My Criteria Compulsion

When I began my awards program I did so to recognize the amazing talent I see online. I would surf the web and find a site that made me think, smile or even cry. Occasionally, all these emotions would come from the same site. I would see these sites and wish I could give them something in return for that special time. This wish brought about the birth of my awards program.

I want to recognize sites that are unique and original and that show me something I have never seen before. That something might have been around for thousands of years, but its uniqueness has never been portrayed as it is now. I want to recognize sites that are professional, yet warm, inviting and even friendly. I want to recognize incredible talent with cutting edge technology. I want to recognize everything a site does that makes it special.

All this wanting led to the creation of a very complex and in-depth award program. I had to find a way to show my applicants what I expected from them without leaving them in total confusion. My criteria started simple. It has been upgraded time and again. I will outline some of what I have learned over time and try to show how to apply it to any awards program. I will share what I have learned, even what I have found wanting, in my wanting to recognize online talent.

Uniqueness

Every good awards program has something no other has. That is unique criteria. Every judge I have ever met has his or her own ideas of what makes a site good. If they follow their instincts and make criteria that fit their own ideas, they offer something rare and desirable to everyone who wants to earn awards.

The criteria that an award site uses should reflect the unique ideas of its creator. Nevertheless, I believe that award judges should not sacrifice their ideals for the sake of a norm. If every site had the same criteria and the same judging methods there would be no need or desire to earn more than one award. There would really only be one award, no matter how many names or images for awards are created.

Criteria Standards: Earn Your Own

While keeping each award's criteria unique is important, it is just as important to have standards by which an award itself can be judged on its own merit. We must have a criterion that functions on different levels: have criteria for the criteria, if you will. With the uprising of so many awards programs online today it is important to be able to categorize and classify them.

Sites that offer awards should be able to realistically earn at least one or more of their own awards. While it is good to recognize superior talent, a site that gives awards should still reflect a good understanding of what their award is for.

Beginnings: Keep It Simple

Before you begin building an awards program, you should know what constitutes the making of a winning site. This is where you get your criteria. No matter what the award is for, there will be different things that you expect from a site in order for it to win that award. The more things you look at for a site to win the more detailed your criteria should be. If your award is for one particular thing your criteria does not need so much detail.

In order for applicants to understand how to win your award you must tell them what is expected. The best way to do this is to tell them everything you look at in order to win and tell them everything that will keep them from earning your award. That can be a big job if your program is complex or in-depth.

Seek, Find, Judge

As you casually surf the web, you should compile a list with each idea you have. You should note the things you like and the things you do not. That list will be the basis for your criteria. When you have finished your list to your satisfaction, it should be worked into an easy to understand criteria page for your applicants. That is not always easy. Some criteria points are more of a concept than a tangible asset.

The emotional content of a site is one of those hard to explain concepts. It is not always easy to explain why a site grabs you by the throat and makes you want to stay forever. If it does, it should earn points for it. Explaining the concept in your criteria in a manner that is easy to understand is very important.

Another reason to consider easy to understand criteria is your judging staff, if you have one. They should be able to understand what it is you expect them to look for. If your judges can't understand your criteria they will not be able to judge sites fairly. It is important to work with them to make sure they have a good understanding of what the criteria means. If they don't understand it, chances are your applicants won't either. Taking on a judging staff showed me just how hard to understand my criteria actually were.

Opinions

Getting opinions on your criteria is always a good idea. Just because you understand something does not mean everyone will understand it as you do. Ask people what they think something means. If they give you an answer that is very different from what you are trying to say, then try to reword that point of your criteria. Do this over and over until you find the right way to say it so you get the response you expect and need.

Don't ask just one person. You need the opinion of many to truly get an understanding of how well you are understood. Keep track of any questions or comments. If you get a complaint that something is not understood you should focus on that point until it is made clear.

You Make the Rules

Once you have made your criteria it is important to stick to your guns. If you make the rules, you should follow them. If you do not your award program loses its credibility.

While your criteria should not make it too easy to win your award, it should not be made so difficult it becomes impossible to earn. An award that can not be won by any site, no matter how well done, is a waste of web space.

Level Awards

Some programs find the use of one award that covers all criteria points to be sufficient. Programs that want a multi-level award system need to add the extra points needed to earn each individual award. If your site gives Gold, Silver, Bronze or other awards in specific categories each award should have its guidelines placed online. You should note your general criteria to win all awards as well as each award's unique criteria.

Upgrades

While some criteria may remain the same from the very beginning, that is not true for all programs. Over time you will see many sites that make you change your ideas of what the best site online is. You will also find that some of your criteria will become less important as new ideas form or that they don't really make a difference in how well a site is designed. As this happens, it is important to upgrade your criteria to match these new contexts for evaluation. New methods of web design show up every day. The growth of your criteria should reflect your understanding of the changing times.

Even as you upgrade, you should remember that a good awards program requires some consistency. If you upgrade the program, you should make note of it on your site. You should not change a rule a day. If you upgrade, it should be a major upgrade that actually makes a difference to the overall structure of how you judge sites.

Once you have your criteria online, keep track of changes you would like to make on the next upgrade. Think hard before changing the rules. If you change a point, will it actually make a difference in judging? Once you change your criteria online, it is in writing (so to speak). This is how your applicants will expect you to view their sites.

Layout

Bunching criteria points into one large interminable group makes them harder for most to read and understand. Even if you have them all in a row to score sites, it helps your applicants to easier understand them if the points are listed by category on your site.

Getting It Read

There are different methods of ensuring that your applicants understand the requirements for the award. No matter the method you choose, getting your criteria read can be difficult. Sites who really care about whether they win will read it. Reading the other articles in this series will give you clues into how to assure it is read. I read them myself and gained a lot from it.

Credits

Now that we have made the long traverse into building solid criteria, I would like to note some very special people who helped me make my own criteria and awards program what it is.

In the beginning, there was Rick Doran. I learned a lot about judging websites and building a solid criteria list from Rick. He watched my program grow, gave advice and insight that helped me work out the basis of my own awards and helped me understand how to deal with many of the problems inherent with any awards program.

Next came all the people who believed in my program enough to list it on their websites. These sites are responsible for more than 82% of all applications I have received. I will list them here in the order I applied to their site and was accepted: Award Sites, Awards Jungle, Website Awards, A+ Awards, The Award Zone, The Award Gallery and Millennium Awards.

Next are the individuals who helped me the most personally. I have been very lucky to meet many wonderful people who were generous with their friendship and their answers to my continual questions. There isn't enough bandwidth on the whole Internet to thank everyone who has ever helped me. This list is for those who made the largest impact on my awards program and how it works now: Morgan Ravenstone, Stelios Stavrinides, Richard Berends, Don Chisholm, Brian Lee, TnT Emerson, Steve English, Paul Davies, Romeo Sin, Michel Nag, Philipp T. Eirich, Nikica Atlagic, Peter Shulman, TinyRay Grier, Rhonda Serong and Karen Lyster. While I often help others with grammar and spelling I also need help myself at times. Thank you to Enrique Sacerio-Gari for checking my work so carefully and gracefully. It just wouldn't have worked the same without these people. I owe them all a debt of gratitude.

Last, but far from least are the many applicants who work hard to make our Internet community a home. There would be no program without beautiful sites made by talented people to earn them. I thank you all.

Copyright © 1999 Maggi Norris, Nem5 Awards - All rights reserved.