online contests meet human desires

i’m entering david airey’s contest. and lincoln’s. and the good woman at whitterer on autism passed on a break out blogger award to me.

i’m jumpiBreak Out Blogger Awardng up and down!

“aha! tshumpink up an down! vat iss your mind doo-ink?” says the psychologist in me.

why do we get so excited about things like that?

i think it has something to do with curiosity and novelty. the internet is one big novelty machine – nah, as machines go, it’s the biggest one.

curiosity is one of our strongest drives. research has shown that monkeys would forgo food in favour of finding out what is behind closed doors. and this very homo sapiens monkey here has delayed many a physical need in favour of yet another click of the mouse.

(for example, when i was looking for research on the psychology of novelty. and i found something! doesn’t stuff like this make your heart beat faster, too?

the likelihood of higher novelty seeking to occur in adults with the two-repeat and five-repeat alleles of the exon III DRD4 polymorphism was found to be increased if individuals had experienced a hostile childhood environment such as maternal emotional distance and a strict authoritarian disciplinary style with physical punishment. the adult novelty-seeking scores were found to be low in individuals who were reared in a kind and cooperative environment

no? well, i guess we don’t all seek the same type of novelty …)

online contests, then, are an alluring mix between the novelty of the internet per se, the novelty of the contest specifically, and our inborn acquisitiveness (i believe the technical term for that may be “greed”.) by the way, i’d be interested to what degree novelty-seeking plays a role in this acquisitiveness but i guess that’s material for another post.

and you know what, all of this was just an excuse to write a semi-intelligent blog post that will allow me to participate in these contests and awards. (oh! “participate”! there’s another element. curiosity, greed acquisitiveness and a need to belong. three of the biggest human drives, all in one.)

so here we go.

first of all, thanks, maddy, for giving me the breakout bloggers award. it’s given to solid up-and-coming bloggers who are starting to get a wider and wider audience. i’m passing it on to

  1. glenda watson-hyatt at do it myself blog. written by a woman with cerebral palsy, with only her left thumb, and tons of guts and wit
  2. vivek khemka’s the red pencil, an educational blog
  3. and william harryman at integral options café, “a place to discuss all things related to a buddhist, integral worldview”.

glenda, vivek and william, if you know anyone who feels deserves this award, please pass it on. for the why’s and wherefore’s of all of this, please go to my stumbleupon friend bobbarama, who is the one who dreamed it all up.

sorry, guys, this ain’t over yet. i still have to work on winning two more contests!

one is over at lincoln’s habitation of justice. lincoln, what can i say, i can’t pass on a chance to win a $100 amazon gift certificate, especially since i have told myself i can’t buy a book until christmas (spending way too much money on books). if i win this certificate, i get to cheat!

and here’s the biggie. graphic designer david airey has a humongous giveaway to celebrate his blog’s first anniversary. he offers these delectable prizes and i want them all! (if you’re reading this – you can still participate, it’s on until september 26).

  1. custom wordpress theme design from nate whitehill of nate whitehill dot com.
  2. personal marketing / advertising plan from maki of dosh dosh.
  3. signed copy of blogging tips by lorelle vanfossen of lorelle on wordpress.
  4. one hour seo consultation with lyndon antcliff of cornwall SEO.
  5. $60 of books from amazon courtesy of darren rowse of ProBlogger.
  6. blog review and email interview published on make it great! with phil gerbyshak.
  7. one hour blog optimization consultation consultation with daniel scocco of daily blog tips.
  8. revolution premium wordpress theme package (personal package) from brian gardner, WordPress designer and consultant.
  9. $25 via paypal courtesy of gayla mccord of mom gadget
  10. 2GB USB storage key x 3 courtesy of jamie clague at terinea weblog
  11. full blog review with deep links and images published on blog-op with chris lodge
  12. expert WordPress blog help from lakshmi mareddy of chilligavva.
  13. blog review from hock ng of marketing tools review
  14. blog makeover from charles jordan of the queer chef for a WordPress design
  15. two 45 minute coaching consultations with mark mcguinness of wishful thinking.
  16. 4 hour consultation with business growth consultant rebecca caroe
  17. blog improvement or monetization advice with easton ellsworth of business blogwire
  18. copy of brand aid by brad vanauken of the blake project.
  19. 728px by 90px banner ad for 30 days above the fold on the blog experiment, courtesy of sara.
  20. 30 day text link ad shown site-wide on .

isabella mori
counselling in vancouver

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