It was brought to my attention over the weekend that Sony Music posted some info over on their Facebook page regarding the Ricky Martin concert series and GetGlue. Verbatim:
"Did you know Ricky Martin is the very first artist to work with Get Glue on check-ins via QR codes? Fans at Ricky's American Airlines Arena show in Miami tomorrow night will get a very exclusive Get Glue sticker by scanning the QR code at the concert! Read more about it here: http://bit.ly/dYQoSU"
(URL: http://www.facebook.com/sonymusicglobal )
And then after some people (myself included) posted complaints that it was unfair to people who couldn't make it to the concert:
"Hi guys - Ricky has 3 stickers available, and only 1 of them is location based. So fans can still enjoy 2 exclusive stickers as part of the promotion."
While I haven't been to the concert (and I am not likely to be able to, considering none of the tour dates are going to be close to my neck of the woods), nor do I know anyone who will be going to the concert, this still irritates me because apparently the QR code at the concert is the only link to check-in and earn the MAS sticker.
Now it's bad enough that we didn't hear one peep out of GG that they were partnering with Sony to do something at the concerts (and we had to hear it from Sony instead... after the concert series started... and via their Facebook page, no less), but considering they are actually making this sticker available only at the concerts then they just shot the legs out from under any fan who has the misfortune to not be able to make it to the show, be it due to distance, time, or cost of the tickets (which range from $50 and up). Way to cater only to people in large cities with moderate-to-large amounts of disposable income, GetGlue and Sony. Elitism much?
It also irritates me that GetGlue, in their usual fashion, didn't say one word about how this sticker was going to be made available. Up to this point every "on tour" style sticker was made available to everyone through a simple check-in, possibly requiring a phrase. Now someone will actually have to go hunting around the venue for a QR code to scan? That'd probably be the last thing on my mind while I'm at a concert, especially if I didn't know I needed to be looking for one. There is no indication anywhere on GetGlue of where or how to find this code to check-in.
Finally, there's the issue of the possibility of cheating to get the sticker. If all that's required to earn it is to zap the QR code and use it to check-in then it would be dead easy for someone to take a picture of the QR code and either post it on the Internet as-is or take the URL it provides and post that for all the world to see.
GetGlue and Sony earn a huge NOT COOL, MAN on this one. One of the unique things about GetGlue was that you could earn the stickers revolving around the media without having to worry about whether you were in a specific location at a specific time (you just had to worry about the time). With the advent of this they have basically taken a step towards being just another Foursquare clone, complete with people who will probably further cheat the already semi-broken system to earn location-specific stickers while the rest of the users will be left scratching their heads and wondering how somone in an overseas country earned a sticker that was only available in Florida at the time.
Bad form, GetGlue. Bad form.
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Really? You're complaining about a free service giving an incentive for someone to go to a concert? You need to get your priorities in life figured out.
ReplyDelete@Jon - 0/10 troll points, dude. Try harder next time.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I think this is a great idea, sure I won't be going to any Ricky Martin concerts but I do go to tons of concerts so I hope GG keeps this up with artists I will go see. I think that this is actually fair since us sticker hunters get stickers for everything rather things we just enjoy, they found a way to slow us down lol Don't worry Frank we can't get them all :)
ReplyDeleteHeh - I'm not so much ticked about me not getting the sticker. I'm more irritated on behalf of the fans that are going to get shafted on this because they can't make it to anywhere that the tour is going to be playing or afford the tickets, in addition to GetGlue not making it known that the sticker was going to be a venue-exclusive offering. If you're going to screw with the long-standing rules you set up for a site then you let your users know you're going to screw with the rules. You don't just spring it on them.
ReplyDeleteThe other possibility is to find someone who is going to snap a picture of the QR code and send it to you, the code itself won't be tied to a particular area.
ReplyDeleteWasnt sure if Id be going to see Ricky or not this weekend, but this gives me a little bit more incentive to go.
ReplyDeleteFoursquare started doing something similar. I was at the Sony Ericsson Turnament and you had to scan the code from a postcard at the venue.
ReplyDeleteThis sure isn't nice to the sticker collectors out there. Events like this are probably good for me though as I spend too much time collecting stickers on GG, now I don't have to try to get them all. This is somewhat liberating.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea. And frankly, the service is free. And it's meant to be that you check in to the things you're watching/reading/listening to and get rewarded for your media consumption habits. If the stickers serve as an incentive to read something, watching something, listen to something, that's awesome. But people who are always whining about not being able to get stickers because they're not ACTUALLY doing the thing you need to do to get the sticker, to me, is ridiculous. I get that people game the system to try to collect the stickers, but in the end, that's not really the intent. So I'm not surprised that GetGlue responded the way they did. I think it's how they should respond.
ReplyDeleteRM is coming to town. I'll check the concert poster for a QR code. If so, I'll get a pic.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind. The stickers were originally designed to be a marker for engaging in an activity associated with that activity. There's a loophole which is why so many people have >1,000 stickers - the skip the activity and check in even when they lack even the intent to engage in it.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the communication issues but it's a free service and I think unless users exit the platform based on that, the customer impact (the number of people that care), is going to be minimal.
