We’ve just been notified that we’ve also been nominated for a Best Design Award at the European Tech Awards. There are some great websites in the category so we’re extremely pleased to even be nominated for such an award. If you’d like to help us out then click here to place your vote. Again, there’s no need to register and it only takes a few seconds to cast your vote.

Thanks again for your support.

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Techcrunch Europe is hosting the European Tech Awards next month in London and we were pleased to hear today that Hubdub has been nominated for Best European Web Application.

If you’d like to vote for us (and of course we very much hope that you will!) then click here to vote (no need to register, just click on Hubdub then scroll down and click the Vote button at the bottom of the page).

Thanks!

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I thought I’d check my email at 6.30 this morning before my children decended on me, and imagine my delight when I opened an email from one of our Super Users (thanks Onedave!) telling me that Hubdub was featured on CNN yesterday.

I then did the natural thing and checked Google analytics - and noticed that, of course traffic was up, but that there was also a significant amount coming from the BBC’s website. And blow me if we hadn’t been on the BBC too!Not a bad start to an otherwise wet and grey Edinburgh day. (Thanks CNN and BBC!)

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Hubdub is up against media monsters such as the BBC, Sky, The Telegraph and Reuters - we’ve all been shortlisted for the Association of Online Publishers’ award for innovation, taking place on June 2nd in London.

The shortlist is:

Band In Your Hand - BBC
CluedUp - Telegraph Media Group
guardian.co.uk message for Obama - Guardian News & Media
Hubdub.com - HubDub
Reuters Davos World Economic Forum Coverage - Thomson Reuters
Sky News - Templated Graphics - BSkyB
Telegraph Mobile Application - Telegraph Media Group
The Economist Debate Series - Economist Group
The Feelings 24 Hour Challenge - Global Radio

It looks like the “glitterati of digital publishing” will be there, and  it will no doubt be a very glamorous and prestigous event. We’re absolutely thrilled to be short-listed. But how’s a wee start-up supposed to compete with the BBC et al when the cost to attend the ceremony is £300? All donations gratefully received…

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  So you’ve watched Selection Sunday, you know the seeds, now you can really start playing our March Madness 09 Predict-a-thon - seriously!

There have been some interesting seedings and draws today, including #8 LSU v #9 Butler and #8 Ohio State vs Siena.

If you haven’t already signed up for a Predict-a-thon account, there’s no time to waste! Sign up now while there’s still bargains to be had!

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At long last, the moment every College Basketball Fan has been waiting for…no, there’s still 4 days to go until Selection Sunday, but today Hubdub’s March Madness 09 Predict-A-Thon launches!

So what exactly is this Predict-A-Thon?

• A discrete prediction competition only for the NCAA Basketball Tournament
• Players sign up and receive H$1000 to predict on questions about March Madness 09
• You can play right through the competition, with in-running predictions about the Final Four and Championship Game - watch the game live and make your predictions REAL-TIME
• The top 5 players at the end of the tournament win CASH prizes!
• Oh yes, and it’s completely free to enter!

You think you can last the distance? Then sign up for the March Madness 09 Predict-A-Thon here*

I’d love to hear what you think of our first Predict-A-Thon - drop me an email anytime.

*If you're an existing Hubdubber, you'll have to sign up with a different user

name I'm afraid - although you can use the same email address.

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If you’ve been dreaming of what March Madness will bring for Hubdub, it’s time to rise and shine, rub those eyes and stretch out those prediction fingers as Hubdub March Madness is nearly upon us.

In just three short days we will be lifting the curtain on our first ever cash prize prediction competition, with prizes totalling $500. (That’s real cash btw, not H$!). It’s free to enter, and Hubdub Gods and newbies alike all start on H$1,000. At the end of the competition, the top 5 players on the March Madness leaderboard will pocket the following bounty:

• 1st prize: $250
• 2nd: $100
• 3rd: $75
• 4th: $50
• 5th: $25

So, whether you’re a seasoned Hubdubber or an absolute beginner, head over to http://marchmadness.hubdub.com and pre-register your email address to get notified on Monday the instant the games are open.

