Prelude
You may have seen me share the @phctop3 contest posts around the place over the last few months since we began this endeavour but there have been a lot of questions on what it's all about so I wanted to make this Beginner's Guide to the contest to help shed some light on why it's not just another contest but rather a place where EVERYONE wins, even if you don't finish in the prize positions.
What Is The PHC Top 3 Contest?
Myself, @plantstoplanks, @cheese4ead and @foxyspirit (aka the Panel) clashed heads back in March 2019 and wanted to bring something fun to the fray by asking the STEEM community, what are your top 3 picks for a specific subject?
You then write a post about it, set your post payout to 50/50 and send in the 50% (that isn't STEEM Power) once the post has paid out for your entry fee to @phctop3. We then put together a dpoll of all eligible entries, the steem community votes on their favourite and we determine the results based on that. It really is that simple!
Why Don't The Contest Organisers Pick The Winners?
Well, we had this discussion before we ran with the contest and the answer is pretty simple. We don't want to have any influence over the results and we want to make this a truly community driven contest. We do have some metrics in place that will make the results from the dpoll as reasonably fair as possible but our role as the Panel is to check entries, decide the topics and to calculate the prizes.
How Can Everyone Be A Winner?
I believe there are many answers to this question. The first is that if you're struggling for thinking of topics to write about at the beginning of the month (up until the 9th) then pop on over to @phctop3 and see what topic we've chosen, it might spark some creativity.
Secondly, we don't just want you to list your top 3 things in a bullet point in a comment and be done with it. We actually encourage and want you to tell us WHY you like these top 3 things, tell us your story behind them, what was it about them made you tick? How are you connected to these choices? By doing this, we believe it will help improve your reasoning skills when it comes to other non-phctop3 related activities :)
Thirdly, you will get to earn some steem and extra comments because all 4 of the Panel will come along to comment, upvote and resteem your post to get you more exposure, along with the phctop3 curation trail. You'll also get interaction from other people who entered. As mentioned above, you will get to keep half of your post's SP earnings and you'll have a chance of scooping up the prize pool. Even if you don't finish in the top 3, you'll have earned some steem regardless! What other contest does that?
How Big Can the Prize Pool Get?
In our first 4 months of going live, we've given out over $82 SBD from prize pools and, thanks to some amazing sponsorship from @curie, we were able to give an additional 140 STEEM across that time frame. Furthermore, @bluemist has given us some awesome help for September's contest too with some generous support with @appreciator - so a big thanks to him for that. So yea, that's a lot of STEEM!
Of course the prize pool can get bigger the more people enter and if you want to add more than the minimum requirement of 50% of your post payout then that will grow the prizes more, which is absolutely awesome (but not compulsory). The panel have also made posts but please not that these are NOT ELIGIBLE for the contest but the post payouts go towards growing the prize pool, or they donate along with sponsors if they didn't make a post (like for me this month).
What If I Get My Friends Involved?
Then you get legendary status my friend!! Oh and an SBI unit for your troubles, as long as the friend you referred hasn't entered the contest already and gives us an eligible entry - max of 1 referral per month :)
I'm Not In The Power House Creatives Community, I Can't Get Involved
Errrr yes you can! This isn't an exclusive contest and we want EVERYONE with a STEEM account to enter. The reason we have the @phctop3 account is because @jaynie and the Power House Creatives community is where the Panel met and we needed some guidance from the wisdom within to make this contest fly and it's taken off more than we could have imagined thanks to everyone, inside and outside of PHC who has gotten involved and supported in one way or another!
So You See...
For telling us what your favourite top 3 things are about a specific topic, you get an awful lot for it! We don't just want those of you who come across our contest to grow your steem account but also to develop your reasoning skills, meet new friends and discuss a fun topic to help with your engagement on the platform.
So why not start following the @phctop3 profile and get involved in this fun contest? We look forward to seeing you in the next round in October where we will have a new, exciting topic to get involved with and we will have a special announcement. Watch this space!
If you have any questions about it, let us know in the comments below and we'd be happy to help!
