Win WordPress.com Credits — //engtech Contest #1

You Could Win 15 WordPress.com Credits

So I decided to start doing monthly contests. For this first contest I’ll be limiting it to wordpress.com bloggers and the prize will be credits that can upgrade wordpress.com blogs. If I get a good turn out then I might try other prizes like gift certificates to Amazon, Threadless and Xbox Live, etc (and obviously I would open up the contest to all bloggers then).

On February 17th, 2007 I’ll be picking one of the participants at random to win a $15 credit at WordPress.com. You can use credits to buy things like a custom domain name, CSS upgrade (so you can customize your blog appearance like I’ve done), or you can use it towards additional space upgrades, or unlimited private users.

You can subscribe to contest announcements here, or you could just subscribe to my blog using RSS. You can check out the digest to get an idea of what my blog is like.

Contests Contest announcements and results - 3 posts a month.
//engtech My blog - 20-30 posts a month. Subscribe to feed
Digest Summary of my blog - 1-2 posts a month. Subscribe to Digest

How to Participate

  1. Write a 200 words (or longer) post about one of these four topics:
    1. “Why I started this blog” OR
    2. “The best job I’ve ever had” OR
    3. “Why I love (or hate) Valentine’s Day” OR
    4. “Something about tech (blogging, gadgets, software, programming, working in high tech, etc)”
      • 200 words is less than half the size of this post, around three paragraphs.
      • It has to be a NEW post published after January 16th, 2007.
  2. Link to this post and mention this contest.
  3. Have a wordpress.com blog.
    • The only reason it is limited to wordpress.com bloggers is because the prize isn’t much use to anyone else.
  4. You can enter once per blog that is hosted on wordpress.com.
  5. Post a comment on this post with a link to your contest entry.
    • I will be monitoring trackbacks, but posting a comment is the best way to ensure I don’t miss it.
  6. Contest deadline is 12:01 AM EST on February 15th, 2007.

Picking a Winner

  • A winner will be selected at random amongst all the entries.
    • Random selection is more impartial (and easier) than trying to judge the “best post”.
  • I will be linking to all of the contest entries.
  • I will be highlighting my favorite contest entries.

Looking for Sponsors

If you have a couple of extra credits kicking around (any amount), you can sponsor the next contest by gifting them to “engtech” and mentioning in the message that you would like to sponsor the next contest. Your blog will be mentioned in all future WordPress.com Credit Contests.

Even if you aren’t participating in the contest yourself, I appreciate anyone who promotes this contest (and will be thanking them in a separate blog post at the end of the contest).

Blatant Self Promotion

Did you think I wasn’t going to also mention that I have a collection of tips, tricks and utilities for WordPress.com bloggers? :)

This entry was written by engtech, posted on January 18, 2007 at , filed under Contests, Technology. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Comments are closed, but you can leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

51 Comments

  1. raincoaster
    Posted January 18, 2007 at | Permalink

    “Chosen at random” eh? Doesn’t really have that snob appeal I’m looking for, which is not to say I’m not in, just that I’m going to spin it as if I were carefully chosen, should I win!

  2. engtech
    Posted January 18, 2007 at | Permalink

    Ah, that’s what the “highlighting my favorites” is about — that’s where the snobbery and esteem building will come into place.

    Trying to judge something like this is so subjective and nigh impossible, so random selection is the way to go.

    It’ll be interesting to see how many people get involved. I’m hoping for around 20 for this first time. Once I can build it up to around 50 people a contest then I’ll start offering juicier prizes.

  3. Dustin
    Posted January 18, 2007 at | Permalink

    Crap I want to play. I hate Valentines Day. But the whole ‘I host my own stuff’ gets in the way. Maybe next time.

  4. engtech
    Posted January 18, 2007 at | Permalink

    I’ll probably do three months of wordpress.com only contests (I have 50 credits to burn through — if I get a lot of response to one of the contests I’ll probably increase the number of prizes just to give people better odds at winning) and then focus on general contests once I’ve built up more of an audience.

