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I think the hardest thing about positing photos in the forum for POTM would be how to tally “likes.” Any ideas?
~ **~ All posts are my opinion and do not in any way reflect the opinion of the WGA Board of Directors ~**~
With COTM, you need to be a cache hider to qualify. Not all members are hiders, but they are probably finders.
Not all finders are photo takers, but they could be.
Also, a member would not need to have found the cache that the photo was taken at to vote.
We DO risk the chance of getting flooded with e-mails , say”VOTE FOR MINE! VOTE FOR MINE!”, which is why we needed to add some modifications to the COTM 5 years ago!
Just an idea…
We DO risk the chance of getting flooded with e-mails , say”VOTE FOR MINE! VOTE FOR MINE!”, which is why we needed to add some modifications to the COTM 5 years ago!
Thinking that this is exactly why the change to regions and the 90 day waiting period were added. having a single COTM winner took out a lot of the potential winners from less populated areas as they are found less often and the potential for “Cache of the Day” ran rampant in the higher populated areas around event time.
Disclaimer : Always answering to a higher power.
I was on the board when these changes were made to the COTM program for exactly the reasons already mentioned. I might be the minority here, but I think putting the effort into any kind of COTM program is not as useful now with favorite points. I know back in the day we’d look at COTM lists when heading somewhere to help decide which caches to seek. Now on those rare times we can go anywhere, we just sort the favorites. Since this website isn’t always as up to date as it once was, that has also been a better way for us to find these caches.
I do like the idea of photos, though. That was another thing we’d use in trying to decide what to visit….photos in the galleries for caches. With social media, far fewer of those are being posted to the cache logs. Scenery is a big part of why we cache, so seeing the scenery helped in that regard.
This is my other thought about anything that might be done. For some strange reason, caching has become a series of odd little competitions. The statistics sites, I believe, helped drive all that competition. Maybe instead of trying to make it a “prize,” just allow photos to be posted with links to the cache involved. People can “like” if they wish, but more importantly, people would have a place to come to see what’s out there to find.
Surprisingly, I’m not a fan of a POTM competition. But I’d absolutely love to see some type of WGA online photo gallery. I was greatly disappointed when the old WGA website was changed into the current one several years ago, the number one reason being that all of the pictures in the old website’s photo gallery were gone. A photographic history of the WGA from 2002 to 2014, hundreds of pictures lost to the ages. There is not a photo album option with the current WGA website. Boo.
I’ve observed that with any competition for best photo where the general membership or population votes, it usually boils down to who got their friends and acquaintances to vote after a VOTE FOR ME VOTE FOR ME email. I shoot thousands of pictures each year – my gallery at geocaching.com has over 10,000 non-spoilers posted – all posted for the love of the game. If there is a POTM in which people vote, then so be it; I’d still welcome it. But for me, here are my musings as to alternative options:
1. Have the general membership submit photos in an album created for POTM (no more than one or two submittals per month per person), but the voting to be done only by the board of directors. It makes sense for two reasons. First, it’s a heck of a lot easier to tally the votes. Second, it totally eliminates the VOTE FOR ME nonsense that kind of invalidates most online voting competitions.
2. Have available a pathtag for POTM winners (only one ever per winner). Or perhaps better yet have a POTM pathtag for the first 100 (or 200?) POTM submitters (only one ever per submitter). THAT will generate traffic! Just watch. Plus it might generate more interest in subsequent geocoins/pathtags that the WGA mints in the future for other events. Full disclosure: This suggestion reflects my bias toward pathtags; I’m not as much of a fan of cachekindz or extagz. I don’t really think it even would be necessary for the POTM winner to win anything if they get a pathtag for submitting. Just the announcement of winners past and current would do.
3. I don’t think our current website has the ability to host photo albums. If that is indeed the case, it would have to be done through FaceBook or some other site, which not all of the membership has easy access to. I guess the website committee can discuss the logistics. Would hosting it at the WGA site result in increased traffic? Or would it be better through already established sites such as FB where dozens or hundreds would see it seemingly without effort?
4. If possible, bring back the WGA photo album section, whether or not there is a POTM contest. I assume the photo album section of the old website is backed up somewhere (actually I know it is); perhaps we could start with those, if it is even possible.
