The Zinch Report

Hey guys....I just wanted to make sure everyone knew about the new rule. Each contestant can only get 1 vote from a particular IP address (location).

So this morning...we wacked all votes (except 1 vote) that came from any specific IP address. We had to do it across the board just to make it fair. I'm sorry.

Though many of you were getting legitimate votes this way (at their high school computer lab, etc), too many people were cheating (yes, we know for a fact they were cheating because many came forth and admitted it. Often times it wasn't the semifinalist, it was their friends). Brad (a fellow cofounder here at Zinch) will be posting a blog shortly more on that.

You still have a week to get any vote you think you may have lost. Just make sure they vote for you from their home computers or some other location that hasn't already voted for you.

Email marchmadness@zinch.com with your complaints. I'm sure there will be many. But the bottom line is that we aren't gonna do anything about it. The rule stands as it is. It's an equal playing field for all. Get creative. Try viral or guerilla internet marketing on facebook, myspace, digg, youtube, etc. Use our "tell a friend" tool to email all your peeps. Have your counselor, teachers, parents, friends use that tool also to invite their friends. People will get the email at their homes and be able to vote for you.

Just get creative. Bottom line. Use the web. It's the most powerful tool of our time. You only lost 1 day of voting. No big deal. Get those back. We're sorry we messed up initially by not having this rule set in place from the get-go. I know it's unfortunate for many. We do apologize.

Now get out there and hustle for some votes...

-Mick