Looking for votes in creative ways

Sunday, September 13, 2009

This contest isn't about getting people you know to vote to send you to Antarctica. It is about getting people you know to vote, and then get people they know to vote, and then get those people to get people they know to vote, etc. It is not just a popularity contest, it is a marketing contest.

As time gets shorter and I need more votes I'm starting to get more creative in who & how I ask. Most of you who know me in real life already know that I am Jonathan Coulton's Merchandise Minion when he plays in Minneapolis/St. Paul. I have already gotten Mr. Coulton to tweet the link to vote for me. Unfortunately his zombie hoards did not come out in the numbers I was hoping for. Zombies must not have email.

I have been avoiding form letters when reaching out for votes. I don't want to annoy people with form letters, and I want to convince them with the personal touch.

On that note, I just send one of my strangest ones so far! Here is the email I sent to John Hodgman, Daily Show Correspondent and the PC in the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" commercials. With over 80,000 followers on Twitter, lets hope he goes to bat for me!

Mr. Hodgman,

As someone who knows everything, can you help me learn SOME INFORMATION THAT I REQUIRE? I would like to know if Antarctica is real. Because the interwebs are full of lies & crazy talk I can not believe them when they say that it is. This is something I must find out for myself.

I am trying to use the interwebs to get to this mythical land to see if it is there. I have entered a contest at http://www.blogyourwaytoantarctica.com/blogs/view/548 and the winner of this contest will be decided by who receives the most votes. I would like to ask you a favor. Would you tweet and/or blog the link to my voting page and ask your minions to vote for me? I have made a conveniently short url for the TwitterLand: http://bit.ly/FrozenSharon or if that is too long, http://bit.ly/frzn will also work, although it is not as catchy & easy to remember.

I have offered to bring back a penguin for everyone who votes for me. I could send you your penguin through the U. S. Pony Express upon my return, or if you would prefer, I could wait and give it to Mr. Jonathan Coulton, Mountain Man Extraordinaire, at his first Minneapolis performance after my trip. Although, given his lack of care for your cats, that is probably not a wise option.

Because I am not an Internet Superstar, or Daily Show Correspondent, or anyone of consequence really, I have been reduced to asking those sorts of people to pimp me out for votes. Mr. Coulton and his two manservants Paul & Storm have already asked the TwitterLand to vote for me. I'm not in the lead yet though, so they are obviously not powerful enough. You sir, would be powerful enough.

If you are thinking to yourself right now that this is intriguing, but you have an aversion to helping complete strangers, we are not strangers. We have met once before in the strange land of St. Paul, Minnesota. I forged a bond with your strange mountain man companion that night by bribing him with homemade cookies. I am his official Minneapolis Merchandise Minion now. On that fateful day in St. Paul, I also had a Moose. Here is evidence of the Moose:

If I can get the votes to go to Antarctica, you won't be sending just me. A vote for me is a vote for Moose. This Moose has traveled to 5 continents and met Celebrities. He will be going with me to Antarctica, if it does indeed exist. Will you help us? Don't do it for me. Do it for the Moose.

If your schedule of Important Business does not allow you the time to write a Tweet, I can do it for you. Perhaps something simple like: "Does Antarctica really exist? @HellZiggy & Moose want to find out. Vote for them at http://bit.ly/FrozenSharon & then RT this."

Thank you for your valuable time, Mr. Hodgman, and I look forward to your reply.

Sharon Snyder, Future Antarctic Explorer

More than 300 words

Friday, September 11, 2009

300 words for a blog entry just doesn't seem like enough to convince someone who doesn't know me to vote for me. Unfortunately this contest is mostly a contest to see who can get the most votes, not who is the best choice to send to Antarctica.

So why am I the best choice? Simple. I really really really really want to go! Honestly, that's why we all entered, isn't it? A better question would be, if I did get selected to go, what would I have to offer?

Well, I'm not a professional writer, but I do know what I am doing. There won't be any of the grammar mistakes that make intelligent people want to stab their eyes out. (Notice the correct use of there/their in that sentence?) I know the difference between its & it's, between there, their, & they're, and between your & you're. I've been keeping a journal online since 2002, and have a very conversational writing style.

