a username. I signed in with twitter using my email address. Perhaps the additional username was only required for Facebook connections? Between the two, Twitter is the only one with a true username identification.

Re: Google just launched prizes.org

#40
post #9

This seems fairly exploitable. I post a question, and wait for answers. I create another account and answer it. I pick my own answer as the best answer, and I lose no money. I gain the information that others gave me for free.

This. When it comes to money, people will exploit it as much as possible. From their FAQ: "Do I have to pick the winner of my contest? If your contest receives less than 5 entries by the time it ends, you're not obligated to pick a winner. You have the option to extend the contest for seven (7) days for free. 'Extend Contest' and 'Contact us' link information is available on the contest page. So, what if I just forge…

Yes, google will automatically pick a winner, as explained here in the faq (http://prizes.org/faq)

How does Voting work? You may vote on as many contests as you wish. However, you can only vote for one entry in a given contest each day, and you may not vote for yourself. You do have the option to vote for more entries in the same contest tomorrow! If buyers don't pick a winner when the contest ends, winners will be chosen by popular vote.

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