Is the Last Chance the Best One? (contest/giveaway)
June 22, 2009
The lucky and confirmed winner of week #2’s drawing was:
Rita G. (entry #279) from New Jersey!!
I’ve notified entrant #649 (generated from Random.org from all the eligible entries — I had to delete a few of those duplicate) for week #3’s drawing and am waiting to hear back… but there’s still this 1 more opportunity to win!
So that means it’s time to move on to week #4 — the final week of this awesome contest. The last of the 4 posts I’ve going to make this month. I’m really going to miss finding fun, drool-worthy ice cream pictures to post and drawing names that will result in one of you winning FREE Blue Bunny® Ice Cream for a whole year.
The Prize
Each of four winners will receive a shipment of one carton of Blue Bunny® ice cream and one Blue Bunny® novelty pack each month for a calendar year. You’ll receive a menu of Blue Bunny® ice cream and novelties every month, and have the opportunity to choose the carton and novelty that you’d like to receive. Each winner will also get a Welcome Kit complete with spoons, bowls and an ice scream scoop to get them ready! The prize value is $97.80 per winner. Sorry, only one winner per household – we want to spread the joy around!
The Contest Details
You will have the opportunity to enter your name & a valid email address using the form below. If you haven’t won any of the previous weeks, for each previous entry, you will still have an entry (up to 4) for this final drawing!! (Assuming you haven’t already won!) If this is your first week, you can still win. See Week #1’s description of the rules for further information (or feel free to email me if you’re still confused!)
How Winners Are Chosen
Each week’s drawing closes at Sunday 11:59pm ET and the winner that week will be chosen from all valid entries submitted according to the method listed above. The winner for each drawing will be selected at random using a number generated from Random.org based on the total number of valid entries received between the start of the contest on June 1st and the date of the drawing. Winners will be notified via email and will have until the next drawing to reply (in the final week, this means one week from date of close.) In the event that a winner does not reply within the time given, or the email is returned as undeliverable, a replacement winner will be drawn using the same method. Duplicate or multiple entries for the same week will be deleted. Winner must be legal resident of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, and supply an address where s/he can receive an over-nighted package of ice cream/novelty on dry ice – unfortunately, this means no P.O. Boxes will be accepted.
So the dates work out like this:
- 1st drawing — now closed winner drawn & notified Monday June 8th
- 2nd drawing — now closed winner drawn & notified Monday June 15th
- 3rd drawing — now closed winner drawn & notified Monday June 22nd
- This drawing — open Monday June 22nd thru Sunday June 28th – winner drawn Monday June 29th
I can’t believe that we’re at the end of this already. I also can’t believe how much ice cream we’ve bought and consumed in this house during June. But seriously – it would take a stronger woman than I to post these things every week and not give into temptation herself. My favorite?
In the interest of full disclosure? I am being compensated for holding this contest (this is a lot of work dude!) but I don’t get the ice cream – so I really am jealous!! But very happy for the four winners. I just have to lose a little weight from the ice cream I’ve already bought myself! 
So if this is the first week you’re entering, you’ve still got 2 more chances (including this one) to enter and possibly win! Good Luck!! p.s. no need to comment to win – just put your name & email in the form and hit submit!!
Get Your Licks In While the Lickin’ is Good! Week 3 (contest/giveaway)
June 15, 2009
The lucky and confirmed winner of week #1’s drawing was:
Nadine L. (lucky #13) from New Hampshire!!
I’ve notified entrant #279 (generated from Random.org from all the eligible entries) for week #2’s drawing and am waiting to hear back… but there’s still 2 more opportunities to win!
So that means it’s time to move on to week #3 of our yummy contest, doesn’t it? The 3rd of 4 posts I’m going to make this month that will result in one of you winning FREE Blue Bunny® Ice Cream for a whole year.
The Prize
Each of four winners will receive a shipment of one carton of Blue Bunny® ice cream and one Blue Bunny® novelty pack each month for a calendar year. You’ll receive a menu of Blue Bunny® ice cream and novelties every month, and have the opportunity to choose the carton and novelty that you’d like to receive. Each winner will also get a Welcome Kit complete with spoons, bowls and an ice scream scoop to get them ready! The prize value is $97.80 per winner. Sorry, only one winner per household – we want to spread the joy around!
