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Distinguishing Web Award Programs
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Web award programs run the gamut -- from worthless to worldclass. Knowing how to distinguish Web award programs can helpyou select which ones will have the most meaning for you andsave you time, energy, and, perhaps, some embarrassment(especially if you are nominating a client's Web site).
Fortunately, there are award-rating services available that canhelp you determine which award programs are good, great, and thebest -- if you understand the differences in rating criteria.However, not all award programs are rated. Some of them choosenot to be, particularly the ones that are not so good.
If you are looking for meaningful recognition for having createdan excellent Web site, you might want to know what to look forin an award program. There are several factors you can use todistinguish an award program and help you decide whether youwant to apply. They are: Difficulty - How hard is it to satisfythe award program's requirements? Rarity - How many awards havebeen issued during the last year? Winners' List - How many andhow good are the awarded Web sites? Credibility - Does the awardprogram's site meet its own requirements? Evaluator(s) - Howcompetent is the reviewer or judging staff? Attitude - Why doesthis award program exist and who does it really serve? Longevity- How old is the award program? Peer Respect - What do otheraward givers think of the award program? Awards - How do theaward images look? Level - Is it the highest award offered(gold) or a lesser one (silver)? Type - Is the award open toeveryone or only specific types of sites? Difficulty
In the beginning, practically all Web sites were judgedsubjectively or by a popularity vote. Thankfully, those days arepretty much over. Oh sure, you'll still see "criteria" thatsimply says something to the effect of "I know what I like andif what I see pleases me, you win!" But today, most worthwhileaward programs present a list of objective requirements your Website will be graded by or scored against. The more requirementsthere are to satisfy, the greater the difficulty factor is.
Rarity
Maybe you've seen an award that is displayed on Web sites allover the Internet -- or so it seems. Then there are awardsyou've only seen once or very rarely, depending on what sitesyou're visiting. The rarity factor depends on more than just thetotal number of awards issued. One also has to look at how oftenwithin a span of time these awards were given out.
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A handy way to determine rarity is to find the number of awardsissued during the last year if the program is that old. If not,find out how many were awarded on a monthly average. The easiestway to do this -- unless you like surfing the entire Web -- isto look at the award program's winners' list.
Unfortunately, that method only works if the award program listsits winners by dates. If this is not the case, try to determinehow old the program is and count the number of winners. Then,with some arithmetic division, you can get a pretty good idea ofrarity. If an award program doesn't have a winners' list, onewould have to assume the program is either too new to have anyor they give away so many that they don't bother to track alltheir winners.
Winners' List
Reviewing winning Web sites not only helps you determine rarity,but also see what Web sites are getting the award(s). The secondaward I received for The Beeline didn't look like much, but Iwas thrilled to be listed between Ferrari.it andReadersDigest.com on their winners' list, as well as with theother outstanding sites.
This particular winners' list had a winner for each weekday andone for the weekend. So, while the rarity factor was weak at"312" (6 winners times 52 weeks), the winning sites were allstellar examples of "Web excellence" for one reason or another.This brings us to comparing your Web site to those on a winners'list. Visiting a sampling of their recent award-winning sitesshould tell you how close your site is to competing in theirprogram.
Credibility
How seriously would you take someone's claim of having a"prestigious" Web award if their own site is nowhere close tobeing excellent? Some serious award seekers leave the virtualpremises when they see this hypocrisy -- then again, otherssimply care about how good-looking the awards are. Depending onyour award-seeking goals, you may or may not care about thecredibility factor.
You might want to, however, see if the program has a posted Codeof Ethics, adequate contact information, and a privacy policyyou can accept should you decide to apply. Many award givers arenow joining the ethics-based organizations available to awardprogram owners in order to establish or improve theircredibility. So you might also look around for one of theseorganizations' membership plaques.
Evaluator(s)
Like the credibility factor, who exactly will be reviewing yourWeb site may or may not be important to you. And in thebeginning, you probably won't know who's who in the Web AwardsCommunity, not unless they tell you something about themselvesand their review staff if they have one. So look around forinformation about the evaluator(s). If you're like some awardseekers, you'll do this after you get their award so you canlearn something about the person(s) who think so highly of you.
