Article 6: My First Impressions of the
Awards Programs
by Larry
Harrison Copyright � 2005 by Larry Harrison. All rights
reserved.
As many people with some time on their hands do, I decided
to surf through the Net for anything to do with my topic. I
came across a site that was giving awards. As I scrolled
down, I found other sites that were giving awards. I had
never come across this before. Was this something for which
only certain people could apply? I was not a professional
web designer.
The web sites had pages I had never seen before. There was
the mission, purpose, disqualifications, criteria, status,
statistics, and scoring. Other sites had even more pages.
I decided to make another search for awards programs. I was
amazed at the number of award sites. Some seemed so
ludicrous to even view, much less apply for.
I began reading the criteria. It was very strange to see
sites set up in this manner. Some criteria were very
simple; other criteria were several pages long. At times,
the criteria became very boring and hard to comprehend. It
seemed as if I was reading the same things over and over,
but with a different word in place. I kept seeing the
words, "Have you read the criteria?" I erred twice by not
FULLY reading the criteria. I forgot the secret password.
"Oops, I have to wait 90 more days."
I read the disqualifiers for the award sites. Some were
very simple, while again, others were two and three pages
long. They were confusing, and at the same time, very
tedious. In some cases, I did not fully read the lists. I
would just skim through the disqualifiers. Other sites
would just turn me off. "Was that what the sites were
really trying to do?"
I went to the statistics and status sections. I did not
like it when I went to an awards site and discovered that
there was no statistics or status section. This was very
alarming. You must remember one thing: My education in the
awards programs was not instantaneous. This took time to
learn; that is, going from one program to the next. "How do
you feel about applying to an awards site that has only
given away 1 gold, 3 silver, and 10 bronze, has 250
non-winners in the past 3 years, and is rated?"
The word "rated" now becomes another word in my vocabulary.
With this site, I knew I did not have a chance. I answered
all the questions in a very honest manner. Consequently, I
should have had a bronze, but it would probably be only a
waste of my time. The webmaster most likely would not even
review my site.
My education was being enriched each and every day. I began
to apply. I had the "awards craze syndrome." In this case,
you apply and apply. After a while, you remark to yourself,
"What is wrong with you? Stop this, and be sensible." But,
it is too late. You know you have made a bad mistake ... a
large error. "What would I do with 100 awards?" I kept
records of the sites to which I made an application. Many
sites do not let you know if you did not win. The only way
to know is waiting 30, 60, or 90 days. Many do not let you
know if the application was received. You are afraid to
email for fear of being disqualified. If you reapply as
directed, you have the fear of being disqualified. In other
words, I just lost out again.
My education was enriched even more. I go back to the sites
that disapproved my application. I wanted to find out why,
so that I might improve my site. I cannot figure it out.
Then, occasionally, a reviewer will send a critique of the
positives and the negatives. With a kind note attached, I
am asked to reapply in 90 days. In one case, the reviewer
actually "chewed me up." "I would never review your site!
Your site holds no interest for me. If you make an
application again, you will be permanently banned!" Well,
according to her, wasn't I was already banned?
I now check the award sites before I complete an
application. I read the purpose, the disqualifiers, the
criteria, and any other pages that are presented to me. How
can a site grade me on spelling, if their words are
misspelled? How can I be graded on grammar, if I see
complete and incomplete sentences? How can I be graded on
ALT tags, if there are missing internal images on their own
award site? Is the purpose to really award me and help me
improve my site? How can a site really review me, if they
could not even receive their own award?
I am now very particular of the sites to which I apply. I
review the award site first. I check to see if there is a
status page and a statistics page. I check the procedure to
see if the reviewer sends a confirmation message to state
that the application was received. If there are phases to
the review, am I going to be apprised of the outcome? I
want to know where I am at any given moment. If I happen
not to pass, will I be told of the reasons, and how to
improve? Are the criteria given in a totally negative
manner? Is the feedback personal and friendly?
I now have an awards site. It may never be a large, grand
site like the others on the Internet, for my awards program
is within a specialty field. I have learned through my
mistakes, the viewing of others' mistakes, and the better
sites. One thing I will never do is forget where I began,
and who I am. Don't you forget who you are, and where you
began.
Wow, there is so much to learn. Will it ever stop?
Larry
Harrison is a retired U.S. Naval veteran with 25 years
of service, who is now a middle school social studies
teacher. He presently has an awards site (Amateur
Astronomy Awards Program) and a personal site (My
Telescopes and CCD Cameras).
Larry is
also an editor for DMOZ.org (editor for approximate
2500 web sites), a continuing education instructor for basic
HTML, WebRing owner of Astrophotography Tutorials,
and an evaluator for Vision Site Design Awards.
