I enter about 100 of these types of open challenges a year and yeah, they often have abysmally low entry rates (one of the reasons I enter them), especially the winner take all competitions.
The people are very averse to doing work for no promised reward, so they do something else.
One of the main sites I enter contests on has a tiered system where the top 10% win a lot of money, the next 15% win basically a lunch, and the next 25% win a buck or two. It has really helped to boost participation.
The people are very averse to doing work for no promised reward, so they do something else.
One of the main sites I enter contests on has a tiered system where the top 10% win a lot of money, the next 15% win basically a lunch, and the next 25% win a buck or two. It has really helped to boost participation.