  5. Ilya Lichtenstein
    Posted January 19, 2007 at | Permalink

    I’m in. And have written a post that is VERY out of character for my blog.

    http://neomeme.wordpress.com/2007/01/18/why-i-blog/

  6. engtech
    Posted January 19, 2007 at | Permalink

    Congrats on being the first, Ilya. You have a 100% chance of winning at the moment. :)

  7. engtech
    Posted January 19, 2007 at | Permalink

    I’ve added a fourth topic option: “Something about tech (blogging, gadgets, software, programming, working in high tech, etc)” that is closer to what I usually write about.

  8. engtech
    Posted January 19, 2007 at | Permalink

    I’m excited, it looks like I may have one company to sponsor the next contest with Actual Real Stuff(tm).

  9. ahouseholdkate
    Posted January 20, 2007 at | Permalink

    What fun!

    http://ahouseholdkate.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/why-i-hate-loathe-and-bemoan-valentines-day

  10. sulz
    Posted January 20, 2007 at | Permalink

    here’s my entry, sorry for the ugly url:

    http://sulz.wordpress.com/2007/01/20/didn%e2%80%99t-you-already-wrote-a-similar-post-like-this/

  11. Ilya Lichtenstein
    Posted January 20, 2007 at | Permalink

    Crap, my odds of winning are plumetting. On the plus side, I am already finding some very interesting blogs to read through comments here/ contest entries, so I’m satisfied.

  12. mhmazidi
    Posted January 20, 2007 at | Permalink

    hi it,s my post.tnx
    http://mhmazidi.wordpress.com/2007/01/20/%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%8a%d8%b2%d9%87-%d8%b7%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%8a%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%8a-%d9%88%d8%b1%d8%af%d9%be%d8%b1%d8%b3%d9%8a%d9%87%d8%a7/

  13. engtech
    Posted January 21, 2007 at | Permalink

    Hey, 25% is still good odds. :)

  14. The Rooster
    Posted January 21, 2007 at | Permalink

    engtech: you would be one of the selected few that I will permit to spam my comments ;)

  15. truly.equal
    Posted January 22, 2007 at | Permalink

    Hi,

    No offense, but if I’m going to write something coherent for a contest entry in which the winner is going to be selected randomly, then it doesn’t make much sense to write something at all, eh?

  16. engtech
    Posted January 22, 2007 at | Permalink

    Think of it as a skill testing question.

    Also, the best posts will get featured.

    On the last Problogger.net blogging contest I wrote a piece that didn’t win anything (random selection for winner) but did get highlighted as one of the better contest entries. It got 64 comments, and linked to by 27 blogs.

    That’s the real reason to participate in blog contests.

  17. Nita
    Posted January 22, 2007 at | Permalink

    I have entered the contest and this is the url:
    http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2007/01/22/a-good-reason-to-blog/
    I changed the title to a better one, but the pingback didn’t change.

  18. Robert
    Posted January 22, 2007 at | Permalink

    Great idea! I’m in.

    http://lifeofrobert.wordpress.com/2007/01/22/my-deal-with-valentines-day/

  19. engtech
    Posted January 23, 2007 at | Permalink

    Thanks for all the entries so far guys. :)

    It makes me happy to see people participating.

  20. A.J. Valliant
    Posted January 24, 2007 at | Permalink

    I’ll play, though I’d prefer to be disqaulfied from winning the actual prize.

  21. vernonia
    Posted January 24, 2007 at | Permalink

    Too good to pass up. Here’s mine : http://vernonia.wordpress.com/2007/01/25/in-exchange-for-15-wordpresscom-credits/

  22. sulz
    Posted January 25, 2007 at | Permalink

    aj: what? you don’t want the free credits? give it to me then. :P

  23. engtech
    Posted January 25, 2007 at | Permalink

    @aj: coolio :)

  24. Kristin
    Posted January 25, 2007 at | Permalink

    I’ve tried to write something informative on why I started Thursday Rants:
    http://thursdayrants.org/2007/01/25/why-i-started-this-blog/

  25. jordsta
    Posted January 26, 2007 at | Permalink

    I’ve done my blog entry. And if you are wondering wtf is a Holden Commodore, google it.

    http://jordsta.wordpress.com/2007/01/26/why-i-started-my-blog/

  26. monomaniac
    Posted January 26, 2007 at | Permalink

    Here is my “Why the blog?” contest entry.
    http://monomaniac.wordpress.com/2007/01/26/why-the-blog/

  27. djjoja
    Posted January 28, 2007 at | Permalink

    Hi engtech, here’s my 500 letter post! http://djjoja.wordpress.com/500-letter-about-microsoft/
    password is: onlyforengtech

  28. teenfg
    Posted January 31, 2007 at | Permalink

    That sounds cool.