The Contest Details
You will have the opportunity to enter your name & a valid email address using the form below. If you don’t win this week, your name will still be submitted for the remaining drawings. So if you entered last week, but didn’t win? You can have up to 4 entries for the last drawing!! (Assuming you haven’t already won!) If this is your first week, you can still have up to 2. See Week #1’s description of the rules for further information (or feel free to email me if you’re still confused!)
How Winners Are Chosen
Each week’s drawing closes at Sunday 11:59pm ET and the winner that week will be chosen from all valid entries submitted according to the method listed above. The winner for each drawing will be selected at random using a number generated from Random.org based on the total number of valid entries received between the start of the contest on June 1st and the date of the drawing. Winners will be notified via email and will have until the next drawing to reply. In the event that a winner does not reply within the time given, or the email is returned as undeliverable, a replacement winner will be drawn using the same method. Duplicate or multiple entries for the same week will be deleted. Winner must be legal resident of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, and supply an address where s/he can receive an over-nighted package of ice cream/novelty on dry ice – unfortunately, this means no P.O. Boxes will be accepted.
So the dates work out like this:
- 1st drawing — now closed winner drawn & notified Monday June 8th
- 2nd drawing — now closed winner drawn & notified Monday June 15th
- This drawing — open Monday June 15th thru Sunday June 21st – winner drawn Monday June 22nd
- 4th drawing — open Monday June 22nd thru Sunday June 28th – winner drawn Monday June 29th
Oh… and if you happen to be lactose intolerant? Yeah, did I mention that Blue Bunny also makes a bunch of cool treats that are dairy-free? Like Bomb Pops. Which now come in a variety of flavors. But the Red-White-and-Blue ones always remind me of 4th of July and the Ice Cream Truck that used to be the only place you could get those when I was a kid.
In the interest of full disclosure? I am being compensated for holding this contest (this is a lot of work dude!) but I don’t get the ice cream – so I really am jealous!! But very happy for the four winners. I just have to buy my own Bomb Pops.
So if this is the first week you’re entering, you’ve still got 2 more chances (including this one) to enter and possibly win! Good Luck!! p.s. no need to comment to win – just put your name & email in the form and hit submit!!
Week 3 is now closed.
Winning is Good!
June 8, 2009
Because I love sharing good news? Nadine Larsen is now officially the 1st of 4 winners of FREE Blue Bunny® Ice Cream for a year!!
There’s still time for you to join her… Enter Here.
The Scoop on That One Contest, Week 2 (Contest/Giveaway)
June 7, 2009
“Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal.” ~Voltaire
Seriously. If Voltaire’s wish was granted, I’d be in a lot of trouble. Or maybe even in jail. Maybe they’d serve ice cream in jail though. It would totally be worth adding a year or two onto my sentence for the right ice cream… mmmm.
What’s that? Oh, yes, sorry – I was daydreaming. You don’t really blame me, do you? I’m willing to bet it took you a second to get past your own mental image of the perfect ice cream to read further. (If it didn’t, you have super-human strength. Did you see that picture?)
Anyhoo. It’s time for the 2nd of 4 posts I’m going to make this month that will result in one of you winning FREE Blue Bunny® Ice Cream for a whole year.
The Prize
Each of four winners will receive a shipment of one carton of Blue Bunny® ice cream and one Blue Bunny® novelty pack each month for a calendar year. You’ll receive a menu of Blue Bunny® ice cream and novelties every month, and have the opportunity to choose the carton and novelty that you’d like to receive. Each winner will also get a Welcome Kit complete with spoons, bowls and an ice scream scoop to get them ready! The prize value is $97.80 per winner. Sorry, only one winner per household – we want to spread the joy around!
The Contest Details
You will have the opportunity to enter your name & a valid email address using the form below. If you don’t win this week, your name will still be submitted for the remaining drawings. So if you entered last week, but didn’t win? You can have up to 4 entries for the last drawing!! (Assuming you haven’t already won!) If this is your first week, you can still have up to 3. See last week’s description of the rules for further information (or feel free to email me if you’re still confused!)