Attitude
Award givers have attitudes that can usually be discerned simplyby reading through their award programs. This is calledinference reading, and one doesn't have to be a licensedpsychologist or CIA analyst to "psych out" where an award giveris "coming from" or why they have an award program.
There are many reasons why people operate award programs.Sometimes it's to give something back, especially afterreceiving Web awards from others. Sometimes it's to increasevisitor totals for their Web sites. Others become award giversjust for the fun of it! Then there's the type that does it tofeed their egos. Two of the best attitudes belong to those whowant to help improve the quality of the Internet and torecognize others who have found "Web excellence."
By the way, do not confuse abundant displays of credentials andmemberships with an egotistical attitude. They are recognitions,ratings, and acceptances that were earned. Respect them and theaward givers who have them just as you want to be respected forthe Web awards you have worked hard to achieve.
Longevity
Knowing how old an award program is can be a good thing,especially if its just opened. Finding new award programs toapply to can be a good tactic because the evaluators areusually, but not always, inexperienced award givers who may wantto establish their winners' list sooner than later.
Also, applying when a program first opens puts your submissionat or near the top of the stack -- assuming this programoperates on a "first come, first served" basis -- and ahead ofall those that follow. This can be a really good tactic if yoursite qualifies and you are into instant gratification,relatively speaking.
Peer Respect
Before award programs were rated, the best one could do todetermine the peer respect factor was to examine the Web awardspresented to them. Now, there are award-rating services and,like award programs, they differ according to most of thefactors we've been discussing. The higher a rating an awardprogram holds equates to higher peer respect, theoretically, atleast.
Sometimes it is difficult to get a feel for an award program'speer respect if they are not rated. I suggest you look aroundand learn as much as you can about the person(s) behind thesite. If nothing else, you should get a feel for their ownabilities and how much you respect them! After all, both of youare peers as Web authors and publishers. Right?
Awards
The awards factor pertains to the design, looks and size of theaward image(s) offered by an awards program. This is the singlemost important fact to many award seekers. How the honorary "eyecandy" looks has a direct bearing on an award program'spopularity. That's fine. If an award image motivates you to find"Web excellence," I'm all for your making this factor a highpriority. Just know that some of the most prestigious and mostdifficult Web awards to achieve look rather plain and simple.
This is why I didn't alphabetize this list of factors and rankedthe awards factor near the bottom. When it comes to awardimages, go after whatever you would be happy to display on yoursite. As for the objective aspects to Web award imagery, theyare only important to the award giver when it comes to gettingor upgrading an award rating.
Level
Some award programs are multi-leveled in that they offer anaward based on how well your Web site scores during theevaluation. The higher the site evaluation's final score, thehigher the level of award is bestowed. In many cases theselevels of awards are distinguished by a metallic color, such asplatinum, gold, silver, and bronze. Other programs may choose todistinguish their awards' levels using precious andsemi-precious gems, such as diamond, ruby, emerald, and sapphire.
However, the distinctions I've seen used on multi-level awardsover the years seem to be endless in variety and style. Justknow that earning a program's top-level award may be moreimportant than receiving any level award, depending on what youraward-seeking goals are.
Type
Not all awards are available to every type of Web site. Manyaward programs have specific purposes, such as awardingexcellent Celtic sites or education-related sites. Then thereare the cultural barriers that force most award programs toaccept only nominated sites written in a specific language. Thisis not to be looked upon as prejudicial, just practical. If theycan't read your site, how can they judge it on content,spelling, grammar, etc.?
Besides, if award givers want to volunteer their precious freetime evaluating only certain types of sites, that's their right.The type factor is only important in that you know what types ofsites are eligible and if your site is, it is competing againsta reduced field of potential applicants.
Summary
Knowing how to distinguish Web award programs can heighten youremotional rewards when you know the presented award is, in fact,serious recognition for a job well done! There are few greaterthrills in Web publishing than to receive an award from ademanding, well-respected, and conscientious award program.Knowing when this happens makes learning how to distinguish Webaward programs worthwhile. Myspace
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