  29. Jayesh Ramchandani
    Posted February 01, 2007 at | Permalink

    Hi engtech, i had posted about microsoft to see if i could win this contest, but i dont understand why my other blog has been suspended so ive put it on again at another blog, i hope u dont mind!
    Sorry!
    Link:http://djjojapc.wordpress.com/about/

    **I do own another blog, which is http://www.djjoja1993.wordpress.com!

    when you’ve seen it, then just tell me if you dont mind so i delete it from my blog!
    Thank you!

  30. engtech
    Posted February 01, 2007 at | Permalink

    Hi Jayesh,

    Deleting the post afterwards kind of goes against the spirit of the contest.

  31. raincoaster
    Posted February 01, 2007 at | Permalink

    Midnight on Valentine’s Day for a deadline? What a romantic you must be.

    I’ll do it, once I get these weird computer problems ironed out.

  32. engtech
    Posted February 01, 2007 at | Permalink

    Hey, there’s still two weeks… nothing says it has to be written on Valentine’s Day. :)

  33. Jayesh
    Posted February 03, 2007 at | Permalink

    Engtech, im completely sorry about the topic of deleting the post after youve read it. If its bad to do it, then ok, doesnt matter! Hehe, can you please tell me or here or by email how was the post?

  34. ching07
    Posted February 03, 2007 at | Permalink

    hey i got your point in randomly selection, prizes doesnt matter to me.experience is the prize towards success.

  35. ching07
    Posted February 03, 2007 at | Permalink

    this is my first time joining the contest, how can start, i am so confused all of the above , you have explained.

  36. ching07
    Posted February 03, 2007 at | Permalink

    engtech, how can i post my entries? im sorry but it really my first time.i am not such a clever like anyone else there.

  37. Venture Skills Team
    Posted February 03, 2007 at | Permalink

    Just drop a line to say we have entered to but as we are a company if we do win we will give the credits to a non profit making wordpress blogger, though we haven’t worked out who or how :)
    http://ventureskills.wordpress.com/2007/02/03/why-blog/
    Anyway you can see our entry above :)

  38. engtech
    Posted February 03, 2007 at | Permalink

    Hi Ching,

    Write about one of the four topics mentioned in the post above and then add a link to http://engtech.wordpress.com/2007/01/18/win-wordpresscom-credits-engtech-contest-1/ in the post.

    Come back to this page and leave a comment that you entered the contest.

  39. raincoaster
    Posted February 03, 2007 at | Permalink

    Okay, my entry should go live in a couple of hours:
    http://raincoaster.com/2007/02/03/5-reasons-why-i-blog/

  40. Agent KGB
    Posted February 05, 2007 at | Permalink

    Why I Hate Valentine’s Day
    http://agentkgb.wordpress.com/2007/02/04/why-im-not-a-huge-fan-of-valentines-day/

  41. engtech
    Posted February 05, 2007 at | Permalink

    Solid list of entries so far with only 10 more days to go.

    Thanks for participating, guys.

  42. adorablay
    Posted February 07, 2007 at | Permalink

    I have posted a blog about “why i blog” here
    http://adorablay.wordpress.com/2007/02/07/why-i-started-adorablay-animals/

  43. qphayes
    Posted February 07, 2007 at | Permalink

    Well, I finally got my entry up today. I chose to blog about why I blog. http://qplog.wordpress.com/2007/02/07/hmmm-5-reasons-eh-why-i-blog/

  44. Rexted
    Posted February 11, 2007 at | Permalink

    count me in
    here is my post…

    http://dexfamily.wordpress.com/2007/02/11/why-i-started-this-blog/

  45. Internet Monkey
    Posted February 11, 2007 at | Permalink

    Booyah!
    http://addmonkey.wordpress.com/2007/02/11/why-does-this-blog-even-exists/

  46. Adam Winogrodzki
    Posted February 12, 2007 at | Permalink

    http://adams4ever.wordpress.com/2007/02/10/why-the-iphone-will-win-over-the-market/

  47. Jason
    Posted February 13, 2007 at | Permalink

    Here’s my two cents:

    http://longstride.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/but-engtech-told-me-to/

  48. alejna
    Posted February 14, 2007 at | Permalink

    Hi. Count me in. Here’s my submission:
    http://collectingtokens.wordpress.com/2007/02/14/getting-over-vd

    Thanks!

