Well Mr Tister came in the top 1600. Which isn't too bad as he was number 20,000 or something early on in the 2010 NEXT Baby Competition 18-36 month age group on Facebook. OK, I know that I am biased, but I truly believe that it's NEXT's loss. I understand that Social Networking sites are about support and profile. The more social network type friends that you have, then the more likely it is that you can accumulate votes. I also understand that when there are 60,000+ entrants, it's extremely difficult to get recognised. Well, it's not as if Mr and Mrs Joe Public are going to trawl through some 2,500 pages to decide where to cast their vote for The NEXT Baby Competition.
But being a realist does not preclude me from having a good old moan. If you want the best entrants with looks and personality then you need a system of fair assessment. Whereas if you want the children of popular relatives, then you use a social network site. After all the process should generate new marketing leads, so the higher the number of email address then the better. Less of course those emails that were submitted by the same persons from some random email database, or false email addresses or long defunct email addresses. Because whether we like it or not, and however hard we try and scrutinise entries that require an email address, such systems are inherently flawed. The only fail-safe is where a competition organiser has software or IT personnel who can track the unique electronic location of single or multiple repetitive inputs. Now this doesn't mean that there was any wrongdoing with the NEXT competition, or that the scrutiny was in any way inadequate, or that any relatives or associates of any of the 48 winners done anything untoward. It's just a matter of explaining in terms of social science how things can go astray if not kept in check. And anyhow, many others have far more eloquently expressed their concerns on the NEXT Wall on Facebook in the closing phase of the competition, than I could explain the matter in this short Blog.
But even though it was not a photo finish, Mr Tister does appear on a few photographs in this Blog, and NEXT, MotherCare, Marks & Spencers and any other of the big brands can make a bid, if they would like Tister modelling their next range. Mr Tister lives in London, and although the cost of living is high, I have heard that his clothes modelling rates are good.
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