Introducing the Mixx Sifter
Posted by Melanie on April 28th, 2009When we launched Mixx 18 months ago, our goal was to create a website that featured the best in content discovery and personalization while offering a way to meet new people and have some fun. Speaking personally, we think we nailed the “fun” part—that’s why we love coming in to the office every day. And we think that everyone else should be having as much fun as we are, so we listen and respond to your comments, questions and suggestions about how to make Mixx a better place. Not long ago we heard this soft, bespectacled type of “ahem” from the corner and realized that, while playtime isn’t exactly over, there is someone else we need to pay attention to. Well, hello there, Investors!
Our ever-patient investors believed in us when Mixx was the faintest whisper of an idea, before there was code, or an office, or staff. Definitely before the super-cool space captain’s chair that Chris uses for meetings. So we hope you’ll agree that it’s about time we did a little something for them and start generating a return on their investment, a more tangible “thanks” for their faith in us, if you will.
HOWEVER. We want to balance our duty to our investors and our commitment to the Mixx community. We don’t like flashing, floating and scrolling ads and have worked to keep them away from our most Loyal Mixxers—you know, those who register and keep content and activity flowing through the system. We’d like to continue to keep the site as clean and pleasant a place as it’s always been. So we’ve come up with what we think is a revolutionary plan to generate revenue while keeping you in control of what ads are seen on the site.
And so we introduce the Mixx Sifter.
The Mixx Sifter is a separate part of Mixx—accessed from the new blue menu item you’ll see in your navigation bar. In the Sifter, other companies are paying Mixx to place different types of creative—banner ads, new product designs, movie trailers, etc.—and get feedback from real people on those ads—often before they see the light of day in any other forum!
Eligible Mixxers will rank from 1 to 5 (or from 1 to how ever many pieces are running) how much they like each piece. The one you like the best gets a 1. The one you like the least gets a 5. There is also a comment box where you can give kudos or offer criticism—hopefully constructive!
We’ll send the sponsor of the Sifter a bit of information—comments, rankings, gender, age and interests—all anonymous and all non-individually identified. So if you’re the one that said that Bob’s Basket Weaving had the worst ads you’ve ever seen, Bob’s not going to know it came from you and won’t be covering your front steps with hand-woven baskets filled with, er, rocks.
It’s Rewarding!
Now, do we ever ask anything of you without giving a little something back?
Every week you participate in the Sifter, you get 100 karma points and will be entered into a drawing for a $25 iTunes certificate. That’s pretty rockin’, eh? (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
But that’s not all. To kick it all off, if you participate in each of the next 4 weeks of The Sifter runs, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a MacBook! Yes—a MacBook. We gave one away to Tau_Zero just a few weeks ago—so he can tell you that we’re serious. He sent us a picture of himself with his awesome new computer as proof!
Please note: Goose not part of the Mixx Sifter prize!
And as with that sweepstakes, your odds of winning are very good as the Sifter is only opened to qualified Power Mixxers and Super Mixxers!
The first run of the Sifter, featuring creative from LivingSocial.com, will open in just a few hours. So stay tuned, have fun and keep showing your support for Mixx!
~The Mixx Team
48 responses to "Introducing the Mixx Sifter"