  49. engtech
    Posted February 16, 2007 at | Permalink

    The results are in!

    http://engtech.wordpress.com/2007/02/16/group-writing-project-1-complete-and-the-winner-is/

    and contest #2 is up:

    http://engtech.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/group_writing_contest_2_win_amazon/

  50. Agent KGB
    Posted March 01, 2007 at | Permalink

    Why did that ping here? I know I didn’t put this address in the pingback field and I wrote that post over a week ago anyway. :?

  51. engtech
    Posted March 01, 2007 at | Permalink

    Weird… looks like a backend server bug.

31 Trackbacks

  1. By Free Wordpress.com Credits for Upgrades « Wordpress.com Theme Information on January 18, 2007 at

    [...] See contest rules here. [...]

  2. By Why I Blog « Neomeme on January 19, 2007 at

    [...] 2007 No, this isn’t becoming a personal blog. But I am playing along with Engtech’s blogging contest. Not so much for the potential lure of random selection for WordPress credits, but more to explore [...]

  3. By جايزه طلايي براي وردپرسي‌ها « مزيدي on January 20, 2007 at

    [...] از نوشتن پست ان را بايد به اين‌جا  لينك دهيد.اگرچه توسط trackback لينك شما رديابي خواهد [...]

  4. By Why I Love/Hate Valentine’s Day « A Mind of My Own on January 21, 2007 at

    [...] to enter contests and see if I will win something, anything. Heh. I’m entering this post in engtech’s contest. Now, I wonder if my title is valid. Oh well, here goes [...]

  5. By Blogs can help the consumer movement « My Writings on January 22, 2007 at

    [...] consumers was getting lost. Also, very important - I want to take part in the new contest by Engtech.wordpress.com) on why I [...]

  6. By A reason for me to blog « My Writings on January 22, 2007 at

    [...] consumers was getting lost. Also, very important - I want to take part in the new contest by Engtech.wordpress.com) on why I [...]

  7. By A good reason for me to blog « My Writings on January 22, 2007 at

    [...] consumers was getting lost. Also, very important - I want to take part in the new contest by Engtech.wordpress.com) on why I [...]

  8. By I See IT Everywhere « My Life With IT on January 23, 2007 at

    [...] encountered people who have sometimes made my day. With that, I shall post this to participate in Engtech’s Contest the winner gets 15 WordPress credits. [...]

  9. By Life of Robert on January 24, 2007 at

    My Deal with Valentine’s Day

    At least this year. I get the feeling that my thoughts on this matter fluctuate from year to year.
    I love the idea of Valentine’s Day. As a single guy, it’s a freebee day to shower women or one woman with gifts large or small without it b…

  10. By In exchange for 15 wordpress.com credits « Somewhere out there . . on January 24, 2007 at

    [...] same reasons why most bloggers blog. I’ve read a few entries from the participants of the engtech contest who chose to write about this topic, but so far, i personally feel that the entries are mostly on [...]

  11. By Why I started this blog « Thursday Rants on January 25, 2007 at

    [...] I started this blog - This entry is for //engtech’s wp.com contest#1 and I’m trying on his topic #1 “Why I started this blog”. [...]

  12. By Why Do You Blog? « //engtech on January 26, 2007 at

    [...] Do You Blog? My first attempt at running a contest is coming along nicely with 9 submissions so far. One of the topics I asked people to write about [...]

  13. By Why I Started my Blog. « jordsta’s blog. on January 26, 2007 at

    [...] This post is for engtech’s competition. Look here for [...]

  14. By Why the blog? « me, myself and them on January 26, 2007 at

    [...] This blog post is being submitted as an entry to //engtech’s Win WordPress.com Credits - Contest#1 [...]