In addition to my journal at LiveJournal, I keep up with the latest social media trends. Twitter's popularity may have exploded when celebrities such as Oprah & Ashton Kutcher joined, but by that point I'd already been using it for almost two years. I also have active accounts at Facebook and Flickr.

If I am selected to be the Quark Expeditions Official Blogger, my blog entries won't be just writing. I'm an amateur photographer who has been taking photos since my first photography class 20 years ago. I joined the digital revolution in 2003 with what was then Canon's top of the line prosumer camera, the G3. Since then I've upgraded to a digital SLR, the 40D, which I will be bringing with me to record all the beauty & detail of Antarctica.

My favorite things to photograph are nature, both animals and plants, landscapes, and architecture. Here are some samples of my work. These were taken in a 3 hour time frame on July 18, 2009 when I participated in the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk in Minneapolis.

I also love taking pictures of birds. I can hardly wait to take pictures of penguins in the wild!

Now that you know a little about what I have to offer, how about learning more about me?

I'm 39 years old. I live in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN with my husband of 15 years, Rick, and our two cats. I just received my A.A.S. in Graphic Design and Visual Communication. It took me a while to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. Before settling on Graphic Design, I had studied Zoology and Photojournalism. Currently, I'm employed at a camera store where I work in the photo minilab printing other people's vacation pictures.

Rick & I love to travel, but can rarely afford to. The first time we saw an ocean I was 31 years old and Rick was 32. We never left the country until I was 34 & he was 35, and that was just a day trip to Canada. When I win this trip to Antarctica we will have another milestone. At 39 & 40 years old we will be leaving North America for the first time.

It won't be just Rick & I on the trip. We will be bringing my little buddy, Moose, with us. Moose is a Beanie Baby moose that I've had for over 10 years. He goes with us on our vacations, as well as traveling with friends when they go cool places. I may have never left North America, but Moose has been to 5 continents already. Besides his travels here in North America with us, he's gone to England, Italy, and France with friends. He also just recently went to Ethiopia, and has been to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The 5th continent he's been to is Antarctica. Yes, he's already been there even though I haven't! I met a guy working at McMurdo Base through his blog, and he graciously agreed to host Moose for a visit. I also take pictures of Moose with different celebrities I meet. He's met folks such as Alton Brown, Adam Savage, Penn & Teller, James Marsters, Kevin Sorbo and even a Blue Man from the Blue Man Group! If you are on Facebook you can follow Moose's adventures on his page here.

Well, that's all for now. I plan to keep updating this page with info about me, about how I'm doing on the contest, with special thanks to people who help put out the call for votes, and with samples of my photography. Even if I don't win this contest, I intend to get to Antarctica some day and this blog will chronicle how I get there.

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for updates!

Sharon, the Quark Expeditions Official Blogger (hopefully!)

Penguin!

I took this penguin picture in California. That's silly. I should be taking penguin pictures in Antarctica!

I'm ready to go!

Hi everyone! I have entered the Quark Expeditions Blog Your Way to Antarctica competition. Here is my entry:

You may not know it yet, but I am the person you need to send to Antarctica. In fact, I am so confident that you will choose me that I have already submitted my passport application and am knitting myself a scarf!

I am quite simply the best, most fun choice to be the Official Quark Expeditions Blogger. Through my blog I will show you the excitement and joy of someone who has never left North America when she gets her first look at a new world. You will see Antarctica through the eyes of someone whose previous international travels consisted of only 4 days in Canada.

Like many people, I’ve wanted to travel the world since I was a child but have never had the means. I have, however, travelled vicariously through my job (printing other people’s vacation pictures), through my postcard collection (no friend ever went on vacation without me asking for a postcard), and through my travel companion, Moose (when my friends go to cool places they take Moose). Moose even has a Facebook -http://www.facebook.com/MooseSnyder - which shows all the exciting places he has travelled to. I can’t wait to add pictures of myself with him on his return trip to the bottom of the Earth. (He went without me last time!) Now it’s my turn!

I’ve journalled on the internet since 2002, blogging about all aspects of my life. I have active accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. As an established amateur photographer, I use these sites to share my experiences, as well as to keep up with my international friends.

For me, this truly will be the trip of a lifetime, and through the internet I will share it with you all and the world.