You all know my struggle. I can’t get consistent commentary from the many people who read this blog – for those of you who have commented, ignore this part of the message.
I have a vision for the ideal way “Marshall and the Movies” would operate. I’ve heard two descriptions of how to run a blog: an interactive community or a teacher-student setting. I feel like at the current moment, I’m running a teacher-student operation with the occasional student input. I don’t mind being a “teacher” of sorts, but if that’s the way it has to be, I want to learn as much from the “students” as they learn from me. Ideally, we could have an interactive community here, but I’ll settle for an interactive classroom. Right now, it’s just a classroom.
But as Natalie Keener says, “It’s only a problem if you have a solution. I stand before you today with a solution.” Readers of “Marshall of the Movies,” I type for you today with similar resolve.
In the month of April, I will be sponsoring a contest.
If you leave a thoughtful and relevant comment that contributes to intelligent discussion of movies or any other topic I bring up here, you will be entered into a random drawing for a prize. The more you comment, the better chance you have of winning. My hope is that you will be get in a habit of commenting that extends beyond the end of the contest.
What is the prize? Well…
The winner will receive their choice of one of the 10 Best Picture nominees from 2009.
That’s right, a whole movie. 8 of the 10 are available on iTunes now, and we can work something out if “Avatar” and “Up in the Air” don’t become available this month. I think it’s a pretty good (and fitting) incentive.
The drawing will be, as I said earlier, completely random. I’ll probably write notecards for each comment and draw one out of a hat. But, if you are interested in improving your chances, I have a few little ways for you to improve your odds.
Fellow bloggers, if you post a link to this contest on your own blog, I will give you two extra entries.
Non-bloggers and other friends, if you refer a first-time commenter to “Marshall and the Movies” and they mention you by name, I will give you three extra entries.
So, let’s begin! I hope that through this contest, more than one person goes home happy. This is a project that is designed to improve, if not revolutionize, the way that this blog functions. Kind of exhilarating, isn’t it?
Marshall and the Movies 
I’ll write a blog entry of your contest on mine (sometime today) :). I like the concept and hopefully it works out.
[…] For the first entry of the Community feature on “…Where The Buffalo Roam”, I decided to get the word out on a contest that “Marshall and the Movies” are hosting for the month of April. “Marshall and the Movies” is one of the many great film blogs on the internet that is full of insightful film reviews and other blog entries like Random Factoids (a personal favorite of mine). Throughout the month of April, all you have to do in order to participate in the contest is simply leave a comment that is thoughtful and contributes to the discussion in the entry. The more you comment, the better chance you have to win the prize. The prize is one film of the winner’s choice that was nominated for Best Picture in 2009. It’s a very cool contest and I highly recommend everyone to check it out and participate. For more information, click here. […]
Great idea Marshall! I will put up a link on my blog in Wednesday’s Weekly round-up 🙂
Also, I wrote an article a few months ago about a few key points conducive to a successful movie blog. You might be interested:
http://www.anomalousmaterial.com/movies/2010/02/keys-to-a-successful-movie-blog/
Cheers
Thanks, fellow bloggers for the support! I’m happy to return the favor any time you need it.
And Castor, that’s quite an interesting article you wrote. I could keep a few of your tips in mind…
Thanks Marshall. I hope you found it useful 🙂
Hi Marshall,
I can’t say I’m very familiar with your blog, but as a fellow Lamb, I will try to start following! I think this is a great idea to boost comments. I posted a link on my blog, will go live tomorrow sometime. Good luck with the contest!
Thanks Jess, I’ll check out your site too! I’ve kind of kept to myself in the movie blogging community, largely because of the insane constraints that schoolwork and performing puts on me. But I hope this project can also help me to branch out and find other new blogs that inspire me too.
Thanks for commenting, and I hope this is just the first of many from you!
[…] Marshall has a cool contest going on his blog. People who comment on his blog get a chance to win the 2009 Best picture Oscar nominated film of their choice. The more you comment, the higher your chances! (Marshall and the Movies) […]
Hey, this is cool! We’re twinners!
He Shot Cyrus has been doing this for a couple months and it really does help.