How Winners Are Chosen
Each week’s drawing closes at Sunday 11:59pm ET and the winner that week will be chosen from all valid entries submitted according to the method listed above. The winner for each drawing will be selected at random using a number generated from Random.org based on the total number of valid entries received between the start of the contest on June 1st and the date of the drawing. Winners will be notified via email and will have until the next drawing to reply. In the event that a winner does not reply within the time given, or the email is returned as undeliverable, a replacement winner will be drawn using the same method. Duplicate or multiple entries for the same week will be deleted. Winner must be legal resident of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, and supply an address where s/he can receive an over-nighted package of ice cream/novelty on dry ice – unfortunately, this means no P.O. Boxes will be accepted.
So the dates work out like this:
- 1st drawing — now closed winner drawn & notified Monday June 8th
- This drawing — open Monday June 8th thru Sunday June 14th – winner drawn Monday June 15th
- 3rd drawing — open Monday June 15th thru Sunday June 21st – winner drawn Monday June 22nd
- 4th drawing — open Monday June 22nd thru Sunday June 28th – winner drawn Monday June 29th
So now that I’m all drooly and day-dreamy… I thought I’d share with you that there’s also an option for those of us watching our caloric intake and yet still in love with le glaceau. Blue Bunny has a Premium Light option that has 1/2 the fat and 30% fewer calories than its regular version. I’m putting it on my shopping list for tomorrow. Because now, I’m even more jealous of you guys than I was last week.
In the interest of full disclosure? I am being compensated for holding this contest (this is a lot of work dude!) but I don’t get the ice cream – so I really am jealous!! But very happy for the four winners. I just have to buy my own 100 Calorie Bars.
I’m sending the email now to Week One’s winner as drawn by Random.org – if it’s not you? Then you’ve still got 3 more chances (including this one) to enter and possibly win! Good Luck!!
Week 2 is now closed.
I Scream, You Scream – Okay, Don’t Scream, But Dude… (Contest/Giveaway)
June 1, 2009
A couple of weeks ago this really nice person from Barkley, the PR and ad agency for Blue Bunny® Ice Cream asked me if I’d want to hold a contest on my site that allowed me to give 4 of my readers this really incredible prize… FREE Blue Bunny® Ice Cream for a whole year.
Of course I said no. Because I love you guys and I’d end up having to hate 4 of you out of sheer Ice Cream Envy if I did.
Wait, no I didn’t! I said “Are You Freaking Kidding Me??!! Of Course I’ll Do It!!!!”
So here’s the deal: The month of June is going to be Ice Cream Central around here…
The Prize
Each of the four winners will receive a shipment of one carton of Blue Bunny® ice cream and one Blue Bunny® novelty pack each month for a calendar year. You’ll receive a menu of Blue Bunny® ice cream and novelties every month, and have the opportunity to choose the carton and novelty that you’d like to receive. Each winner will also get a Welcome Kit complete with spoons, bowls and an ice scream scoop to get them ready! The prize value is $97.80 per winner. Sorry, only one winner per household – we want to spread the joy around!
The Contest Details
Starting with this post, you will have the opportunity to enter your name & a valid email address using the form below. If you don’t win this week, your name will still be submitted for the remaining drawings. But each week you have the chance to submit another entry – up to 4 (once per post) – and that will increase your odds!
Let me explain that a little better. If you enter every week, you will get one entry per week… if you don’t win that week? Your entry will roll over into the next drawing as well – BUT – if you come back and enter again, you will have another entry into that week’s drawing.
So you can just enter now, and you will have 1 entry for each week. Or you could come back next week, enter again and have 2 entries for drawings 2, 3 & 4… If you enter every week? You can have up to 4 entries for the last drawing!! (Assuming you haven’t already won!)
How Winners Are Chosen
Each week’s drawing closes at Sunday 11:59pm ET and the winner that week will be chosen from all valid entries submitted according to the method listed above. The winner for each drawing will be selected at random using a number generated from Random.org based on the total number of valid entries received between the start of the contest on June 1st and the date of the drawing. Winners will be notified via email and will have until the next drawing to reply. In the event that a winner does not reply within the time given, or the email is returned as undeliverable, a replacement winner will be drawn using the same method. Duplicate or multiple entries for the same week will be deleted. Winner must be legal resident of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, and supply an address where s/he can receive an over-nighted package of ice cream/novelty on dry ice – unfortunately, this means no P.O. Boxes will be accepted.
