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Sorting the TQ Top 50
Presenting a quantified, sortable list of the Top 50 applicants selected by Tourism Queensland. I've ranked them based on several criteria and there are links to their videos, as well as comments on each applicant. This is currently a "work-in-progress", but I thought I'd throw it out there
A Sortable, Quantitative Evaluation of the Top 50
When I discovered that I hadn't made the Top 50 - (yeah, I know ... shocking ... take a deep breath, I've had my cry) I swore I wasn't going to follow the top 50. And I didn't. For exactly two days. Then, out of morbid curiosity, I took a peek at the current wild-card leader-board and watched the number one most-voted video.
"Whoa!" I said to myself, in shock.
It became evident that Tourism Queensland was saying one thing to the world (and 34,000+ applicants) and doing something completely different. Let's start with the fact that there are probably many less applications submitted than the 34,500+ that Tourism Queensland claims. I know my video was submitted three times, because of IslandReefJob.com server upload issues, and all three were "accepted". There are likely many others duplicated in similar fashion, inflating the final numbers and making the marketing campaign look more successful than it really is.
Rather than just throw a big pity party, I thought I'd take a quantitative look at each the fifty videos that Tourism Queensland did select. Regardless if the actual number of unique video applications added up to only 12,000 - that's still a whack-load of videos to sort through! It's a daunting task that Tourism Queensland faced, for sure. No wonder they used a strict set of criteria to cull videos!
So, without further adieu, I present to you, the top 50 candidates that Tourism Queensland picked for "The Best Job in the World" (plus one that should have been included)! Hey, it's my blog, right? 
Like "Ragu" (Spaghetti Sauce) - It's All in There
What did I find? Well, for starters, that looking through and analyzing even just 50 videos takes a fair bit of time (mind you, I did go searching for blogs on the Internet, tried to find occupations, background and experience ... so I did go a tad more into depth than Tourism Queensland did). Starting at around 10 AM, I was up till 2 AM before the 50th video was completed.
Now that everyone has been added to the table, let me talk a bit about what's included in the table and the methodology behind the scoring.
What's included in the table?
The table includes 13 columns of data and includes my subjective scoring for the five key elements Tourism Queensland said they were looking for in the video applications. Because the primary job functions are blogging (including writing, photos and video blogging) and "some" media interviews, I also included columns to cover experience in these areas. There's also a "notes" section (currently not fluffed out yet) and two total score columns.
In short, there are 13 columns of data:
- Applicant's name (linked to video)
- Location Flag (hover for details)
- English Proficiency (1-10 score)
- Personal Presentation (1-10 score)
- Technical Proficiency as shown in the video (1-10 score)
- Experience &/or Knowledge of the GBR Islands (1-10 score)
- Motivation and Enthusiasm (1-10 score)
- Do applicants have a blog? (Y/N plus application-only)
- Do applicants have marketing/media/tourism experience?
- Length of video (flagged if over 60 seconds)
- Notes with occupation (click for additional pop-up information)
- Total Score1 (includes scoring for blog/media experience)
- Total Score2 (scoring on 5 key elements only)
Every column except "Notes" is sortable. This means that you can click the heading title and the table data will sort in descending or ascending order, ranking all applicants by the data in that column. It's a quick way to "drill down" into the data and see which applicants come out on top (or bottom) in the quantitative rankings.
Note: The values assigned are subjective and reflect my opinion after viewing all of the videos. I've viewed them all at least twice and most several times. I started from the list presented on Ning and used that order to go through them. (I should have gone through them once before I began scoring. Because I scored first ones without the benefit of having seen them all, there might be a shift toward being 'more lenient' or 'more critical' as I went along.)
I want to congratulate every one of the top 50 for making it to this stage! And I also want to congratulate all 34,000+ applicants. It takes a certain kind of person to "go for it", "put themselves out there" & "dare to dream". Unfortunately, not everyone can be selected and that's just a fact.