I think it's funny how you'd be upset if people cheated by scanning a picture someone took of the QR code, but if you cheat by checking in, it's okay. The tour stickers are supposed to show that you've been there. Before, you just checked into that band with a phrase and got a sticker saying you went to the concert. Now you have to actually do the things you say you're doing to get the sticker. It's like a kick in the ass to all the cheaters, and I love it.
ReplyDelete@RangBacon - You remind me of some of the scrubs I used to play Street Fighter II against back in the day. The ones that would scream "CHEAT!" if you used the tactics that were actually built into the game against them. Here's the rub - is it "cheating" if everyone can do it? No. If you limit yourself by only checking-in to the things you like then that's fine and dandy. Play by your own limits. And don't read the blog or come whining when you can't figure out how to earn a sticker for things you actually do check-in to.
ReplyDelete@ Everyone else - I personally do this because the users get ZERO feedback from GetGlue on how to earn specific stickers. Without the FAQ there would still be users wondering how specific stickers could be earned or why a sticker didn't trigger for them. GetGlue would still be able to use their "wall of silence" tactic to keep users from getting stickers they have rightfully earned - if you've met the requirements for earning a sticker, you deserve that award. GetGlue shouldn't be able to sit there throwing back the "we don't give hints on how to earn stickers" answer when you write them to complain about not earning the sticker, but they do.
But you guys are still missing the bigger issue here - that GetGlue moves the goalposts without giving the users a heads-up and in the process shafts the actual fans. Without any kind of word from Sony on this do you actually think anyone who was going to the concert would actively look for the QR code? The "huge callout" that Fraser mentioned apparently isn't working because I haven't seen anyone actually earn that sticker as of yet, so I'm betting that any RM fans who are also GG users completely and totally missed it.
So anyone who is saying "LOL U MAD" needs to take a look at the bigger picture. What's going to happen when GetGlue decides to do something like this to a topic you know and love? Are you just going to sit there and say "oh well..." or are you going to be irritated over it?
Social media sites should be about bringing together people of a like mind, not dividing them. By giving awards to a select few of the users they are creating divisiveness, not fostering unity.
problem is, even if i DID go to a concert, i only have a 3g ipod touch- no camera, and no smart phone because i cant afford one. so i'm still left out. i agree, how is that fair? and yes if your going to change the rule or have specific req's for earning stickers that should be stated with each sticker.
ReplyDelete@Tech- I use the blog to make sure I haven't missed out on stickers because we all know how glitchy GetGlue can be. I have no problem finding out how to get a sticker I want because I'm not an idiot. Also, I wasn't whining about a damn thing, I was merely pointing out something I found amusing. I think you might be a little overly defensive about this cheating thing, and I doubt cheating was 'built in'. It's simply just now trying to find a way to prevent it.
ReplyDelete@Lisa- The point is getting special things because you have the required item. It happens everywhere you look. You get a discount at Target for using their credit card. You get better seats at a baseball game because you live near the stadium and get to buy them first. You get special stickers on GetGlue because you have a fancy phone.
@RangBacon - Did I say anywhere that your previous post was whining? No. I said you sounded like the kids that would call other people a cheater for not playing by some imagined set of rules that only existed in their head, when there was no such limitation in play. As for defensive, you bet your ass I'm going to be defensive when someone calls me a cheater when there is no limitation on the system, ergo there is no cheat to it. Let me restate that for emphasis: When everyone can do it, there is no cheating going on (other than in your imagination). When it's not something everyone can do, and a person uses that loophole to their advantage, that is cheating. If you want to limit yourself to only checking-in to what you're doing, fine and dandy. Knock yourself out. Take your self on over to GetGlue and have a ball. If you're so smart then you shouldn't need someone else's blog to help you keep track of stickers you might have missed - after all, you're not an idiot.
ReplyDeleteCheating is clearly in the eye of the beholder and even a person with intelligence double checks his/her work. Nice trolling, though. It's always fun to be attacked by a total stranger on the internet for having an opinion.
ReplyDeleteWent to see Ricky tonight. They had banners up with a QR code on it. I scanned it with my phone, checked in with the special link they gave me and nothing... tried it again a little later... still nothing.
ReplyDelete@RangBacon - I'm not saying anything to you that I wouldn't say to your face if I happened to be in front of you in Kansas City, so this isn't a case of "Internet Anonymous Asshole Syndrome" - take your wounded self somewhere else if you want to try to play that sympathy card. Besides, this is my blog and my place to vent my spleen. Like your blog is titled, "Opinions are like assholes", and you're entitled to yours if you want. You seem to be confusing "cheating" with "ethics". Like I said, if it's something everyone can do, it's not cheating. If it's something that you maybe shouldn't do even though you can, it's borderline unethical. And since you seemed to miss overall the point entirely regarding the intent of my original cheating & QR codes comment, let me restate that as well: It's not going to stop anyone from getting the sticker once the code gets passed around to everyone, so if GetGlue's intent was to use QR Codes to stop people from cheating the system they're sadly misguided on that front as well.
ReplyDelete