It has come to my attention that several people, who should know better, have a shaky grasp of the differences between competitions and giveaways. I say this because of the “supposed” (and I am physically doing the quotations) controversy of the Ping Zine Motorcycle competition….

What is a giveaway? A giveaway means that the prize will be given to the number one finalist regardless of skill or merit (though some may argue that luck is merit, I will not argue that point, especially since I have no luck… I am the guy who plays the Lotto and wins a nickel).

What is a competition? A competition is where you have two or more people/groups compete over a single prize or award. A competition does not state that there will be a winner of said prize. Lets look at a hockey game, the game can end in a tie in which no one wins. Looking at the Lotto, grand prize winners are rare and the money gets pushed forward to the next week. A progressive slot machine… I have yet to see a winner and I live in Nevada, home of the nice old ladies who jump for joy when they win.

Now these definitions are obvious and the main controversy occurred not because of what Ping Zine said about the competition, but by those who wanted to make the motorcycle competition the final showcase of the show. I was there when they were asking Keith to move the motorcycle to the central platform. He vehemently stated that this was not a giveaway. This was a competition and those who signed up for it knew the odds of winning were slim, but damn me if people didn”t think they would be the lucky ones to pull the proper key out of the bag (if I was allowed to enter I would be among them, haha).

Some people called it a bad move cause people would talk about Ping Zine’’s stinginess for not having a winner. But the key here is that people will talk. And talk they did. There has already been a buzz for next year with several companies saying they will have cars or something other equally grand. This competition has made people talk and that is the type of publicity that cannot be bought. For a very small investment, Ping Zine has placed themselves deep into the lore of HostingCon and that is what made this great.

And Liam, I will fly back to Chicago midway through the DC HostingCon to throw that baseball. I hope you have the 100 spaceships ready and if you can, I would like mine painted in festive Red and Orange colors. 8-D

My name is David Dunlap, and I approve of this message.