So the dates work out like this:
- 1st drawing — open Monday June 1st thru Sunday June 7th – winner drawn Monday June 8th
- 2nd drawing — open Monday June 8th thru Sunday June 14th – winner drawn Monday June 15th
- 3rd drawing — open Monday June 15th thru Sunday June 21st – winner drawn Monday June 22nd
- 4th drawing — open Monday June 22nd thru Sunday June 28th – winner drawn Monday June 29th
Okay – I’m already jealous. Seriously – this is my kind of contest. And before you say “but wait, aren’t you trying to lose weight again GeekMommy?” Let me just tell you that one of my *favorite* desserts when I’m watching my calories? Yeah, The Orange Creme 100 Calorie Bars. Mmmm… (pardon my drool.) I like the Raspberry ones too, but GeekDaddy & I have been known to fight over the last Orange Creme bar in the box.
In the interest of full disclosure? I am being compensated for holding this contest (this is a lot of work dude!) but I don’t get the ice cream – so I really am jealous!! But very happy for the four winners. I just have to buy my own 100 Calorie Bars.
So what are you waiting for? An Invitation? Okay, I hereby invite you to enter. Good Luck!!
Entries for WEEK 1 are now Closed. Winner will be announced in a follow up post upon confirmation. Please don’t forget to enter again for weeks 2 thru 4!! ~GeekMommy
Earth Day Twitter Give Away
April 22, 2009
For ONE DAY only, I’ve got a giveaway for all of those twitter addicts checking in.
In honor of Earth Day and thanks to the good folks at Walmart and Brita, I’m giving away a Brita Water Filter to one fast twittering reader.
Contest Details
- Submit your best Green tip for Earth Day on Twitter.com using the hashtags #11MOMSGREEN and #GMContest.
After tweeting please leave the link to your exact tweet in the comment section of this post or it might not be counted.
- (to obtain your url: open your twitter profile, on the giveaway tweet click the time stamp right below “about x mins/hrs ago”, copy the url at the top of the page, paste in the comment section of this post)
- Only one entry per person!
- The giveaway is only good for one day, TODAY April 22, 2009 a.k.a. Earth Day only valid entries received prior to 11:59pm MT will be counted in the drawing.
- Winner will be chosen by random integer generator from random.org
- Winner will receive 1 Brita Water Pitcher
Example: “@GeekMommy My Green Tip is ______________#11MOMSGREEN #GMContest”
Please note: All tips submitted into the contest may be used on Walmart.com.
Manta Mania!! Win a Trip for 4 from Izea to SeaWorld in Orlando
February 11, 2009
This past weekend, if you were reading my Twitterstream you know I got to go to SeaWorld in Orlando thanks to the wonderful people at IZEA & SeaWorld. I spent my weekend feeling like a kid again while getting to spend some of the most amazing moments with @eMom, @juliaroy, @pop17, @aschek & @tedmurphy! I keep blaming my laryngitis on ‘travel plague’ that I seem to get every time I’m in an airplane – but I think it actually started someday mid-way thru Saturday with all of the squeeing and screaming I did, if I’m being honest…
I went to SeaWorld in San Diego once as a kid. My big memory outside of Shamu the Killer Whale was that my older brother got a pearl out of his oyster from the pearl divers while mine came up with an empty shell. So when Ted Murphy told me that I got to go to SeaWorld in Orlando to experience a hard-hat tour of their upcoming Manta attraction? My first thought was “yeah, I’m going to head straight to the pearl divers! hah!”
You know what? They still have pearl divers – but we were so busy doing other exciting things? I kind of, um, forgot to go do that even tho I walked by more than once. Don’t worry, I’ll be doing it again soon enough with my own family (or so I’ve been informed by my daughter upon seeing footage of my weekend) so it will be on the list then I’m sure!
I’ll be honest that I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I mean, when someone says “Orlando” I used to think of that big park with the mouse, ya know? And before this weekend? When I thought “SeaWorld” I didn’t think “roller coaster” or “up close experiences with sea creatures” or even really much beyond “rotten-oysters-that-didn’t-give-me-a-pearl” and “Shamu” – so I didn’t exactly go in expecting to have the day of a lifetime. I mean, I didn’t even know that anything outside of the hard-hat tour was on the agenda before about a week out.
