currybetdotnet Voting archive
I wouldn't be voting for this as my interaction of the year
If you are going to produce a celebratory issue with lots of charts and lists of the 'the best of they year', then now is the time to get the punters voting for what to put in the list. Last week I was prompted to vote in Q's poll on the best album of the year. [1] I'm always astonished at the things that seem to go live on the web without having had any serious QA or testing on...
Woman's Own gets a print 'blog'
You'll do almost anything to keep yourself amused in an airport whilst waiting for a flight. On Monday in Heathrow's godforsaken Terminal 2, that included flicking through a copy of "Woman's Own". Well, a man has to get his fill of celebrity gossip, female health problems and lead interviewee Piers Morgan. At the back of the mag was the "Woman's Own" 'interactive' section, called 'Chat Room - Your life, your opinions, your page'. I was more interested in this than...
Vote Super Furry Animals!
I noticed last week that my favourite Welsh band, Super Furry Animals, were adding an interactive element into their North American tour. They are visiting the US to promote their most recent album, 'Hey Venus!', and are allowing people to vote for the songs they most want to hear included in the set-list. It reminded me of a couple of earlier attempts at doing this kind of interactive set-list. In 1986 Elvis Costello went out on tour with the 'Spectacular...
I'm not convinced online voting shows Rhydian was robbed on X-Factor
"In years to come when someone asks the question Where were you at 10:35 on 15th December 2007? most people will instantly know." Well, I'm not entirely sure about that, but there has certainly been a furore over the result of the X-Factor voting at the weekend. I always loved these spats - I remember well disgruntled Fame Academy and Strictly Come Dancing fans having it out with each other on the BBC's Points Of View message board with the...
Voting for your American Idol in Greece
One of the causes of the recent ITV premium phone line vote scandals was the re-showing of programmes on their +1 chaanel without giving the viewer information that the competition had closed. There doesn't seem to be any similar pressure over here in Greece. At the moment, on Sunday nights the ΣΚΑΙ channel is showing "American Idol". After each contestant sings, Greek television shows the presenter giving viewers the instructions on how to vote. Not only doesn't Greek TV indicate...
The Blue Peter cat flap - when online voting goes bad
A couple of people have expressed surprise to me that I have not yet commented on the great Blue Peter online voting catflap (I refuse to use the term 'Socksgate') since the BBC and Voting are two of the regular topics on this site. Full disclosure up front by the way - I used to be a Senior Development Producer in the BBC's New Media department (as was), was responsible for voting applications, and I'm currently doing some work as...
The London freesheets and the web - Part 3: Voting
Last week I started looking at how London's free newspapers incorporate online and user-generated content into their printed editions. So far I've looked at music reviews, and at films and celebrity gossip. In this post I want to look at how the papers handle something I've worked on a lot online - voting. Voting Of the three London freesheets, it is The London Paper that seems to have gone into reflecting their reader's views via voting in a big way....
"Show must go on" culture at the BBC more to blame for errors than a calculating culture of deceit
In all my time working at the BBC there was never anything as high-pressured, stressful, or as worrying as having an application with a 'TX critical' deadline - meaning that it had to go live and work at the appointed moment that it was mentioned in the broadcast stream. Software updates could be put back, new content publishing could be delayed, whole website launches could be shelved, as long as it wasn't going to be mentioned on TV or Radio....
National Television Awards vote seems wide open to multiple vote fraud
Like a good Doctor Who fan I was gently shepherded along by the Outpost Gallifrey site RSS feed this week to go and cast my vote for Freema, David and the series in the National Television Awards 2007 vote. It seems slightly early in the year to be handing out gongs, but there you go. There were a couple of things that struck me about the voting process itself - particularly with the announcement this week that the BBC has...
Joseph and the BBC's amazing technicolor nightmare vote
I see that the BBC has got itself into a bit of a pickle over the online voting for the school choir competition that accompanies the current 'talent' search programme "Any Dream Will Do". Often when these kind of issues occurred with an online vote it would happen because the television or radio production team had consulted with the new media department about their plans too late in the day. After all, if you are not au fait with the...
The White Horse bridge comes back to haunt me in Salzburg
It is funny how things can come back to haunt you - in the way the F.A. are currently being haunted by their decision to employ Steve McClaren for the England job. With the much delayed opening of the new Wembley stadium taking place last weekend, it was the White Horse bridge that came back to haunt me. A couple of years back I worked on the vote, hosted by the BBC's Radio Five Live station, to determine the...
The Sun's sexiest barmaid vote goes a bit tits up
If you are running a high-profile national vote, then it is always vital to get the little details right. Sadly The Sun doesn't seem to be doing too well with one of their online polls today. The Sun is running a quest to find Britain's Sexiest barmaid: BEER we go, lads - it's time for the final of our fantastic Pub Idol contest. We've whittled down the entries to a final eight hopefuls who believe they deserve the title of...
