Getting experts in a field to help others in the same field is not always an easy task. However, that is how this industry was built up - from newbies learning from the old timers and passing on that tradition day in and day out. Over the years, forum participation has changed from what it was, even 3 years ago. Social networking sites, Facebook, Sphinn, Twitter and so on have captured the hearts and the time of many of these experts, leaving the forums less flowing of knowledgeable people sharing.
Don't get me wrong, there are still a tremendous amount to be learnt and shared in the forums. In fact, if there wasn't anything in the forums, then this web site would be dead. Having said that - sometimes encouraging participating is needed or a good idea, especially in Google run forums.
That is exactly what Google is trying with a new experiment in the Google AdWords Help forums. A thread started by Google AdWordsPro Bindu has details of a competition for forum participation where those who participate can win prizes.
The competition is simple - help others and you can win. Here are the details:
What:
Once you sign-up as a participant in this competition, your posts (answers to posts on the forum from May to Jun 15, 2010) will be evaluated by Google Employees. You will be judged on the quality(accuracy, helpfulness, tone, etc) and quantity of your posts/answers.When:
Your forum posts/answers from May 1 to May 31, 2010.What's in it for me?
We never thought you'd ask! The first winner gets a free AdWords optimization proposal for their account and the other two get a customized AdWords report. Apart from this, all three winners win a $25.00 credit applied to their AdWords account.
I'll be the first to say that experts are likely going to find these "prizes" to be somewhat lame. But we will see how this experiment goes.
Forum discussion at Google AdWords Help.
