Man oh man…what a tough choice. How is one supposed to select something knowing that either choice is right? It’s one of those “there is no wrong answer” type questions that my professors ask from time to time and it is my responsibility to convince them that my choice is the better of the two. This time I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place and need to cast my vote of support for either Tyler or Gyutae. It’s like choosing between your favorite movie or your favorite song…it’s a difficult choice for sure!
The Contenders
Tyler “the man, the myth, and the legend” Cruz has been my “coach” these last few weeks, has provided me with some valuable tips to make my site better, has given me the awesome opportunity to make guest postings on his site, and has really inspired me to be a better blogger in general.
Gyutae “nice guys finish first” Park has also been influential in my blogging sphere as of late. Gyutae is proving to be a marketing maven and has been able to generate huge buzz for his site by giving away 1 review (valued at $450) on John Chow’s website, and has brought traffic to his and others’ sites by offering free blog audits to anyone who makes 10 genuine comments on his blog. Gyutae is a genuine nice guy and is rapidly making a good name for himself in the blogosphere.
The Prize
This is where the contest gets interesting. As with every contest, there seems to always be a winner and a loser with the winner getting a big prize. Think the Superbowl, the BCS Championship, the World Series, the World Cup, Wimbledon, World’s Longest Fingernail, and so on. The winner gets something for winning.
With this contest, the winner doesn’t really win anything but the voters are the ones who win. If you vote for the winner, you enter for a chance to win up to $100 paid for by the LOSER of the competition.
In addition to perhaps winning $100, each candidate is giving away a freebie to sway voters one way or another. Gyutae is giving away a free T-shirt to his first 30 voters and Tyler is giving away 100 free Entrecard credits to each of his voters. Some schwag for a vote can’t hurt, right?
My Vote
Unlike big government elections, I feel as though my vote actually counts in this race, and it is with a great degree of difficulty that I cast is. The aforementioned candidates are both very deserving of my vote. This is not a popularity contest nor is it a measure of the quality of the website. I am not voting on the basis of monthly earnings nor am I voting on the basis of friendship. I am, however, voting for the candidate with whom I can relate the most, I am voting for the guy who started his blog at the same time that I started mine and I am voting for the guy that makes me feel like I can reach my goals just like he is reaching his.
Also, since I like movies and sports where the underdog is triumphant, I am voting for Gyutae’s Winning the Web. I know that Tyler has some tricks up his sleeve and like the Chow vs. Shoemaker RSS contest, Tyler will probably unleash the hounds closer to the end of the contest.
Gyutae Park from Winning the Web is probably one of the most prominent “up and coming” bloggers around. Since October of last year, he has made quite a name for himself and his blog by getting users through the use of contests and giveaways.