What's Next?

Tomorrow evening will mark a full two weeks since the UGM contest entry deadline. Many folks I've talked to have been asking, "Did you win yet?" and, "When can I vote for you?" It should come as no surprise that the three hundred or so entries would take a while to go through, but many (myself included) have been starting to wonder, "What's Next?"

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have been checking back here regularly for updates, subscribing to my RSS, and Twitter feeds, and giving me your feedback.  While I don't have much new information to report about the status of the contest, I have gleaned a few updates from watching the live stream all week, and pinging Leo, and Colleen with some questions.

Early in the week, Colleen said she had finished going through the entries, and had chosen her favorites, but that Leo and Ryan still had to go over them.  Later, Leo mentioned that there were so many good entries that they might have a hard time narrowing it down to 10 finalists, let alone the 5 they had originally planned. Then during the taping of PC Perspective yesterday, Leo asked Ryan Shrout if he had looked at the entries he had emailed him.  Ryan said he never even received the email, which Leo said was probably because with all the attachment's forwarded it may have been over 20 MB. Again Leo mentioned a total of perhaps 10-15 finalists, emphasizing how many good ones they received.

Some in the IRC asked what I thought of the contest rules changing to accommodate an increased number of finalists (one even wondered aloud about the legality of such a thing). First let me be clear, this is Leo's contest, and he can do whatever he wants. If he wants to change the rules, I think that is his prerogative, and that he has every right (legal and otherwise) to do so. That said, I would probably prefer the rules stay the same, and that 5 finalists be picked for the community to vote on. I realise that allowing more finalists increases the chance that I'll be among that group, but I think its only fair to select a winner in the manner the contest was announced. Just my opinion, and I'm confident I'll be among the finalists regardless of how many are made available to the TWiT Community to pick from. I won't say anything more about this.

Please keep checking back, as we could hear an announcment of the finalists any day now. When I know something, you will.