CRAP Thoughts Writing Competition

Welcome

We’d like to present the very first Tech Writing Competition. This competition is intended to encourage people in the tech industry to share their thoughts and ideas, no matter how whacky they might be.

Why write? 

We all have great ideas but most of us never give ourselves the chance to explore those ideas and see where they lead – usually because we’ve told ourselves we can’t write. But anyone can write. You write subconsciously everyday at work in the form of an emails, analyses, user stories, presentations, documentation, slack messages etc… So why not write for yourself?
Once you start writing consciously, you’ll find that you’ll be able to tap into and process your thoughts in ways you never knew you could. You’ll be able to think clearly about your ideas and structure them in ways that resonate with the reader. Writing will improve your memory, your verbal skills and your written skills. And who knows, maybe you’ll have fun.

What to write about?

Anything remotely related to tech: A discussion you had with a colleague about experiments. A thought you had in the shower about analytics.  A process that’s bothering you. A scientific theory that applies to marketing. A new framework you’ve invented for product management. A difficult data science concept made easy to understand. Why your job is important. The future of design.
As long as it’s an original idea that’s all that matters. Avoid tiresome topics that have been written about over and over again. Write something fresh, write something new. Don’t dust off an old post from 2015 or whatever. The whole point of this competition is to write something fresh. Here’s a link to my posts for ideas.

Tips

Follow me on LinkedIn, Medium or  Substack where I’ll be sharing regular tips on how to get started, generating ideas, structuring posts, editing content, tools that can help you and more.

Rules

  1. Not too short – it is a writing competition after all
  2. Not too long – a good idea should be compressed into its core insights
  3. Write something new
  4. Write on any online writing platform that can be shared (e.g. Medium, Substack, Blog)
  5. Don’t use ChatGPT.
  6. Only one entry per entrant
  7. Deadline for submission is June 21st (winners announced at the end of July)

Prizes

Prizes will be in the form of Cash (via paypal or bank transfer) or Amazon vouchers. There will be one overall winner who will win £500 and a second place prize of £250. Other prizes are still to be determined.
Submissions will be scored based on: (i) creativity (40%); (ii) originality (30%); and (iii) writing quality (30%)

 

ENTER THE COMPETITION BY COMPLETING THIS FORM

 

Terms & Conditions

This competition (the “Competition”) is operated and promoted by CAUSL Limited (“CRAP Talks”). By entering the Competition, you agree to these terms and conditions and confirm that you are telling us your real name.

  1. Entrants will retain copyright in their submitted entries, however, by entering, all entrants licence CRAP Talks. a worldwide royalty-free perpetual licence to edit, publish and use each entry in any and all media (including print and online) for publicity and news purposes.
  2. One entry per person. Bulk and/or third party entries will be void.
  3. No purchase is necessary.
  4. A judging panel of at least four people will be established. A subset of that panel will be responsible for shortlisting what it judges in its discretion to be the best entries, and the panel will then choose the winner from that shortlist
  5. The decision of the judging panel is final, and at its sole discretion. No correspondence or discussion will be entered into by us in relation to that decision.
  6. We will make all reasonable efforts to contact the winners. If any winner cannot be contacted or is not available, or has not claimed his or her prize within 10 days of the announcement date, CRAP Talks reserves the right to offer the prize to the next eligible entrant selected from the correct entries that were received before the closing date.
  7. We will use any personal information that you give us in accordance with the law and our privacy policy at: https://www.causl.co.uk/privacy, for the purposes of the Competition, in the ways described in these terms and conditions, and for any marketing or other purposes you may indicate your consent to. We may also share your details with our service providers and agents for the purposes of providing prizes on our behalf, and any sponsors or Competition partners involved in this Competition.
  8. CRAP Talks reserves the right at any time to cancel, modify or supersede the competition (including altering prizes) if, in our sole discretion, a competition is not capable of being conducted as specified. CRAP Talks. reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal value in the event that circumstances beyond their control make this unavoidable.
  9. An eligible entrant must be an individual, must enter on their own behalf, and must submit an entry in the form requested by CRAP Talks under this promotion including their name and e-mail address.
  10. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, we may alter, amend or foreclose the Competition without prior notice. We reserve the right to change these terms at any time. The Competition is void wherever prohibited by law.
  11. Winners will be announced on or about July 30th, 2023.
  12. The winners will be notified (by email) within 21 days of the closing date.
  13. There is no alternative prize or cash alternative and prizes cannot be transferred to any other person. We may alter arrangements or prizes should this be deemed necessary by us. Prizes are not transferable.
  14. Entries not submitted in accordance with these terms and all other rules and directions given by CRAP Talks, or entries that are incomplete or illegible (as determined in our sole discretion) will not be eligible.