Yeah, Yeah ... Enough Blather ... Here's the Table!
It's still a work in progress, eh?
On another note - anyone feeling sorry for the wife of an obsessive/compulsive ex-geophysiscist, is free to send consoling messages of support and understanding to Rachel here. Poor girl is sick of Tourism Queensland and all their rot. Who can blame her? (LOL ... Ben Henry's dad is a retired petrophysicist! Rachel says "thanks" for your note. 
)
UPDATE: 19-Mar-2009 - Zellie's rankings have now been added to the graph and there's a new sort order! See who's now coming out on top.
Please email me when you spot errors or have something to add. Thx.
Cheers again to the Top 50! It's gotta feel pretty exciting! Good luck!
 First/Last Name | Loc | Engl | Pres | Tech | Knwl | Motv | Blog | Bkgd | Time | Tot1 | Tot2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| no-showScott Kimler | Canada |
10 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 0 | 6 | Y | N | 1:00 | 5.57 | 6.30 | Web Developer Scott: Really liked this guys video. Thought it was professional and liked that he got right up into the camera. Amazing background and apparent technical skills. Said bupkis about the GBRI and didn't generate much enthusiasm, so scored low there. Still ... not a bad video! Additional Information 1) Pacific Crest Trail Website 2) Resume of Adventures (shared online) 3) Social: email | facebook | twitter |
| Mark Ashby | United States |
10 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0 | 6.5 | N | Y | 1:01 | 4.86 | 6.30 | Filmmaker here are the notes |
| Erik Rolfsen | Canada |
10 | 7.5 | 7 | 2.5 | 7.5 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 6.36 | 6.90 | Website News Editor Scott: Would like to read Erik's writing, if he were chosen. Erik is the only candidate with kids (2) and that's a plus in my book. Additional Information: 1) Erik's Blog (for job application) 2) Erik on TV (CityTV Breakfast Television) |
| Sheree Marris | Australia |
10 | 6.5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | N | S | 1:00 | 5.71 | 7.50 | Activist here are the notes |
| Gina Maeng | South Korea |
9.5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 6 | N | S | 1:00 | 4.29 | 5.50 | Communications here are the notes |
| Sam Miyano Pitt | Japan |
10 | 5 | 5.5 | 0 | 6 | N | N | 1:00 | 3.79 | 5.30 | Translator here are the notes |
| Hamish Johnston | Australia |
9 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 5.5 | N | N | 1:00 | 3.86 | 5.40 | Physiotherapy? here are the notes |
| Adeline St Romain | United States |
9.5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7.5 | N | Y | 1:00 | 5.64 | 7.40 | Actress here are the notes |
| Melissa Schenk | Canada |
10 | 8 | 7 | 7.5 | 8.5 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 6.57 | 8.20 | Television Scott: Melissa is a weekend weather specialist, marketer and advertiser and runs her own production company called MS2. |
| Linda Hoang | Canada |
10 | 9 | 7.5 | 7 | 9.5 | Y | S | 1:00 | 7.21 | 8.60 | StudentScott: Linda was one of the Canadians I watches, as my own video eventually caught up to hers (and passed it) in the "number of views" and "stars" ratings. (Even my Dad said he thought Linda's was one to watch). Also used the TQ media "signs" (like I did) ... AND ... lives in Edmonton, like we used to! Very strong video. LOVE her enthusiasm. Just starting out, like Anny, so this job could be a life-changing experience for this journalism student @ Grant McEwan. Go Linda!
Additional Information 1) Linda's Blog 2) Media Coverage |
| Jackie Miao | Malaysia |
8 | 6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 6.29 | 6.80 | Tourism Marketer Here are the notes |
| Achim Dold | Germany |
8 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 7 | N | Y | 1:00 | 4.64 | 6.00 | Filmmaker Scott: Thought the bit with the cut-out of the "iron-man" was funny. Overall a nice video, but not one of my favorites. (I had a difficult time finding information about Achim on the Internet. On one site, he listed his interests as: playing guitar, cooking, children gymnastics, cats, ponies and guinea pigs. Odd 'caretaker' characteristics.)