But dude. I had the day of a lifetime. I got to feed (and touch!) dolphins. Real, live, happy, frolicking, smiling, wonderful dolphins!! And it’s not an experience that is kept to the “select few” either. Sure, in order to get us through even a small portion of what the park offers visitors, we had VIP access that got us to the front of many lines – but there were lines. You? You can feed dolphins… and manta rays… and even sea lions (but man, those sea lions? a bit on the “fishy-smelly side” yikes!) All you have to do is go to Orlando, buy a ticket to SeaWorld and buy some smelly fish and wait your turn… well, for the dolphins anyhow – the mantas and sea lions are sort of a ’step-right-up and feed away’ deal.
Even with all of that, I was still totally stunned by all of the stuff that is going into the new Manta experience. I say ‘experience’ because it’s waaaay more than just an incredible one-of-a-kind coaster. There’s also the immersive aquarium experience and so much more than I can fit into just one blog post. (Yes, there will be more informational posts coming – I’m like that, remember?) Seriously, it’s not a “ride” it’s an experience. I personally can’t wait to get back there when it’s open. (See Ted Murphy’s video for a feel of how excited we all were.)
What? You don’t see it in the budget this year? You should. Seriously, I’m frantically figuring out a way to put it in my budget for later this year. But yeah, I understand – easy for me to say. I just got back from there. Not everyone is so lucky.
Aren’t you lucky then that you’re reading this? Because the awesome folks at Izea & SeaWorld have teamed up to create this wicked cool contest called Manta Mania.
Someone (You?) is going to win a trip for 4 to SeaWorld Orlando to be one of the FIRST people to RIDE the new Manta!! (Not to mention get to see all of the other cool stuff for themselves!)
What do you have to do to enter? Seriously, it’s so easy it’s almost done already:
1 – Blog Comment:
Leave a comment on this post sharing why you want to take your family or friends to SeaWorld to ride Manta. Make sure to include valid information so we can contact you if you win!
2 – Twitter Tweet:
Tweet out why you want to go to SeaWorld and ride Manta in 140 characters or less. Be sure to include http://bit.ly/gmswc, #mantamania and @GeekMommy in your tweet to be registered. For example:
I want to go to SeaWorld @GeekMommy I’ve got #mantamania because __ fill-in-the-blank __ http://bit.ly/gmswc
3 – Blog Post:
Write a post about why you want to take your family or friends to SeaWorld and ride Manta. Be sure to leave a comment or trackback on this post with the URL of your post.
Each tweet, comment or post counts as ONE registration. A person can enter UP TO three times. The winner will be chosen at random by IZEA based on all valid contest entries.
I’ll be giving away a SeaWorld Schwag Bag to one winner who enters on GeekMommy.net and IZEA will choose the grand prize winner randomly from all entries on the 6 blogs participating in the giveaway. The bloggers participating in the giveaway are the ones who went on the SeaWorld trip with me – Wendy Piersall, Sarah Austin, Julia Roy, Alex Schek and Ted Murphy.
Just don’t sit too close to Ted Murphy if you’re at the Shamu Believe show – it’s um, a damp experience
Important Legal Stuff
The Manta Mania Contest is open to anyone who is a legal U.S. resident and legal residents of Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, or Dominican Republic and is at least eighteen (18) years of age. The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on March 10, 2009. Please be sure and read the full contest rules here.
What is Your Time Worth? What’s Worth Your Time?
December 13, 2008
Today, Twitter and parts of the blogosphere are all abuzz with the debate over whether “sponsored” contests & posts are genuine or whether they damage the credibility of the blogger.
This seems to have started when Jeremiah Owyang [@jowyang] a Senior Analyst at Forrester Research tweeted: “Kmart paid Shoemoney $500 resulting in buzz from paid blog post 300+ comments http://snipurl.com/7yi5w “Buying” social media is effective”
From there, the discussion moved to the fact that Chris Brogan [@chrisbrogan] had also been involved in the project and had posted his Kmart contest over at Dadomatic. Then the twitterverse exploded and the blog posts started.
Apparently, when one of the most trusted guys in Social Media is involved, it becomes a big deal if you think that money might be involved in the equation.