  15. By Win Wordpress Credits! « Dj J…Central on January 27, 2007 at

    [...] Win WordPress Credits! http://engtech.wordpress.com/2007/01/18/win-wordpresscom-credits-engtech-contest-1/ [...]

  16. By contest nt « stupidtom.com on January 31, 2007 at

    [...] I am entering a contest at engtech. I have a couple of choices as to what I want to write for an entry and I have chosen “Why I [...]

  17. By Win Wordpress Credits from engtech! « Dj J…Central! on February 04, 2007 at

    [...] http://engtech.wordpress.com/2007/01/18/win-wordpresscom-credits-engtech-contest-1/ [...]

  18. By Agent KGB on February 05, 2007 at

    Why I’m not a Huge Fan of Valentine’s Day

    So, in the hopes of being randomly selected to win 15 WordPress credits in Engtech’s contest, I’m explaining why Valentine’s Day isn’t cool.

    I don’t especially like the color pink, and there’s a lot of it in early F…

  19. By Why I Started Adorablay Animals… « Adorablay Animals on February 07, 2007 at

    [...] to enter a contest that is being hosted by engtech on wordpress. The contest information is posted here in case you are interested. Basically the question that needs to be answered is: Why I started this [...]

  20. By Wordpress.com Group Writing Project Deadline « //engtech on February 11, 2007 at

    [...] More information and instructions are here. [...]

  21. By Why I Started this blog « An Expression of Myself on February 11, 2007 at

    [...] by Rexted on February 11th, 2007 This blog is in response to Engtech question on why did I start this blog ? . This all begins when we don’t have too much projects at the office and my relatives [...]

  22. By But, //engtech told me to! « longstride on February 13, 2007 at

    [...] (Engtech issued a challenge and I feel I must step up. Brave words for an unkown blogger from West Michigan.) [...]

  23. By getting over V.D. « collecting tokens on February 14, 2007 at

    [...] post is being submitted to the EngTech monthly contest, under the topic “why I hate Valentine’s [...]

  24. By Civilian Casualties on March 01, 2007 at

    Blast Kills 67 on India-Pakistan Train

    67 people aboard a train from India to Pakistan were killed in an explosion, according to Yahoo, near the Deewana station (about 100 kilometers north of New Delhi). The train is known as the “Samjhauta (Friendship) Express,” and authoritie…

  25. By Monkey on Wordpress on March 01, 2007 at

    Why Does This Blog Even Exists

    There are many blogs out there. You know it, I know it. So why did I have to go make one of my own? Because I’m not like everyone else. Sure, this sounds like something you learn in middle school where people tell you you’re special and ind…

  26. By In exchange for 15 wordpress.com credits #Part 2 « Somewhere out there . . on March 15, 2007 at

    [...] credits #Part 2 In my previous attempt to try my luck to win 15 wordpress.com credits in a contest, I’ve failed, but I’ve also gained something else, which i thought was better. Not just [...]

  27. By 5 things « collecting tokens on March 18, 2007 at

    [...] The guy over at //engtech is having another group writing contest. Last month, he had his first contest, and I participated with my “getting over V.D.” post. And while I didn’t win the [...]

  28. By //engtech now has asides « //engtech - internet duct tape on May 22, 2007 at

    [...] 21st century and now with a clever CSS hack from Andy I have asides (just like Matt). I love the CSS upgrade so much, it isn’t possible without it. The way I am doing it is automatically publishing my [...]

  29. By Best of Feeds - 45 links - programming, blogging, humor, blogs, geek, tips « //engtech - internet duct tape on May 22, 2007 at

    [...] Win Free WordPress.com Upgrade Credits (engtech.wordpress.com, 3 saves) [...]

  30. By Wordpress.com Group Writing Project Deadline « Internet Duct Tape on July 20, 2007 at

    [...] More information and instructions are here. [...]

  31. By Best of Feeds - 45 links - programming, blogging, humor, blogs, geek, tips « Internet Duct Tape on July 20, 2007 at

    [...] Win Free WordPress.com Upgrade Credits (engtech.wordpress.com, 3 saves) [...]