Additional Information 1) Build-Work Film Studio 2) Achim Withdraws EDIT 23-Mar: Achim withdrew from the Island Caretaker job hunt. No reasons were cited. |
| Marcella Moser | Canada |
10 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 6.71 | 8.40 | Tourism Scott: Led tour groups and works in the tourism industry. A lot of time went into this video.
Additional Information 1) Marcella's blog (for job application) 2) Marcella on TV (CityTV Breakfast Television) |
| Anjaan RJ | India |
9 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0 | 8.5 | Y | Y | 1:01 | 6.07 | 6.50 | TV Host/DJ Here are the notes |
| Hailey Turner | Australia |
10 | 7.5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Y | S | 1:01 | 6.64 | 8.30 | Sales/Events Here are the notes |
| Sarah Louise Lane | U.K. |
9.5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 5.86 | 7.70 | Ent Writing/Communications
Scott: Wasn't too impressed with the first part of the video, where Sarah is speaking from the back of a truck ... complete with really annoying "chirping" sounds and such. Doesn't seem like there was a lot of planning here. Mind you, she may have been on assignment or something, but still. Liked the bit at the end where she got the locals involved. Shows spunk! (Note: Sarah Louise's blog is currently not available for public viewing. Hmmm ... wonder if she realizes that the Caretaker blogging would be to a world-wide audience?
)Additional Information 1) Sarah's Reef Job Blog 2) FaceBook |
| Yi Yao | China |
6.5 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 7 | Y | N | 1:01 | 5.00 | 5.50 | Businessman? Here are the notes |
| Holly Smale | U.K. |
7.5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8.5 | Y | Y | 0:55 | 5.64 | 7.40 | Author/P.R.
Scott: I thought Holly's video was very clever, stylish, smart and sexy. I had a problem though - w/all the scene cuts and sound starts/drops, it's difficult to understand. (That's why she received an "8" for English, even though she's got a degree in English and an advanced degree in Shakespeare). Strong video.
Additional Information 1) Holly's New Blog |
| Juweon Kim | S. Korea |
9.5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 6 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 4.29 | 5.50 | TV News
Scott: Well spoken and engaging. No sample of writing skills to be found.
Additional Information: 1) Juweon's Blog (Created after Top 50 Announcement) 2) Listen to Juweon's Radio Show (6-8 pm daily - local time - S. Korea) |
| David Whitehill | Australia |
9.5 | 3.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8 | N | Y | 1:00 | 5.50 | 7.20 | TV Host Here are the notes |
| Kiran Jethwa | Kenya |
10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7.5 | N | Y | 1:01 | 4.86 | 6.30 | DJ/Tourism Here are the notes |
| Rafaelito DeAusen | Guam |
10 | 8.5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | Y | N | 1:01 | 6.43 | 7.50 | Teacher/Musician Here are the notes |
| Iris van Nispen | Netherlands |
9 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | N | S | 1:00 | 5.43 | 7.60 | Leisure/Tourism Scott: Iris worked the reef informatin into her video nicely. Her video didn't wow me, but it was solid (and boring) for me. What would she do 'on her own', however, and what would her writing be like? (After I found out that Iris' video was professionally produced, it lowered my opinion of her video application. Unfortunatley, it doesn't change her quantitative score, only my opinion.) Additional Links 1) The Making of Iris' Video It turns out that Iris' video was made by the Dutch TV station "RTl4)". (When the campaign started, the Dutch news program created "Edite NL", a contest to help nationals applying for the Reef Job. Iris' application was accepted and her video was created by a major TV news crew!) 2) A Dutch Newspaper Article Iris is 28, a fitness teacher, no blogs or blogging experience and a student of "Leisure & Tourism" (trying for an education internship abroad, so she can "kill two birds with one stone".) Makes me wonder what she could do all by her lonesome?  |
| Mirjam Novak | Germany |
10 | 8 | 6.5 | 6 | 8 | N | Y | 1:00 | 5.86 | 7.70 | Film/Theater/Modeling Here are the notes |
| Kim Jagtiani | India |
10 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 7 | 7 | N | Y | 1:01 | 5.79 | 7.60 | TV Host/DJ Here are the notes |
| Julia Yalovitsyna | Russia |
7.5 | 6.5 | 8 | 0 | 7.5 | N | N | 1:00 | 4.21 | 5.90 | PhD Candidate
Scott: Appears to be a PhD candidate in Marine Biology. Found an interview after she was shortlisted. She's now embroiled in a porn scandal. Doubt TQ wants any part of this.
