Here's an FB link for the New to Contesting Button to point to:
http://www.qsl.net/zs1an/contesting_faq.html
73, Jim Smith VE7FO
Ethan Miller K8GU wrote:
> There's a book called "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell that was
> very popular a couple of years ago, especially in business/marketing
> circles. The basic premise of the book is that epidemics (whether they be
> viral, consumer, or otherwise) occur due to: 1. a relatively small
> number of influential people, 2. something called "stickiness", and
> 3. the context (environment). I'm not doing the book justice...so, you
> really should read it...
>
> Who started you in contesting? Chances are it's someone that Gladwell
> would call a "salesman", someone who is undeniably passionate about
> contesting and conveys it well to others.
>
> Think about how many of today's contesters "grew up" in contesting: they
> were a part of vibrant multi-op efforts at stations belonging to
> individuals (eg K2GL, K4VX(/0), ...) and at club stations at large
> universities (eg W9YT, W1MX, W6YX, ...). These hosts are what Gladwell
> calls "connectors"...they (want to) know everybody. The environment has
> changed over the years...the contest club now supplants this system. Does
> your club have connectors?
>
> Many of us are what Gladwell refers to as "mavens." Mavens strive to be
> experts and amass knowledge and skills regarding contesting. The trick,
> of course, is selling someone on contesting and connecting them with the
> knowledge.
>
> Contesting is "sticky" by nature. I believe it was N9RV who answered the
> question "When is a new contester hooked?" saying, "When he first tastes a
> run." It's interactive...you call, they respond. And, long time-constant
> stickiness comes in the form of reported results. (This is why, although
> I suppose a business necessity, the death of QST line scores was/is such a
> big deal.) But, we must connect new contesters with the kind of
> contesting that is sticky.
>
> Finally, the context is important. This is what the thread has mostly
> been about: are we accessible? We have to realize that sometime in the
> past decade, the Internet replaced print as the predominant medium from
> which people got their information about ham radio. I think that the "New
> to contesting?" button would make a great addition to our individual web
> sites, especially if we can agree on a format (our "brand") and the
> tutorial to be hosted (preferably on contesting.com).
>
> The point of what I've written is to encourage each of us to recognize
> and exploit our own strengths as salesmen, mavens, and connectors. We
> can't make people who aren't interested in contesting become magically
> interested. But, in spite of the (now silent) whining about the code,
> I think it's safe to say most new hams are still getting into the hobby to
> learn about something new...
>
> Contesting is all about selling your product (QSOs)...we should be good at
> this!
>
> 73,
>
> --Ethan, K8GU/9.
>
> -- K8GU - Urbana, IL - www.k8gu.com --
>
> On the Internet, everyone is an "expert."
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>
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