Barbara Gibson from ABC wrote an interesting post here that Chris replied to in the comments. Barbara’s post starts from the viewpoint that a blogger taking money is selling his or her integrity. So her analysis from that starting point is inevitable.
Here’s the thing: You can’t sell your integrity. I’ve worked with many people of high integrity. I say “worked with” because they were getting paid for what they did. Integrity isn’t dependent on a vow of poverty. What it really means is that your position can’t be bought. That no amount of money is going to get you to do something that goes against your values, morals and beliefs.
So, with so many weighing in on this, why I am? Because I’m anticipating the next phase of this discussion.
If you take a look at the last post here, you’ll notice it’s a Walmart & Nickelodeon contest for a $500 Walmart gift card. All of the ElevenMoms have a similar contest up. It’s really not all that different than the K-mart contest is it? They have 5 bloggers posting contests for $500 K-mart cards, we have 20-some bloggers posting contests for $500 Walmart cards.
What’s the difference? Well, it does come down to that ’sponsored’ word. The Izea bloggers received a $500 gift card themselves. We did not. The Izea bloggers went to K-mart, bought things using those cards, blogged about it and then gave the chance to do the same to one of their readers. I didn’t go shopping at Walmart with a $500 gift card, blog about it, and then do the give away – I just posted the opportunity for one of my readers to win.
But in both cases, there’s a lot of work being done. There’s the initial post. There’s sorting thru the hundreds of entries to make sure that invalid ones are thrown out, that there’s no duplicates, that people are following the rules. Then having to choose the winner, get their information, get the card out to them. All this administrative work? I’m doing out of the goodness of my heart so one of my readers will win something cool. If the contest were being held on the companies’ sites? They’d have paid people doing it. I don’t have a staff here, so it’s just me and my time and effort.
Now let’s take the money out of the equation. Blogger X has a company send him/her 2 toasters – one to keep, one to give away to a reader. Or maybe it’s not toasters – maybe it’s a Wii, or an iPhone, or a MacBook Pro, or a fleece jacket (all promotions I’ve actually seen) – and the blogger says “wow! I just got to play with this new item… I love it, so here’s a chance to win it.”
That situation I just described happens every day on hundreds of blogs. I’ve never heard anyone saying “OMG!! I totally don’t trust Blogger X’s opinions of electronics anymore because he had a contest giving away a laptop!”
But now that we’ve added money into the equation there’s a brouhaha.
So let’s add a new dimension to this, shall we? Am I “more trustworthy” because I put in all that work for free? Or are the Izea bloggers “less trustworthy” because they saw their time and effort as valuable and believed they should be compensated for it?
My answer is a resounding NO.
Let’s get down to brass tacks here, shall we? I participate in the Walmart ElevenMoms program because I actually believe in what we’re doing. I shop at Walmart *gasp* regularly. I did before I got involved in the program. I actually like saving money and getting good deals. I love the thought of some reader of mine having an extra $500 to help out with the holidays this year. I know that will go a really long way at Walmart.
Since I’ve gotten involved in the program, I’ve been accused of ‘getting paid as a Walmart shill‘ – and when I revealed that I was not paid accused of ‘setting MommyBloggers everywhere back by setting a poor example and letting companies think they can get free work out of us.‘ I’ve read that I must be getting ’secret kickbacks’ and that there’s ‘no way’ I ever shopped at Walmart. I’ve been called a lot of names. It’s been interesting, to say the least.
But I just keep doing what I’m doing. Because if I didn’t believe in the program, I wouldn’t do it.
If K-mart had come to me and said “would you like to participate in this contest we’re doing with Izea?” I would’ve said yes. Why? Because I shop at K-mart too. *gasp* And again, I would love the idea of giving one of my readers $500 to help out with the holiday and it would go a long way there.
Would I have said “no! My time is worth nothing! Keep the $500 gift card for me, I’ll do it for free!” Hell no. If offered I would’ve said “thank you for recognizing that my time is worth something – please be aware that if you want me to actually review the store in the post, rather than just running a contest for a gift card, I will be giving my honest opinions in the review – positive & negative – and I will be making sure that my readers understand that this is a sponsored post.”
Do I think that the Izea bloggers did exactly that? Yes. I know most of those bloggers. I trust their integrity. They’re not going to be taking money from or running a contest for a company that they don’t believe will benefit their readers. If “Pyramid Scams R Us” came calling, not one of them would’ve done it – no matter how much money or ’sponsorship’ was involved.