UPDATE (19-Mar-2009) - For violations of the Terms of Service, Tourism Queensland has delisted Julia from the Top 50 and will NOT be replacing her with another candidate. (More Info) |
| Clare Wang | Taiwan |
9.5 | 7 | 7.5 | 0 | 7 | N | N | 1:00 | 4.43 | 6.20 | Interpreter Here are the notes |
| Douglas Stidolph | U.K. |
9.5 | 7 | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | Y | N | 1:01 | 6.50 | 7.60 | Student Here are the notes |
| Jimmy Wong | Singapore |
7.5 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | N | N | 1:01 | 4.07 | 5.70 | Freelance Diver/Photographer Here are the notes |
| Ying Yu | China |
6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0 | 8 | N | Y | 0:55 | 4.21 | 5.40 | Tourism/Film/Writer Here are the notes |
| Karyna Wallace | Japan |
9 | 4.5 | 7 | 0 | 6.5 | N | Y | 1:00 | 4.21 | 5.40 | Tourism/Promotion Here are the notes |
| Chris Bray | Australia |
9.5 | 7 | 8.5 | 1 | 7 | Y | S | 1:01 | 6.14 | 6.60 | Adventurer/Photographer Scott: A 26-year-old is an Electrical Engineer by training. He turned to a life of full-time adventuring. I found his video a tad manic, with the speed with which he spoke. (Next stop - Alvin and Dale!) Didn't rate him very high on "experience/knowledge" b/c sailing thru the Whitsunday Islands when your five doesn't really count as experience (how much do you remember from when you were five?) Points for his awesome adventures, online adventure blogging experience and awesome photography! Additional Information 1) Artic Expedition Website 2) Interview w/John Naylor 3) ChrisBray.net (Launched last year) |
| Sandra Crane | U.S.A. |
9.5 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | N | Y | 0:59 | 4.57 | 5.90 | Marketing/Sales Here are the notes |
| Manon Schmidin | France |
9.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 6.07 | 8.00 | Tourism Additional Information:
1) Manon's Blog (created after the Top 50 Announcement) |
| Felippe Mela | Sweden |
9 | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 6.79 | 7.50 | DJ/Music Producer Here are the notes |
| Anny Chih | Canada |
10 | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 7.5 | Y | Y | 1:01 | 7.71 | 8.80 | Marketing Degree Scott: Worked in Island information nicely with her video. Good blogging skills. Sincere, active and energetic. Strong video.