More politics over the BBC's political votes
Following the publicity that surrounded the Today programmes Christmas vote, and the suspicion that intense web activity by the Countryside Alliance had swung the result, another political BBC vote took a pre-emptive strike the other day. The Daily Politics is holding a vote to ask people who they think is their favourite post-war Prime Minister, and editor Jamie Donald wrote: "Anyone can vote anytime between now and Easter by visiting The Daily Politics website, and following the links. And as...
Today and the Hunting ban repeal vote
Being a behind-the-scenes veteran of several BBC Today programme online votes, I've been watching with interest from the continent as the saga of this year's vote has unfolded. For those not in the know, listeners voted overwhelmingly to repeal the law that attempts to ban hunting with hounds, and on air the programme suggested there was something "suspicious" about the outcome. Even paragon of virtue Ann Widdecombe was quoted as suggesting "We did hesitate on the panel to put this...
Did the BBC pull, then re-instate, a poll about holocaust denial?
The GIYUS pro-Israel 'troll-supporting political malware' was back in the news this month, and blogged about this week by athenaeum. They were quoting an article from The Register earlier in the month claiming that BBC Magazines had withdrawn a BBC History Magazine online vote about legislation on holocaust denial because it was being manipulated. Athenaeum also cited my own take on the GIYUS software in their post, pointing out the editorial guidelines I noted, which prevent online votes on BBC...
New media pensioner and president in the old media
Yesterday's old media seemed to have a surfeit of "drop the dead donkey" style stories about the internet - you know the type. YouTube's geriatric1927 made the transition from viral internet success to print marvel in a Daily Mail article by Nick Craven and Liz Hill: On paper. he makes an unlikely celebrity for the 21st Century But on the computer screen, Peter the pensioner is the latest big thing. The Daily Mail even printed an appeal for Peter to...
GIYUS.org's Megaphone Desktop Tool - the web turns their 'malware' against them
Thanks to Frankie who pointed me at Tom who had been pointed by Simon to the Megaphone software being used by GIYUS to direct people to online votes to register pro-Israeli opinions. I was immediately interested in it as I worked for about three years at the BBC on their online voting back-end systems. Whilst a lot of people have got rather hot under the collar about it, it doesn't seem to me to be as near to bringing about...
Vote for your 50 favourite number one albums
Tomorrow is the fiftieth anniversary of the UK's official albums chart, and to celebrate there is a vote to work out the nation's top 50 number one albums of all time - a ruse always good to gain a few column inches in the press. I was very interested in the usability of the vote. When I was involved in building this kind of vote at the BBC we were always careful about how many options were available at once....
Vote for your favourite John Lennon track using our new system
This week BBC Radio 2 have a whole host of programming dedicated to remembering John Lennon. I don't suppose the 'Motown Junk' era Manics would have approved. The nation's favourite Lennon track is being chosen via an online vote, and I'm pleased to say it is the first high-profile vote on the BBC site to be using the new Online Voting Application that my team have been developing. One of the joys of the system is that the majority of...
The Evening Standard's Vanishing Booze Vote
For a long time one of the things that has really bugged me about living in London is England's archaic licensing laws, that mean that after watching a film on a Sunday night the missus and I can't retire to the pub next door to discuss the finer details of the plot over a pint, in case we are too hung-over to work in the munitions factory the next day. In fact I'd go as far as to say it...
Five Live's Greatest Team of All Time vote
Golden TV Moments vote - Carol Thatcher need not apply
Using WAP To Collect Phone Votes
Government Drops E-Voting Plans: U-Turn or Sensible Policy Change?
Greatest Painting Result In Print
Turner Prize - The Greatest Painting In Britain Vote Result
Last Chance To Vote For Britain's Greatest Painting
The Today Programme's Greatest Painting In Britain Vote
He Thinks Therefore Michael Gove Is Not Voting Marx
Now In Our Time shows the BBC is "ignorant as well as biased"
Cardiff Singer of the World Audience Vote
If You Want To Outvote Marx....
In Our Time Greatest Philosophers Vote in The Guardian
In Our Time Greatest Philosopher Vote
The White Horse Bridge at Wembley
Vote to name the new Wembley footbridge on BBC.co.uk
Baxter vs Moore - Costing you money in Parliament
Bob Geldof is the Listener's Lord
Top 100 of 2004 Vote on the BBC Asian Network
Last chance to vote in Radio Five Live's Sporting Year
BBC Radio Five Live's Sporting Year Vote
Not The Big Read, but two smaller reads
Vote for your favourite EastEnders characters
The reporting of Internet polls during elections
Zidane is the Radio Five Live Eurostar
Radio Five Live Veteran's Vote
Jonny Live? Jonny Die? You Decide!
Five Live Sporting Century vote in the Evening Standard
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