IFC S02R04: Join the Information Finding Championship! (aka IFC)
This is my entry for IFC Season 2 Round 4 of the Information Finding Championship by @ifc and @apolymask with the title: Finding more players!
The Ultimate Cure for Writer's Block!
Have you ever had those days where you are completely at a loss for something to write about? Are you an old hand at STEEM, and you have run out of things to write and blog about... all your best ideas are already on the blockchain and you are considering just shitposting and calling it a day? Are you new to STEEM and you haven't had enough practice yet at writing and you can't think of anything to write about that you think will be interesting to anyone else? Are you looking for a topic that you can perhaps work at with a draft for a week or so and hopefully turn out a post that will be picked up by a curation guild like @curie, @ocd or @c-squared?
If you answered "YES" to any one of these questions, then perhaps the Information Finding Championships (@ifc) is the pill for you!
Is It Safe?
Well... we've had a single isolated real world longitudinal test on a batch of subjects in what was code-named "Season 1". Of the more than 40 participants, roughly 16 went on to the sudden death final rounds, and the lone survivor at the end (taking home roughly 160 STEEM in grand prizes) was the almighty @youhavewings. Along the way, the @ifc crowd attracted more than a little bit of attention from the @curie curators with no less than 11 Curies over the course of the Season!
So, despite the scarily titled "Sudden Death" finals... all members of the @ifc have been recently resurrected and have rejoined the community for the second season... going by the cunning codename "Season 2".
How Does It Work?
Well, this is a bit of a tricky one! When I first joined, I did remember being a bit confused about what the contest was all about... and the description that it was a bit like a "Human Google" didn't really make it too much clearer!
However, after a few rounds, I figured it out! Basically, every week, you are given a hook... a theme for the week, which can range from "Universe", "Water" and "Philosophy" and pretty much everything in between. From there, you are completely free to come up with your own take on the topic in whatever medium (... although it should be a STEEM post of some sort!) you like. You can play to your strengths... write a poem, write a funny story, take some photos, make a song, perform music, make a game... do anything you want! So, with the "Human Google" analogy... it's like you typed in the search term and then had a look at what the 100th entry was! It could be completely relevant or tangentially interesting! The world is your... salt-water bivalve mollusc!
It is a long running contest over many many weeks, and so if a topic isn't for you... skip it! Do one that you like! Or rack your brain for a couple of days until you get a cool angle that you want to investigate and write about!
... in addition, there are interesting little side quests... like photo treasure hunts! My Favourite!
Are There Any Side Effects?
I've found that the most detrimental side effect is that whilst you are reading other people's entries (and researching your own...), you are likely to be exposed to unusual, interesting and new knowledge and perspectives! Dangerous stuff, explore at your own risk!
You are also likely to be exposed to a very supportive and friendly community who have their own little Discord channel, which houses a number of little shops for artists and others who are selling their wares on STEEM! Hopefully in a few days... if I have permission to open up my marketplace store, I will be selling extra keys for PC games on STEAM (other STEEM...).
Give It A Go!
So what are you waiting for? Try out the Information Finding Championship hosted by @ifc! The first round is on the house... and I promise you'll be back for just....
one... more....round!
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Yea ...there are those days.
Thanks for the ideas.
Good post @bengy
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Thanks! Give @ifc a go!
Thanks for reminding me again. For some reason, I keep forgetting about it.
I joined two or three rounds last time, and it was really fun. I've now set up notifications, and when I come across a topic i can work with, i'll definitely join again :0)
This round is a complete free one! There are a few suggestions... But you are also free to do anything!
Excellent entry as usual bengy!
Indeed.. And I think we're going to have a good quest tomorrow! I've got a few interesting subjects lined up for people to choose from, I'm really curious and excited to see where the players go with it!
It is kind of confusing at first I think, though some people like @bashadow picked up really quick! He seemed to get it right away so I think it may vary but yeah I do admit it is a bit confusing or it can be anyways, there's a lot of different stuff going on in our world.
That made me laugh pretty good. You're very creative with your words!
Loved this part! Very clever and that's a good side effect to have I think! Especially cause I love learning unique and interesting things. :)
Great presentation man I really enjoyed it. If I had never heard of the IFC before I would be really curious after reading your post and I think I woulda wanna give it a try! Hopefully we get at least one player from your entry but if not I still thoroughly enjoyed your effort, it reminds of the amazing job you did with your post for curie, and they never got back to me unfortunately but I think I'm going to ask them again soon.
It seems like we would be a great fit, our players got so many curies last season and we already got one this season as well on our first round. Though whatever the case, it is what it is and I'm happy plugging along even if we don't get help from anyone.. It's a cool little/big idea I enjoy being a part of! Thanks for being a part of our world, you are very much appreciated and I always look forward to your entries! Cheers bengy! :D
Thanks, and glad you enjoyed the promo post! I'm trying to get the word out, @ifc has been such a good formative part of my time here in Steem and it is a community that deserves a touch more recognition! I have another post coming for another community feature contest, I will have to try a new angle on promoting ifc!
You're welcome. And thanks for trying to get the word out! :) It's been a bit slower than I anticipated the second season would be, but oh well! It is what it is. I'm just happy some people are playing at all and showing interest at all.. Sometimes these sorts of things take a while to build and it's kinda hard when the crypto market is struggling so much as well.
I do think we deserve more recognition and hopefully in time if we keep at it it will happen. :) Cheers my friend, your presence and help is much appreciated.
It's slow all around... when the first season was in full swing, it was crypto hype time... since then, lots of things have fallen off.... but conversely, it is a great time to grow!
Yeah. I agree! It sure was exciting when things were at their peak, though something so many people forget is that during the slow/low value times is when you can make some of the biggest gains. However, I can see how some were trying to make a living out of this and when the value is down that makes it much more difficult so they try to spend their time doing things that bring them more money. Understandable but unfortunate nonetheless in my opinion, especially if you see them posting only on Facebook or other social media where they don't get paid at all.
Oh yeah, great post @bengy. You have captured the spirit of the IFC. I discovered the IFC shortly after I started on Steemit last year and it did exactly what you stated in this post. Cleared the writers block!
It's great to have a prompt for at least one post for the week! Something that you can sit down and think about for a bit of depth!
Hopefully there will be more people attracted to it, it is a really nice group of people!
I’ve been thinking about IFC - and I want in! Thanks @bengy
Just drop into the @ifc post and all the details are there, including the Discord link! This week is interesting as it is a complete free for all!
Well done as usual. I think that anyone who reads this will certainly be intrigued to join the group. Very nice, thorough effort you put in. You really highlighted all of the positive aspects of the group.
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Thanks, I really hope we collect a few more people to our community! It is a really nice concept!
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