Additional Information 1) Anny's Blog 2) Anny on TV (CityTV Breakfast Television) 3) Anny's Media Exposure |
| Steven Rogers | U.S.A. |
10 | 7.5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 6.21 | 7.70 | PR/Marketing Here are the notes |
| Nila Tanzil | Indonesia |
10 | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | 7.5 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 7.00 | 7.80 | Writer/Print Media Here are the notes |
| Magali Heuberger | Netherlands |
9.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7 | 7.5 | N | Y | 1:01 | 5.93 | 7.80 | Marketing/Advertising Here are the notes |
| Cali Lewis | U.S.A. |
10 | 7.5 | 8 | 0 | 7.5 | Y | Y | 0:59 | 6.14 | 6.60 | TV Host/Actress Here are the notes |
| James Hill | Australia |
10 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 9 | 8.5 | Y | Y | 1:01 | 7.79 | 8.90 | Marketing/Photography
Scott: James' video had some v.subtle references to the GBRI and I believe there's more to this applicant than meets the eye. (i.e., I bet he would deliver way more than what would be expected). Strong video.
Additional Information 1) Regular Blog 2) Reef Job Blog 3) facebook 4) Twitter 5) Flickr Photo Stream |
| Christine Estima | Canada |
9.5 | 8.5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | Y | Y | 0:56 | 7.14 | 8.00 | Tourism Scott: I saw Christine's video before I uploaded my own. Thought it was very original, but wasn't one of my personal favs, even though it scores well quantitatively. She hit the mark! (Her website forces sound at people - watch out if visiting from work!) Additional Links: 1) CBC News Interview (3-Mar-2009) |
| Mitchell Moffit | Canada |
10 | 9.5 | 7.5 | 0 | 8 | N | N | 1:00 | 5.00 | 7.00 | Student Here are the notes |
| Kat Mitsopoulos | Greece |
9.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 7 | N | N | 1:01 | 5.21 | 7.30 | Interior Design Here are the notes |
| George Karellas | Ireland |
10 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 7.5 | N | Y | 0:59 | 6.14 | 8.10 | Scriptwriter/Media Here are the notes |
| Clarke Gayford | New Zealand |
10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | N | Y | 1:00 | 6.36 | 8.40 | TV Host Here are the notes |
| Ben Henry | France |
8.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 0 | 7 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 5.64 | 5.90 | Online Marketing Here are the notes |
| Ben Southall | U.K. |
10 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 8 | Y | N | 1:00 | 6.07 | 7.00 | Charity Adventurer Here are the notes |
| Greg Reynen | Singapore |
9.5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8.5 | N | N | 0:59 | 5.43 | 7.60 | Teacher Here are the notes |
| Mieko Kobayashi | Japan |
5.5 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | N | N | 1:00 | 3.93 | 5.50 | Mgmt. Training Here are the notes |
| Angelene Orth | U.S.A. |
10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7.5 | Y | Y | 1:00 | 5.93 | 6.30 | Tourism Here are the notes |
ummm on top of all this--is it too much to ask you to do the math too?
really amazing
"Math" would need weighting factors for "blog", "job" and "time". Any suggestions?
The blog should get a score of 1 or 0 as I seem to remember it was a part of the job description.
An Occupation statement really can't be weighted until all supporting documentation is on the interview table
So a sum of the first six columns after the "flags" ( nice touch) column would give a reasonable shakedown.
Neat work Scott.
Dear John ( hehehe
Time - Agreed. It won't be included in any mathematical scoring.
Occupation - Was mostly for my own curiosity, so won't be included in any tally.
Blog - Still trying to sort how to weight it, as it was listed as one of four primary job functions listed: "weekly blogging, photo diaries, video updates & "some" media interviews".
Not having an existing blog doesn't mean one can't blog or write in an entertaining and engaging manner.
It's like being drop dead good looking doesn't mean they are engaging or intelligent.
Hell, I'm stunned there are 18 applicants with a score of 0 for GB Reef knowledge.
That says it was either a bullshit criteria or the applicants shine in other ways and can be easily taught some snappy reef facts.
This is being made for TV , not academia, and they would be "focus grouping" the daylights out of all final groupings.
1 second +/- is not going to be a killer decision for a great applicant and nor should it be.
It may have been an emphasised criteria from a management point of view but thats all.
