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Frequently Asked Questions
GotSpot is "Your Contest Community" offering individuals the ability to watch, create and participate in contests for fun, prizes and maybe, just maybe a little notoriety!
GotSpot was founded on the belief that the internet provides an unprecedented opportunity for people around the world to share their unique talents and creativity. For those who love to compete, GotSpot’s tagline says it best, “If you Got it, Spot it”. GotSpot is for anyone who wants to join a community where they can compete, submit pictures, audio, video or text media into contests, or create their own contests for fun. And let’s not forget, you may just go to GotSpot for the entertainment value? With all these contest submissions, the popularity of each being decided by votes rather than views, then perhaps that video of the funniest baby, might actually “be” the funniest baby video!
You could use GotSpot to settle a bet between family and friends. Maybe you want to be in entertainment? Look for singing or acting competitions, or create your own! Perhaps you want to work behind the scenes, be a writer or director, create videos or music? Maybe you want to promote your bands latest CD or show the world your funniest pet videos or your best poetry? The options are unlimited. You could collaborate with others from around the world to write a new song, put it to music and discover a new singing talent to stand out in front of your band. Maybe you could challenge your neighbors to show how they are cleaning up their community? With a little use of your imagination, you could do all kinds of things.
What is GotSpot doing in the future?
Here at GotSpot, we will continue to develop our site and software to improve your experience. We will be introducing video judges, where you can associate your friends with your contest and they can provide video assessments of contest submissions. And just so everyone else can have an opinion also, we will have contest discussion forums, because it’s just not the same only being able to phone in your vote and shout your opinion at the TV!
GotSpot users have three ways they can experience and enjoy the site: as a spectator, as a participant and as an organizer. As a spectator, a user can view any of the contests or media that has been uploaded to the site. A registered user can participate directly in any of the contests, either by voting or by entering if they have applicable material to submit. When a registered user submits a media file to a contest, that user is a participant in the contest. A registered user can also create contests to their unique specifications, using a comprehensive set of contest options. In this capacity, the user is an organizer of the contest.
How do I become a GotSpot member?
Anyone 13-years or older can become a GotSpot member. Simply click on the sign up link on the home page and fill out the requested information. It’s as simple as 1-2-3. Some of the information we collect helps us determine how best to show you content that will suit your interests. Other information we may not need today, but in the future some contests will need to know your age or the city you live in, to ensure you qualify. So enter as much or as little as you are comfortable with today, if we need it in the future, we will ask you for it.
You can get started today, by simply becoming a GotSpot member. As a member you’ll have full access to all the features available on the site. Members can view media and contests, participate in and create their own contests. Non-members can view media and contests, but are not able to vote, participate in or create their own contests.
Joining GotSpot is completely free.
Participating in GotSpot contests is 100% free
How do I create a new contest?
Creating your own contests is one of the best ways to enjoy GotSpot.com. All you need to do is click on the “Create a New Contest” tab in the upper right hand corner of the home page and you can then create the contest of your choice. GotSpot provides you with extensive control over how you format the contest you desire. With GotSpot.com you can choose the number of rounds you want for your contest, you can choose to validate entries before they are allowed into open voting rounds, you can specify how many entries you want to compete in the final round, you can choose to allow round finalists to update their submissions if you decide to have different tasks in each round of multiple, you can even specify how long each round lasts. GotSpot’s flexible contest creation capabilities put you in charge. Stay tuned for some of the features we will be installing in the future, they will add to the fun and functionality.
How do I get the word out about my newly created contest?
GotSpot allows you to submit a list of email addresses of friends and colleagues that you want to participate in your contest. When the contest starts, GotSpot sends out an announcement to those email addresses you have supplied. Your competing participants may also get the word out to their family and friends, thus increasing participation to your contest. And let’s not forget that the casual web surfer can alert their friends to a contest or contest submission that they might find interesting.
A round is one segment of an overall contest, where GotSpot members are allowed to vote for submissions they like within a contest. When the round ends, the submissions with the largest count of favorable votes move on to the next round. In the case of the final round, the submissions are placed in ranked order according to the votes accumulated in the final round. The winner is the submission with the greatest number of votes.
How do I submit media to a contest?
You can submit your media to a contest in two ways:
From your existing GotSpot
GotSpot allows you to upload a media file any time you desire. All media files are stored in your "My Spots". When you want to submit one or more of your Spots to a contest, you can pick from any of the previously uploaded files.
From your Computer
Another way to submit your Spots to a contest is to upload a file directly to a contest from your computer by using the contest Submission button. When you submit your work in this manner, the Spot gets uploaded to your GotSpot as well as submitted to the contest.
Entering a contest is simple; all you have to do is click on the “Enter the Contest” button during its Submission Period. GotSpot contests are specifically designed to give the most favorable entry the greatest opportunity to win.
