[gwf]

I am saying that there is a misunderstanding. The earliest rounds of judging looked at the videos of the apps that contestants produced as well as a code review as a sanity check. This was done most likely so that each app could be viewed in the best possible light as well as to help the judges scale to the number of entries.

So, no, the people complaining are not lying but they and anyone else would be incorrect to conclude that their app was not evaluated. Every app was evaluated. All by videos. Some by code review. And a few through every reasonable means.

[teraflop]

What about the people who checked the analytics on their videos and determined that they hadn't been viewed?

[gwf]

I honestly haven't seen a single complaint like that. Can you point me to one? FWIW, I am pretty sure that each entry was reviewed at least twice.

[shuzchen]

This hn comment links to a few places where people complained: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6779036

The link that specifically shows people complaining that nobody viewed their app or looked at their video is this: http://salesforce1million.challengepost.com/forum_topics/264...

[gwf]

Your first link doesn't contain a single complaint claiming that people's videos were not viewed. It does, however, link to the second link, and the other two links it contains make no references to this sort of complaint.

The second link has exactly one person clearly stating that they've received zero launches and zero video plays. There is a second person that states "Yeah, same here. We had a workflow setup to send us notifications if any new used the app and received none." Notice that he/she doesn't mention video plays.

So, in total, we have exactly one person that says that they've received zero launches and zero video plays. If I've unfairly characterized the data behind your links, please let me know. But that's all that I can find.

In trying to find out if they have a valid complaint, I've discovered that the person behind that complaint is responsible for a significant portion of all of the discussions and complaints at the challenge site.

One thing is clear: their submission is in the same area as the winning entry. In their shoes, I might be disappointed for that reason alone. But for the sake of transparency, here are the two entries:

The winning entry (which is admittedly being evaluated to see if they conformed to all rules):

    http://salesforce1million.challengepost.com/submissions/18552-healthcare-love

The entry for the person or group that claimed that their video was never viewed:

    http://vimeo.com/79921465

In any case, I encourage you to look at the two videos and tell me if you think there was an injustice with the rank ordering.

[colabi]

unfortunately, that was the cut of the video that i made prior to seeing the entry form. the actual video that was submitted to the office guideline is here:

https://vimeo.com/79931458

the only views were me. i included the other video after i spoke with a salesforce person about the issue. and they had directed me how to enter the links. that full one is the one that's getting hits because i like it more. it was obviously labeled as not the official video with directions to the official video in case it was accidentally seen.

here's the big problem though. this contest was supposed to validate real applications. healthcare.love is nice, but it's a hollywood set. it doesn't wire into that much. it makes the erroneous mistake of targeting the new healthcare marketplace with an application for expensive iphones? in a demo state that is already covered by covered california? not the government exchange that it's adorable name harkens? i actually wrote simulated systems to pull member plans off the db and fake authorize them and submit them back into the system so that notifications could travel back to the app. oh, and instead of text i included twilio for VOIP and data coordination between the client, not assuming the target individuals would be text savvy youngsters. oh, that, and having to pull of the 85,000 healthcare plans that actually come from the healthcare.gov open marketplace. not just a single json list. so in the end, yah, i guess maybe i should have just focused on the icons? didn't think that was the point.

i held back until now, but looks like the makers of that app are also employees of a salesforce invested company. so they are DQ'd. this is all the kind of thing an open judging with actual use or connection with the entrants could have simply identified. but it all happens in the dark.

[willchilcutt]

Thanks for giving more feedback. Would you be kind to respond to the other child of your OP pointing out that the winner had been working and actually demoed their app way before the starting period set out in the rules? Thanks!

[gwf]

No problem. Will do in a second...

[colabi]

And btw, the system won't operate now if anyone actually tries to test it. Too many dependent systems doing things that I spun down.

Tell Salesforce to hold an open judging and I'll spin them back up. And EVERYONE should get a chance to show off their applications.

[colabi]

actually, you could do us all a favor. ask salesforce to open up the entry gallery. we've been trying to construct that ourselves. but some people are scattered to the wind. and others have relationships with salesforce and don't want them jeopardized by being an active voice.

people did hard work. and i'm not just advocating for myself. it is appauling that the work went into the circular file. and what they would have been judged on is the marketing brochure.

[colabi]

so here's the thing. when you lure people into such a large development period with this statement:

But it’s not going to be easy—$1 million is going to bring out the best of the best. So don’t wait until Dreamforce, you’re going to want to get started now.

and you only have 150 entries, you owe everyone a run. video review becomes inexcusable. people flew in with weeks of work and teams of people. and you reviewed their video? was this supposed reward video craftsmanship? the last thing on many people's minds when you intentionally led them to believe it was the work that counted?