If you applied as a newspaper reporter and and didn't have any experience in reporting but said, "I can write really well. I've written two poetry books and a novel." How relevant is that in a newspaper world? (i.e., tight deadlines, terse writing style, prolific writing, etc?). Not very.
It's important to have experience using the media that will be used in the primary job function.
Yes @ GB knowledge, which was when I first twigged that TQ's "rigorous" evaluation was poppycock.
Any application over 60 seconds is significant, as it's the "basic criteria" that TQ used to accept applications. TQ said they "had to reject some fantastic applications because they were just over the time limit."
7 for motivation? Huh.
I don't know how everyone got my myspace link...
maybe thats what I put in my application.
Thanks for the feedback. I watched all 49 others and some were amazing and scared the crap out of me and some were kind of... yeah.
I'm glad I made it though. Keep up the great blog.
@ Rafaelito - It'd pretty hard for a top-50 applicant not to be excited about their application (a Google search for "name" "best job" is pretty effective for finding stuff)
Thanks for stopping by and good luck!
perhaps it was a little too criptic.. there are a fair few puns in the video which demonstrate local knowledge, I prefered that over the usage of wikipedia
Ragamuffin is a super maxi yacht now turned charter that is a fantastic day out of sailing, you'll hit up both Whitehaven beach for some tanning and Blue Pear bay for some of the best snorkeling around!
Fantasea is the defacto ferry company, based out of shute harbour Australias second most busy port (second to circular quay)
I've reviewed your video and spotted the supporting photos of the ferry and sail. I'll bump you up to 8, accordingly.
(damn ... gonna have to retally the math)
Cheers
It's great you took the time to do it, I think the subjective nature of this competition is gonna be one of the things that everyone will have to deal with come the day of the eleven.
The judges will see/miss things that we have all noticed, and unfortunately they're not going to make their decision-making process public, as you graciously have.
On the topic of time though, mine is exactly 1800 frames at 30fps, makes a total of 60 seconds. Actually makes a maximum of 60 seconds as the 1800th frame is 0.03 off a full second... Anyway I assume that's the same with the other applicants that have a time of 1:01, I think that youtube add the second for the referral link screen that pops up after the video.
Yes @ subjectivity.
Thanks for the input regarding time, as I know this is a big issue for some people.
Cheers,
Erik.
LOL ... no, it was really a "sorting" thing. I figured that you weren't in front of the camera or used to media attention (in the back stacks, writing madly)?
I've changed it to "Y". (Doesn't change your point total in Tot1, as I'd already awarded you "media" credit).
Aren't you one of the few (only?) candidates with kids? So combined with your humor and writing, I think I'd be keen on following you. (Got a kid myself, tho just one, not two). High-five across Georgia Strait for making the top 50!
One category that is missing (that I personally think was a big deciding factor) is - how well does the video promote AU/QLND?
I think videos that say nothing about the candidate but are great free promotional bits for TQ are up there
I'm with Ksenia--I think they ranked the top 50 according to how good an ad it is for GBR! how much that factors as the contest gets closer to a decision remains to be seen...
@ Ksenia - "Face value" is the criteria used here (i.e., What Tourism Queensland is on the record for - the "5 Key Factors" and "job duties").
If Tourism Queensland had a hidden agenda, not only does it undermines their credibility, but one could only guess what it might be and why.
I know I reviewed her video. Good catch!
http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/Sarahlouise
Did you kidnap her and have now taken her place in the list?
Was this a contest then?
Did I win ????
(Thanks)
Of course you won! Most every one of the 34,00+ applicants is a winner in my book.
ps ... still ... did I win?
I've spotted the fault! 51 applicants ...
pps: I almost died over here, you know that!!!
I thought that I had overlooked you on the official website!!!
pffff ....
Oh I see. You used the official stated criteria. OK I agree.
It's kinda obvious to me that the officially stated criteria wasn't the actually used criteria.
Case in point - "knowledge of the GBR". Look at all your 0s in the knowledge category.