You can’t buy integrity. You can’t sell integrity. If you have integrity? Money isn’t relevant. If you don’t? Money is the only relevancy.
Look, the only time I have problems with paying bloggers to post something is when it’s deceptive. There are a number of models out there right now that are paying bloggers to post where the payment part is being glossed over. Sites with high profile bloggers who are definitely being compensated but where that part is as hidden as it can be. If you’re going to get all feisty about paying bloggers? Let’s point the spotlight at people who aren’t the ones saying “SPONSORED POST” all over it.
Now – tell me why I’m wrong.
It’s the Contest I’ve Been Hinting About!
December 3, 2008
What’s better than picking out just the right presents for your family members, friends, and loved ones? Getting them for free, of course!!
It’s December – and for those of us not done with our shopping in July – that means it’s time to get the Holiday Shopping in high gear and get done before it’s too late! But our economy is making things a bit tougher this year than in the past and so we’re all looking for ways to save money while still living well.
That’s why I’m all aglow because Nickelodeon has teamed up with the Walmart ElevenMoms to throw a Holiday Money Saving Tips Contest. One of you lucky readers will be getting a $500 Walmart Gift Card!
That’s right. You have a chance to win a $500 Walmart Gift Card just in time for the holidays. In fact, you can earn up to 3 entries into this contest, just by following these instructions carefully:
1. Leave a comment sharing your best Holiday Money Saving Tip. Please make sure to put a valid email address on your comment so I can contact the winner!
2. Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email and leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so along with a DIFFERENT money-saving tip. If you’re already a subscriber, simply leave a separate comment letting me know you’re already subscribed along with another money-saving tip.
3. Share the Love!! Spread the word about this contest in some manner and come back and leave a link in a separate comment. If you twitter a tip? Just tag it with #Nick11 and paste the link in your comment. If you blog about it? You can leave the tip in your post and just link it here. If you digg it, stumble it, kirtsy it? Just put your Third Money Saving Tip in the comment with your link. However you do it, just come leave me a link so I know that you did!! I know, I know, it’s hard to let other people know when you want to win… but that’s why you get another entry for it!
The other important bits
- This contest ends December 15th, 2008 at NOON (12:00 pm) Pacific Time. Any entries received after that time cannot be counted toward the winning tip.
- Any entries not including all of the required elements (One Money Saving Tip, valid email address, any relevant links) will be disqualified and deleted from the comments list. PLEASE make sure to include all elements as I do not have the time to notify those who do not.
- The winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) out of the all the valid entries (see above.)
- You can enter up to 3 Money Saving Tips according to the methods above – try to make them good tho, as the winning tips may end up on Walmart.com!
- The winner will be notified by email and must respond within 24 hrs with their shipping information as we need to send out the gift cards by Dec 17th. In the event the winner does not respond within 24 hrs, an alternate winner may be chosen to ensure timely delivery of the gift card.
You can enter to win a $500 Walmart gift card not only here at GeekMommy.net but at most of the ElevenMoms’ sites. You can only win once, but you can enter to win at each site. Each contest may have slightly different rules, so make sure you read carefully!
I’m looking forward to seeing the tips you guys come up with!! Thanks for making my holiday season more fun (and frugal!) as well!
note: this author of this post was not compensated by either Walmart or Nickelodeon in any way regarding the posting or promotion of this contest. Please see the Disclosure Policy for further information.
A Quick Post – Because You Need Great Hair!
November 1, 2008
This is just a short post to point out that link/badge to the right -> in my side bar that looks like this:
What is that? Well… if you follow the link – you’ll find a site where you can get a free sample of the “Mystery Shampoo & Conditioner” that we 11moms got to try out in Bentonville. You can also see some videos of some of my gorgeous fellow 11moms getting makeovers with this Mystery shampoo & conditioner.
I will tell you that we ALL loved it.
And we’re waiting anxiously for the reveal ourselves so we can find out what it is and go buy it. (Yep, you heard me right, we don’t know what it is either!)
So go click – get a free sample – see what you think. And if you don’t love it, I’ll be surprised. But comment back here and tell me why if you don’t, okay?
Yay!! Free stuff!
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