This year's vote tabulation was handled by the app Listly. I don't believe it was the best choice. I was told that it was chosen to share a new app, but people complained that it was constantly loading incorrectly, crashed in the browser and had problems when used with Internet Explorer. And that's just the beginning. The voting process was not an easy one for the average person; many steps were involved. If a person didn't have a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Gmail account they couldn't vote. Many people did not like the idea of giving Listly personal access to their contacts and more. Votes lost there. Isn't Listly for making lists? Was this app in the Beta stage, and that's why there were so many issues? Here's a sample of what I heard from people:
"What is "Listly" and why would I want to give it permission to access my FB info such
as my Friends list and profile...or my GMail info? I'll look at this after dinner but I'm not
keen on allowing 3rd party access. I had to "allow" a zillion permissions in my Firefox
NoScript app to even get to where I could see everything."
"i am trying to vote but doing get it at all, it says vote now, i click on it, there is a drop
down menu of bunch of awards but nothing on where to vote! sorry"
"That's the problem. It says you are done, but you have to click the triangle again. But it got stuck and wouldn't go back to the screen. I think there is something fishy going on!"
"I have no idea how to vote for you. I tried to do this 4 times and give up. Maybe it's not compatible with my Apple computer? There is no list of names. I can't click on the photo & get anything. All I get is some "Listy List" that wants me to join."
"I have been trying but it seems to take a lot of registration before you get to vote. Am I doing something wrong?"
"I don't want to sign into the site. If there is a way to vote without signing in I would do it. "
"I did it & clicked the#again after the window closed but the # hasn't changed from 15. X#0&@*"
"I keep trying to vote and it will not let me, no triangle on my computer I have been going insane all week trying."
Here are two different opinions on the Edublog Awards: Why the Edublog Awards Matter- from the Cat's Pajamas blog
Why I Dislike the Edublog Awards- Tim Holt has strong feelings about the Edublog Awards
This comment was made in response to Holt's posting and it pretty much sums what I said I expected to "win" at the conclusion of the voting:
Here are two different opinions on the Edublog Awards: Why the Edublog Awards Matter- from the Cat's Pajamas blog
Why I Dislike the Edublog Awards- Tim Holt has strong feelings about the Edublog Awards
This comment was made in response to Holt's posting and it pretty much sums what I said I expected to "win" at the conclusion of the voting:
I agree with everything you say, except I don't :) I don't look at the eddies as a contest to win, I see it as a way to expose others to people they may not have access to otherwise.The main value of the awards is the nomination process. People nominate people and anyone can do it. It only makes sense that a person that has a lot of followers gets nominated. I myself have nominated many times in the past, but I always nominated much smaller followed sites or less well known people. This gives them exposure they otherwise would not have had. I have nominated several relatively unknown people who have become much better known. How else would this have been accomplished without the eddies?I struggle with the idea of self promotion too and still haven't decided where I stand. I do not have a problem pushing the #comments4kids hash tag though because the more exposure it gets the better it works for the kids. I don't think that it promotes me at all.So see, I agree with you, except I don't :)
I have my own theory on how the voting process should take place. Instead of turning it into a popularity contest, (who can get the most people to vote for them) why not have a committee of educators pick the winners? The nomination process should stay the same, (you cannot nominate yourself) and those people would be short-listed for the final awards. Just a thought. Still, I am thrilled to have won in my category and look forward gaining more followers and connecting with more people via Twitter, Facebook and this blog.
How do you feel about this year's voting? Leave a comment below.