I'm thinking about a final blog article (disassociated from this data-driven post) with a title something like: "Tourism Queensland: Hits a Markteting Home Run, but Loses the Game" (ish)
1-10 place 5 points
11-20 place 4 points etc.
You know TQ is watching the vote hustle even though Clare has won.
I also think you may have overscored on the personal presentation. While many present clearly, I consider holding my interest an important component of personal presentation.
Only the Canadians really shined on all aspects (can you see the personal bias coming out?)
What would really be interesting is if you compared the top 50 to some of the other great videos that were passed up. (Just kidding Rachel! Please don't hunt me down and hurt me!)
@ Amy - Urm ... subjectively? Kind of a smart-assed answer, but it's also why I'm asking for help, so I can average scores from many people, rather than have the table reflect only my biases and thoughts. The more people that help, the less biased the data become.
I guess I started with the notion that the Top 50 represented the best and took into consideration the work and effort that each applicant put into their video. It's not just motivation, but there's also an "enthusiasm" component, which you'll notice, is a big reason I gave my video the lowest ranking. I didn't even smile in my video, let along jump up and down and act crazy (I'm just a corporate guy and presented my case from a logical POV ... missing all that vibe, jive and enthusiam that I see in - say Greg's video). I think it's one of the reasons I was passed over.
Score the Top 50 the way you see things and I'll average it in! That way, your vote will be included!
This invitation extends to anyone. Just rate all 50 applicants (and me ... I can take it), for the 5 criteria that TQ said they used, on a scale of 1-10 (and any notes you might wish to include) and email it to me (or post it on Ning). Just need a text file with "name, english score, presentation score, technical proficiency score, knowledge score, motivation score and notes", one applicant per line. Easy peasy! (I'll do all the math work and updating).
my everyday blog is http://sultanasandwich.com
missing the 'a'
also the blog just created for this job is http://jamesonhamo.com
The only problem I have with your entire board is with Christine Estima.
The 8 you give her on technical is the Same 8 you give us on ours....only Christina. Shaky handheld camera with the camera guy saying "ok go" and one of the worst backgrounds and poor light one could have.
From someone in the industry I give it a generous 6.
Of note however is the rest of her rankings...I think some people would be surprised by your rankings but she is actually a good contender for the job based on her experience....Good Job for reflecting that.
Unfortunately I think her video annoys the public more than the other 49 combined...
PS..thanks for the email last night. All that got sorted out this morning with am email by TQ and a posting by H.
I don't think that's a fair assessment of Christine's video. I think her video is more endearing than the others because she's not trying to use graphics and green screens and wipes and fades like everyone else is.
She's just relying on herself for the 60 seconds. It's unedited, raw, and very creative, I think.
Yet the more I looked at Christine's entry the more her manic delivery really annoyed me.
Now I've just spent time at her blog, http://christineestima.blogspot.com/ where she explains the creative rationale for her unique delivery style. Thus I can't help but admire her multimedia talent, raw determination and overwhelming force of personality.
As these qualities have been on show for the last four years the girl has an unparalled body of work which TQ will find hard to ignore.
Sure, she's totally in your face, captivating and urgent, but possesses the elusive X factor, like few others. Good luck to her.
@ Nate & Adrian Thanks for commenting!
As noted, you can send consoling messages of support to my wife - who's sick of anything TQ - here!
Good luck! (Missed your Canada AM show, think Erik posted a link somewhere ... will have to check that out).
If you're ever on Vancouver Island, give us a shout. We have better accomodations than you experienced on your last trip over!
I thought I had left a comment earlier on but with a glance down the page I didn't see it so I just wanted to say this is a super impressive chart!!
Great job.
Linda
(See Julia's notes for links to a Russian news article and a post-to-50 interview).
Best Regards,
-Bill
Christine is certainly the candidate that floats to the top, but her video wasn't one of my personal favorites.