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I want you all to suspend reality for while.  Close your eyes, count backwards from ten and clear your mind. Now I want you to imagine. Imagine a Hubdub exclusively for Sports fans. A Hubdub where you can focus your Hubdub efforts on one sports tournament at a time – where you can predict on a hundred questions only on that one tournament. Imagine a level playing field, where everyone (from Orlin down to Tom!) starts with H$1000 at the same time, at the beginning of the tournament. Imagine somewhere you can really prove how much of a sports genius you are compared with other Hubdubbers. And imagine if you could win real money prizes…

Now, imagine if that were available in time for March Madness…

When I click my fingers, you will wake up and forget all about this conversation. <click>

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I recently discovered a new-comer to the top echelons of the Hubdub leaderboard and thought I would investigate. It seems that he won his fortune on the question on the Stimulus Bill.  After offering him my congratulations, I was thrilled to receive the following email which I thought I’d share with you - the excitement of Hubdub, brought to you by a genuine, bone-fide Hubdubber…

Paul from Minnesota

Age 41 male

Real Estate investor owning nearly 100 properties.

“For my business I have to keep on many aspects of the news.  HUBDUB is a natural fit for that need.

How I found you:

I think I found HUBDUB from a mention on a story from 20/20 on ABC…..they may have mentioned collective intelligence being smarter than any one opinion.

Starting out:

When I started HUBDUB I lost everything and was looking forward to the $20 sign on credit.  Eventually I won a bet here and there and built up my funds.

Satisfies my needs:

I love to gamble and this is a lot cheaper and offers many more avenues to wager on.  I love the news and learning new things.

Valuable tool:

I read things on HUBDUB and wager a small amount.  When it settles, I am emailed and find out what the outcome was.  Great way to keep up on the news.

Chatter and insight:

I have found that there are so many genuine people on HUBDUB that offer accurate and insightful angles to each topic.  It would have been tempting to spew falsities out there to scare people into making a position better, but it is virtually not out there.  There is a fairness to the participants that is to be applauded.

Taking Chances:

To get to the top you have to take chances.  Searching for the popular questions that people want to throw money at is difficult.  Sometimes I toss in $2000 and the percentages go haywire.  In the Stimulus bill I tossed in money at 50% return and then it does to 40% and even 30% within a few minutes and my account net worth drops like a rock.  I then figure, if I liked it at 50% I should love it at 30-40%.  So I go in again even heavier.  My Net Worth creeps up even higher than before.  Within a few minutes people dump money on the other side and again I am tempted to wager even more at 15%.  This repeats its self over and over for several days until I find I have tens of thousands into the question.  Finally, there I sit with tons of money in the question sitting at 17% and cashing out of another deal just to find funds to put more in.  The whole time I am seriously doubting myself as to why I would want to put more in.  I thought I was a sure loser.

Then I signed on and thought there was something wrong with HUBDUB as I saw the account read twice what my previous net worth was from only signing on a few hours ago.  I initially thought that someone must have made a wager big time on the wrong side, I should hustle and cash out while I can at least get something out as I was assured to lose this according to the news days leading up to this.  Sure enough I check the news sources and it was pretty much a done deal and I had won.  People were sending me messages and congratulatory remarks.  I had won a ton of money and everyone appeared happy for me.  I think that says a lot about those involved.  The heartfelt comments were almost touching enough to give the HUBDUB funds back…..I said almost!  I will be giving it away sometime I am sure in my next wild prediction…..or perhaps the one after that or somewhere down the line.  I am happy to encourage someone to beat me and will offer congratulations when it happens.  Until then today is my day and I am trying my best to climb up the leader board.”

For more information about the Stimulus Bill questions, read Destry’s blog post.

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Image via Wikipedia

Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be experimenting with advertising on the site. Initially, we are going to be trialling Adsense (that is the one that gives context sensitive text ads) but then we will also be looking to add some display advertising soon. We will be trying to add the advertising in a way that doesn’t significantly affect the look and feel of the site or negatively effect the functionality.

As I am sure everyone reading this blog will know, times are tight. Unfortunately, Obama’s stimulus package doesn’t stretch to us so we are on our own in trying to turn a dime. Hopefully, in the process we can introduce you to some great products and services.

If you are interested advertising with us then please contact us here.

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