Nicky & The Panel
Great post and explanation of this very fine contest. It's been a growing contest ever since we started and it's always a blast! It doesn't get old because of the various topics. That's just one of the things that makes me love this contest. Talking about topics... Next month!!! So many ideas!!!!!
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You're right, the variation each month keeps everything new and I have absolutely loved working on this with you, Gaz and Katie! It's always so exciting each month! Group hug 🤗
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Woohoo group hug! 🤗🤗🤗 It's a blast everytime! We have fun we laugh and when it's time to get down to it, we are at it together.
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Let's face it... we're a pretty awesome unit :D
Cheers to that! 🍻
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Awesome explanation! Thanks for the write up and the clarifications.
You're most welcome my friend! Hope this clears up a few things but we are a friendly group and want to spread the good vibes about the place! Thanks for being a part of it and joining the contest 💪
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This is a great explanation @nickyhavey. As you know, I love @phctop3 and since it was launched there has been only one topic that didn't get me going! I'm one of the ones to whom this really applies
Sometimes I really go OTT
You, @foxyspirit, @plantstoplanks and @cheese4ead do a fantastic job and I am delighted that this initiative is getting support from @curie, @bluemist and @appreciator. IMHO, it's one of the contests on the platform that really does make people think. Good practise for reflective writing....
Carry on doing it!
You may find me back with another long, rambly read in October!
Having such awesome participants like yourself and so many others inspires us to keep on top of our game, as well! We love the long, rambly entries. ;) I think I learn a little something new about everyone with each passing month.
😂🤦🏼♀️
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🥰🥰 your support is to be recognized as well. You've been with us from the beginning! 😘
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Thanks a lot Fiona and we love reading your entries as you take us on a journey through history and embrace the true spirit of the contest!
I'm sure October's theme will bring out the best in you 😉
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OMG @nickyhavey
My life is history?
I suppose it is, having lived half a century.... Doesn't bear thinking about....
Thank you. Not! ;)
Why must you be like this? 😂
But if you're going down that line then yes, yesterday was history, last week was history, lunch time today was history. Life is history.
The good news is, it's also ongoing and we go into the future every second so we can be merry and celebrate and share our top 3 favourite things each month and earn steem with epic posts about life's history 😛
You're WELCOME 😉
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Wahahaha! I seem to have touched a nerve, and haven't had time to put together a riposte for @plantstoplanks description of my
So you copped it. And made me smile on what's been quite a challenging day.
So
Thank you. Really. :D :hugging:
Haha no nerve touched, just bantering with one of the Queens of banterdom!
Glad to have made you smile, I needed that too, been a tough transition in to a new office after having a weekend in nature and we have a bit of a B$$%% colleague 😁
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Urgh! You have my sympathy. And
I'll take it!
:D
Go and have a beer and tomorrow's Friday, so all will improve. It will.
Fun topics to move the "cobwebs" around, remembering why you enjoyed something as much as you did, keep going with this awesome monthly event.
Using dPoll gives a fair reflection on community voting, fun seeing how each person reacts to a topic.
So happy to have you as part of the top 3 fam Joan! Keep that duster handy, because you'll definitely need to clear out those spiders for the next month... ;)
Excellent work explaining a little bit more in depth about the contest! It really has been such a blast, so I'm sure we will continue the fun for many months to come! We've still got plenty of excitement this month, but lots to look forward to, as well. ;)
Thanks a lot Katie and there's so much to look forward to with top3 it's untrue! I've really enjoyed working with the awesome panel - long may it last :)
Great explanation! I just might have to make some referrals! 😉
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I think you just might 😀 thanks for having a read through and hope to see more of you in future contests 😁
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Since I came to PHC and saw this contest I fell in love, I really love the way participants are included and integrated to give a good result!
It's been awesome having you join in the fun and games with us! We were discussing you a little bit in the panel when your first month on the contest, all your choices were in the top 3 voted from the steem community and you took home the big prize! Not a bad first round 😁
Thank you for being involved and we're so happy you're loving it!
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That was the best first round of my life, I had never won a contest hahaha I think that's what got me hooked!
Haha it was an awesome start to your phc top3 career! Going from strength to strength and everyone is a winner even if they don't finish in the top 3! Stay awesome hey 🙏
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