Please help -- $10 Amazon.com gift certificate in return

My apologies if there's somewhere else this message belongs. SticKer pointed me to the Marketplace and none of the other subforums seem to apply...

I'm running a study to finish up my doctorate in Technology Management. The results will help researchers and people who run sites like Webicy Webmaster Forums unlock the secrets of effective leadership of web message boards.

First off, I want to thank the folks who responded positively to my PMs. I happily sent out a batch of $10 Amazon.com gift certificates yesterday.

Second, I would like to extend a similar invitation to other registered members of Webicy.com. I'm about half way done with my study, with almost 300 responses from twenty different web message boards! Your assistance will help me finish this project and earn my diploma. :-)

As compensation for your time--about 10-15 minutes--you will receive a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate via email. My budget is limited, so this offer is open to the first 12 members of Webicy.com who fully complete a survey.

If you are interested, send me a PM or post a message on this thread and I'll send you a PM with the URL for the survey (it's an https site at surveymonkey.com).

For those who want to start immediately, cut and paste the following into your address bar: surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=eLV2IUoZDuxuMsIUFQwIIQ_3d_3d

Thank you for your help!

Steven Johnson
University of Maryland
wam.umd.edu/~stevenlj/
stevenlj@umd.edu

Thanks, SticKer, I really appreciate your help!

How long is the survey?

What can i do with the gift certificate? Can i buy anything worth $10 from amazon?

Originally Posted by cyberbog

How long is the survey?

What can i do with the gift certificate? Can i buy anything worth $10 from amazon?

Thanks for your questions.

It's been a while since I counted, but my best recollection is, including all the sub-parts, the survey has something like 40-50 individual questions in total. The majority are the standard "how much do you agree with this statement" type.

As far as I can tell, most people finish it in less than 10 minutes, but to be fair I say 10-15 minutes. :-)

If you get part way through the survey and decide it's not for you, you are of course free to stop at any point.

Most people do make it to the end. Once they fully complete the survey, the very last page asks for an email address where they want to receive the electronic code for the Amazon.com gift certificate. Once or twice a day I review the responses and send out gift certificates.

Think of gift certificate as a coupon for $10 off anything at Amazon.com. (Unfortunately it cannot, however, be used at Amazon.ca, Amazon.uk, Amazon.jp, etc.) The $10 Amazon.com gift certificate can be applied immediately to an Amazon.com account for future purchases or you can enter it at checkout when buying something.

Thanks again for your interest.

Thanks again to everyone who has participated at this site. I've sent out quite a few gift certificates. :-)

I've got a little bit of money left in my budget for this site. If you've been thinking of responding, please do so now as I'm going to close up the survey soon. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Steven Johnson

Thanks again to everyone who has participated at this site. I've sent out quite a few gift certificates. :-)

I've got a little bit of money left in my budget for this site. If you've been thinking of responding, please do so now as I'm going to close up the survey soon. Thanks!

Please stay away from my site "vbulletinsetup"
I don't apperciate your pm spam that you sent out to all of our members! Do you think I have the time to answer all the damn PM's I'm getting asking WTF is up with all these stupid spam PM's you sent out!


Sorry to the Sticker, but this guy really pissed me off today, and he claims to me a Dr...

Dr. Spam maybe

Loco.m -- I have responded to an email that I assume is from you as well.

I can't tell since that email came from a differently named person. I'm responding here, too, in case you see this first.

I'm sorry about any troubles I've caused you, that is certainly not my intention. This is a legitimate research project. We expect the study findings will aid people who run web message boards. Many members of this board, as well as several members of vbulletinsetup, have already received $10 gift certificates for completing the survey questions.

To clarify two potential misunderstandings:

1. I have never called myself a Dr. I am nearing completion of a doctoral degree (a Ph.D.) -- I do not claim to be "Dr.".

2. I am not operating any sort of for-profit spam operation -- quite the opposite! This is an expensive multi-thousand dollar study that, exactly as advertised, gives each person who fully completes the study a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate. I am losing, not making, money on each response. The data we collect is of scientific research value -- how we use it is controlled by institutional review board privacy and confidentiality standards. The data has no commercial value.

It is regrettable that message boards are hit with so much spam that some people find it difficult to differentiate between a legitimate academic study and fraudulent offers. I've tried to do everything I can think of, including my contact information and my school website, to signal that this is a legitimate study and a legitimate offer. I'm sorry that some people interpret it as something else.