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  • Author Author: dougw
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2020 - a good year for hindsight

dougw

Somewhere in the last 2 years I lost the plot. I thought I would share my experience in case it benefits other members. One of my goals in the past 2 years has been to get nominated for member of the year, but I have not been able to figure out what it takes.

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The first metric I thought was important was participation. I addressed this by reading virtually everything that was published on the forum and commenting whenever I could contribute something useful. It definitely takes a lot of time to wade through all the material generated on the site. I also participated in the badges program and so far I have 115 badges. All this participation resulted in well over 100,000 points per year. 8 of my blogs in the last 2 years have exceeded 10,000 views.

Another metric I thought would count is participation in design challenges, which take a huge amount of time and require lots of blogs. I successfully completed 5 design challenges in the last 2 years, winning 2 of them.

A third metric I figured would count is Project14 participation. In the past couple of years I have participated in about 14 Project14 contests, winning about 3 of them. I don't really try to win all these contests, because I don't think that would look good, but I like to boost the activity in this corner of the forum.

A fourth metric I thought would count is road tests. In the past couple of years I have won about 9 road tests. (which is every one that I applied for) I have been refraining from applying for more, especially high-end instrumentation because I don't want to hog all the great free equipment.

Another metric which I like a lot, although I don't think it carries any weight, is circuit design. In the past 2 years my blogs have featured at least 27 custom PCBs that I designed.

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It is clear that this level of participation is not adequate to get nominated, so either:

  • I am not doing the right things
  • I am not doing enough of the right things
  • I am not doing the right things with sufficient quality
  • What I do is not popular enough
  • I am doing something that is frowned upon

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I have not received any feedback that I am doing something wrong and I cannot spend more time and effort on element14 - there just aren't any more hours available. Basically my current approach is not working, and I cannot do more, so I need to stop expecting better results. Which means I can stop doing what I was doing and how I was doing it.

It has already been quite liberating. I no longer feel obligated to read all content on the forum and I will be spending a lot less time generating videos and blogs, which will leave a lot more time to work on projects, even if they go unpublished. Imagine how much time it took to edit and publish 165 videos in the last 2 years.

I don't want to give the impression I have a complaint with element14 - it is the greatest forum, with a superb staff who do all the right things and I have enjoyed lots of success on the forum in the last 2 years. Really enjoyed it. It is just this one little goal where I screwed up, so if you have any insight into what it takes to get nominated for MotY, articulate them in the comments below.

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  • I would rather be just returning from the bar, at your favourite water hole, holding your preferred beverage before starting this discussion. The discussion has the risk of going off the rails real fast if the participants are unable to suspend judgement.

     

    Let me say first, I enjoy your participation. At times your responses blow me away. My feelings boarder on envy. HTF would he know that! HS he also knew the other stuff. I've been in technology for 40 years and can't recall my password. He calls stuff out like he has a photographic memory.

     

    In no way do I want to diminish what you are feeling. I understand disappointment. I have experienced frustration. I have wanted to resign.

    Can you help me understand why MotY for Element14 would be of importance?

     

    I once asked a friend, who was very faith attached, would he continue to do what he does if there was no heaven.  My goal, in asking the question was to understand why he did things he did for his faith. He refused to answer the question.

     

    I would be surprised to discover your contributions to the community were only done with the focus of MotY. Surely you got something out of your contributions? If you did not, I recommend you stop doing it. Unless you gain something from your participation, that is yours alone and not dependent on someone or something else, you will continue to hurt.

     

    I see your response to not achieving MotY, similar to those people failing to secure a RoadTest Review. They resign to not participating because they can't figure out how to be successful. Success defined as being awarded the review. WGS! The journey was important wasn't it? RoadTest Reviews are just seed for thinking, who cares if you win. It would be nice but for a brief moment I got to dream of the wonderful thing I built using the free stuff.

  • in reply to colporteur

    Everyone have their own motivations, who are we to judge others motivations to do or not to do something. In many situations you end up investing a lot of effort just for a single reason, there is nothing wrong with that. For instance, many (myself included) wouldn't apply for a job for any other reason than to try to get a job. Should only people motivated by more than to just get the job, apply? Of course not.

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  • in reply to colporteur

    Everyone have their own motivations, who are we to judge others motivations to do or not to do something. In many situations you end up investing a lot of effort just for a single reason, there is nothing wrong with that. For instance, many (myself included) wouldn't apply for a job for any other reason than to try to get a job. Should only people motivated by more than to just get the job, apply? Of course not.

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