5. It’s encouraging to see the number of people who have posted a picture at the FB site this past month for picture of the month. If it had been at the WGA website, some of those pictures likely would not have been posted due to less traffic and awareness. Let’s hope the POTM continues, wherever it may be hosted. Ideally, my vision for the future of the WGA social media would be for the WGA to not only maintain their existing website (which anybody can post to but relatively few do so) and their WGA FaceBook PAGE (which only WGA moderators can directly post to but members can reply), but also a WGA FaceBook GROUP page (which any member can start a post, similar to the Wild Bunch FB site or the Geocaching in Wisconsin FB site). If the POTM were to be hosted at the WGA “group,” it could really jumpstart that site.
Continuing along the POTM tangent, I do remember being able to see different “albums” of photos on the old website and did miss that feature. I know zero about website capabilities, but it seems strange to me that a website upgrade would make a photo feature an impossibility, especially with the ease of posting photos in threads (even I -bold and italic on the I- am able to do that). I don’t really compete much in caching but for an occasional event competition. And I don’t collect anything so that incentive isn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean I am opposed to it for those who would like it.
I think it was JimandLinda who has mentioned we never have polls anymore. I DID take those, any that applied to me, and liked seeing the results…maybe a poll could be created on options the board narrows down for COTM, POTM, or other ideas.
Random side note–Jinkies, what’s this I see as I scroll down to log in here? The Facebook posts?! Is this new? Not being on Facebook, I am happy to see this feature. Thanks!
I thought that was fog descending on me this morning, but it must have been “The Cloud” whispering Hack’s comment to me!
About that time, I ALSO thought to have the BOD vote on the POTM as a group, or let them take turns during the year in groups of 3 BODs voting. Each Director would vote 4 times/year, then the members vote on POTYear. As amita17 noted, polls would be nice, but seem to be passe or something. (all these ideas AFTER the BOD meeting!) Plenty of time to organize this for 2019, though.
COTM and POTM should be on two different forums. I can make a POTM category if anyone would like. I like the feedback here so keep it coming.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
The BODs discussed offering a wall calendar to the membership a few years back. I think it was voted down. The smart phone Directors didn’t use wall calendars, and there were more of them than flip phone users!
Not good or bad; just interesting on how we made decisions occasionally! Majority ruled.
Another marketing opportunity for using the pictures. Selling calendars or prints! POTY on a T-shirt?
Back on track cotm. I am in favor of changing it back to 1 cotm and 1 series of the month for the entire state. Adding a cotyear which can only be chosen from the cotm and series winners. This is wi-geocaching… i prefer not dividing the state to create 5 or 6 winners each month. I use to enjoy searching out the winners and travelling to them but when there are 5 different each month it became much more difficult to incorporate them all. 1 winner helps to actually put competition back into cotm. Quality caches will keep getting better by creating higher standards of competition.
The BODs discussed offering a wall calendar to the membership a few years back. I think it was voted down. The smart phone Directors didn’t use wall calendars, and there were more of them than flip phone users!
Not good or bad; just interesting on how we made decisions occasionally! Majority ruled.
It was more the fact that few people NEED more Wall Calendars as most people have more than they can use and at $10-$12 or more each (it is in the BOD forums), it was not a good choice. Had nothing to do with Smart Phone cachers. POTM sounds good.
Also, we had considered posting WGAers on vacation at places across the Globe and we would share their photo of them wearing their WGA stuff there. No one wished to take this on but maybe that is away to try again.
Following the signals from space.
I don’t think we should have just 1 Cache of the month winner. With just 1 cotm areas with high density of cachers will always be chosen and there are good caches in areas that do not have a high density of cachers. Instead of 5 regions I think it should be 4 regions with the dividing lines the same as the quadrant division we currently use. I also think a cache of the year should be chosen from all of the winners during the year.
Yes, calendar cost was an issue, too. I think we discussed taking orders and mailing them; more $ and time. I DO remember a straw poll by Directors during the meeting, and I believe 6 of 9 used their smart phones as calendars. Personally, I would love a WGA calendar!
The discussion was had a couple of time in regards to a calendar and due to all of the above stated issues it was tabled for another time.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
I’m still thinking about the COTM; lots of things tumbling around in my head. If we are going to keep it going, we need to do something to get the members involved and voting on their favorites. COTM committee has done a great job of getting the word out each month. I don’t think that as a BOD I should influence others’ opinions by nominating a certain cache just because I nominated one however.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
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