It was an interesting exercise to assign numerical values to TQ's "5 key elements", for all the applicants. I learned a lot - about the candidates (and about Tourism Queensland) in the process.
If you took the time to provide them, I'll happily include your numbers.
Hols
x
(You know, I thought your video was super cool - stylish actually - and I loved the whole thing, but with all the cuts and stuff ... I just couldn't HEAR you. The -2 is for that, not your mastery of the King's English - or is that the Queen's?)
On another note ... what I can do (not sure if you're on Ning or Twitter but) let me know when you get articles, interviews and I'll happily link them here.
Likewise, I'll add your "defense" to the notes and anything else you deem important.
I like Brits. My wife was born in London and my mate lives in Blackpool.
EDIT: Where are my manners? GOOD LUCK!!
It's worse than Tourism Queensland faking their own videos.
They flat-out lied to the world about what criteria they used (or didn't use) ... and who know how much else they're lying about?
While I am excited for the Top 50 and the Top 10 ... Tourism Queensland's credibility is gone and that reflects directly - and quite negatively - on their product and product-branding they're trying to achieve.
Totally understand, though: sound quality was awful. I only used my little camera, and I was shocked that anyone could hear it at all!
Thanks though. Here's my blog address: http://hollysmale.blogspot.com/
Wouldn't claim it's very good - I've just started, so I'm getting used to it - but by gosh am I having fun!
Hx
Yep, got the Brit bit, which is why you have the Union Jack flag!
Blogging will take a while to get used to. It's a different (and much richer) medium, but there's a lot of "techno" attached. This is why I always thought applicants with blogging experience would be strong front-runners for the "Best Job"
Manon has a blog: http://manon-schmidlin.blogspot.com
OKAY ... got it (and added it).
Thank you!
I would also like to add that having a blog or website was not a requirement for applying, and TQ did not say they would consider that in addition to the video for the first round (getting to the Top 50).
Conclusions: (1) Tourism Queensland lied about "experience and knowledge/understanding of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef as demonstrated by the content in the video submission is vital" (since so many of the Top 50 didn't put anything about this in their video about either); (2) Tourism Queensland weren't completely honest in their advert, "anyone can apply, but preference will be given to applicants less than 30 years of age, with one or more years of tourism, marketing or media experience; (3) Tourism Queensland selected inferior applicants over more qualified applicants in favor of a tourism-friendly geographical distribution within the Top 50; (4) The preceived ability to promote the GBRI via written, television, existing contacts and video is paramount;
I have linked my video.
(Was planning on putting it on the front page post directly, since TQ munged the quality when they uploaded it!) Just need to get the time.
Like Rachel says, "I'm just proud that you put in for it, regardless the outcome." (Which is something that every one of the 34,000+ that didn't make it can take away from the experience, eh?)
Yay @ new reader!
The Bowron photos are great... loved the pics of the moose & the "surfing the canoe" shot! My husband & I have done the same making "human sail going across a lake during 110 mile canoe trip @ Allegash Wilderness in Maine... we felt like a speed boat the wind was so strong! Thanks for sharing your fun memory!
The colored boxes are "flags" of one type or another:
Red == Warning flags (i.e., trying to visualize "problem" areas)
Yellow == Less severe "warning"
Blue == Have added data
I became keen on making the graph as a way to visualize the difference between what Tourism Queensland was saying -vs- what they were doing. (i.e., they said "demonstrating knowledge and experience of the GBRI was vital", yet so many videos didn't speak to that at all (ours included).
EDIT: I saw an TV interview - think it was with - Anny and Marcella (together) and it was interesting to compare the time they spent on each video. One had it done in a matter of hours and the other (Marcella) had invested over 100 man-hours in hers!
Jcnyc - Caught me a tad offguard too: extending Top 10 by five additional applicants & choosing candidates by geographic distribution were to two big ones.
Will likely put my thoughts in a separate article.