Single Round Contests
Single round contests give participant one single round to attain votes. At the conclusion of the voting period GotSpot tallies the votes and the entrant with the most votes is the winner. As is the case with multi-round contests, Single Round contests allow the organizer to pre-qualify entrants before they are available to be seen by the general public,
Multi-Round Contests
In a Multi-round contest, the strategy is to reduce the field of contestants, so that the most highly favored submissions move into the next round to compete just amongst themselves. As a result, the field of competition becomes more and more competitive as the less favorable submissions are removed from consideration. A Multi-round contest has two options for Submissions, “first” round only, or “Re-submission allowed”. The “First” round only strategy is for a contest expecting a large volume of entrants, submissions are only allowed during the opening round of a competition, and subsequent rounds are populated with the winning submission from the previous round. If re-submission is allowed, this would be used for a competition that could have various challenges during subsequent rounds. Or, it could simply allow a user with lower votes to improve their chances by improving their submission.
GotSpot members are in the driver’s seat when it comes to picking the winners of contests. Any registered member can vote in any contest. GotSpot contests have predefined voting periods that are determined by the organizer of the contest. Voting is restricted outside of the predefined voting periods. To submit a vote in favor of a particular submission, all you need to do is view the media file from within the contest and click “Vote for this”.
You can only vote once for each submission per round. We are striving for real results, voting more than once could skew the outcome. That’s why we also display the contest entries in random order, so as to best avoid one submission getting more views than other. In a Multi-round contest, votes are NOT carried forward to the next round with an advancing participant; you must follow your favorite performers and cast votes in each round if you want them to win the entire contest.
Why can’t I see the submission I just entered in a contest?
GotSpot gives contest organizers a high degree of freedom to create a contest that suites their unique desires. One of the options available to the organizer is the ability to create a closed first round that allows the organizer to validate that submissions are appropriate for the open viewing of the contest. Accordingly, a period of time is allocated where only the organizer is able to see what has been submitted to the contest and during that time, the organizer can remove submissions that they deem inappropriate. If you have submitted a media file to a contest and cannot see that submission, it is likely that it is during the period where only the organizer can see the submissions. If your submission happens to be removed before open voting begins, you’ll be notified by email and may have the opportunity to res-submit if the Submission window is still open.
Why can’t I submit my media file to a contest that is currently underway?
GotSpot employs a strategy that attempts to level the playing field for contest participants. Voting periods are allowed, only after the submission period has closed, so that no one submission has a longer period of time in which to receive votes. Additionally, members can only submit their media files during the first round of a competition. After that period of time, new submissions are no longer accepted. Except for contests that specifically allow re-submissions for new challenges each round.
Am I responsible for the material I upload to the site?
Please refer to our Terms & Conditions.
All GotSpot contests are public and can be viewed by anyone who visits the site. With the exception of a future feature, where your contest can be “Invite only”, your contests are also open to anyone to enter.
How can I share a contest with friends?
Share a contest with your friends by clicking on the "Share" button under the "Spot this Page" title and entering your friend’s email address.
Once you have submitted your vote, you cannot change it.
You can win prizes on GotSpot by winning or placing in a contest that has prizes set aside for the top performers, typically these are Sponsored contests. Each sponsored contest describes the prizes they provide to the top performers.
What are the prizes that I can win?
Prizes and number of prizes are determined by the sponsor of the contest.
A sponsored contest is a contest sponsored by another company. Sponsored contests typically have prizes associated with them. The prizes vary depending on the sponsor. If you are successful a contest, you will be contacted by us on behalf of the owner, at which point it will then be up to you if you want to provide details to receive prizes.
When you win a prize, the sponsor of that contest will contact you with instructions. If, within 2 weeks of winning you have not heard from the sponsor of the contest, please send an email to contact@gotspot.com and we will attempt to determine what is holding up the process.
From time to time, GotSpot will host sponsored contests that offer a prize to the winner or some number of top performers in the contest (e.g. Top five get a prize). Sponsored contest are marked as such and the contest details outline the prizes offered.
How do I find a particular type of contest?
There are two ways to find the contest you want: 1) GotSpot has a search capability that allows a user to find contest that relate to keywords and 2) GotSpot organizes contests under categories, as such user can click through categories they find interesting to locate contests they may want to review or participate in.
How do I find contests offering a winning prize?
Sponsored contests are highlighted on the GotSpot homepage.
How do I find contests with current open submission periods?
Members can employ the contest search functionality to search for contests that have open submission periods.
The contest organizer determines whether submissions can be updated during multi-round contests. If updates are allowed, GotSpot informs the author of the submission that they can re-submit a new entry that replaces the current entry in the upcoming voting round.
Currently you can not update your contest once it has been set up. Future versions of GotSpot will allow modification.
If you would like to cancel your account, please send your request to profiles@gotspot.com
How do I advertise on GotSpot.com?
Please send us an email requesting Advertising information and we will have someone contact you.
Fraud and Inappropriate Behavior
How do I report inappropriate behavior on the site?
If you find inappropriate content on the site, please let us know! You can send a report to us by sending an email to abuse@gotspot.com.
Are there any guidelines for appropriate behavior on the site?
Please refer to the Terms and Conditions of Service for appropriate behavior on the site.
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