The first Twitter writing contest was tough to decide. This one was ridiculously hard.
Just shy of 1,000 haiku entries. So many great haikus we could have had at least 20 winners, if not more.
But we can only have three. Except… we actually have four.
First, let me introduce our Twitterlicious judges.
Darren Rowse - @problogger
Laura Fitton - @pistachio
Chris Brogan - @chrisbrogan
Lisa Hoover - @lisah
Yours Truly - @copyblogger
Thanks to my fellow judges for helping me out on this… it really was a tough job to narrow down so many great entries.
Now, it’s been pointed out that we might not be following the exact spirit of true Japanese haiku, and I appreciate that. But this is Twitter Haiku (Twaiku), and it’s a bit more of a freewheeling format in 140 characters or less. So… all apologies to Basho.
OK, on to the winners:
Third Place (Tie)
Yep, we ended up with a tie for third. We could make them duke it out in a cage match haiku battle to the death, but why not let them both win?
Words… just like sun rays / the more they are constricted / the stronger they burn.
Unfolding the note / his heart anticipating / the rest of his life
Both of our Third Place winners receive free access to Teaching Sells when it reopens in January.
Second Place
Who knew Hamlet could be boiled down to haiku, with a clever play on words to boot?
A wandering ghost / My dead father cries “Uncle!” / I must have revenge.
As the winner of free access to Product Launch Formula, “Everything I Needed to Know About Killer Content I Learned from Willy Shakespeare” is ready for blast off (I kid, I kid…).
First Place
There were so many entries that referenced Twitter, I was sure none of them would win. In fact, I almost caught myself being biased against them. But we all loved this one, just because it’s funny and so true:
“I’m following you” / A compliment on Twitter / Not so in real life
Congratulations to Jason Paul (ironically, a copywriter). You’re the winner of a brand new MacBook Air courtesy of Thesis from DIY Themes.
Thanks to each and every one of you who participated… this was a blast (and I’m sure we’ll do it again sometime). And congrats to all the winners!
About the Author: Brian Clark is the founding editor of Copyblogger, and co-founder of DIY Themes and Lateral Action. Get more from Brian on Twitter.
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Wow, congrats to Jason Paul - that is definitely a funny/clever haiku. Enjoy that MacBook Air!
Congratulations! I was also groaning at all the twitter and macbook haikus but that is a very good one.
Twaiku winners rock / hooray and cue confetti / Congratulations
Congratulations/Jason Paul can chirp twaiku/Brian helped ALL win
{Congrats to ALL the winners!!}
Darn, darn, darn, darn, darn / Darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn / Darn, darn, darn, dammit.
Congratulations. The winning entry is truly funny. Well done.
Congrats to these gifted winners — great haikus - and deserving of prizes all! Thanks also for the thoughtful way you selected to stay transparent and show your judges. I’d say you yourself were the winner too because of the way you respected writers! Nice Thanksgiving gift, and makes us all proud! Ellen Weber
Should put the next one to vote…
Brian’s right, everyone did an outstanding job on this contest and it was really hard to narrow it down. Great work, everyone!
Lisa
awesome, I loved the winner . he/her really deserves it. Nice contest, but I missed it ;( ..
Congratulations to everyone who participated. Lot’s of good haikus out there!
This contest got us writing them internally (we fight spam at Maysoft for Lotus Notes email users). So, in honor of all the efforts by all the participants, here is one last one (about McColo shutting down and spam volumes dropping 70% worldwide):
big spammer shut down / huge percentage drop in junk / it will never last
Congrats to the winners! Brian thanks for having the contest. It was fun to participate in and look forward to the next one!
OMG!!! Thank you so much. I can’t believe I actually won the third price
Can’t wait for January.
Thank you Brian, Darren, Laura, Chris, and Lisa! I really appreciate it!
Hey, dudes. Didn’t you get my bribes?
Seriously now, congratulations to the winners. And thanks for the opportunity. ~jon
My blog:
http://www.omnivores.org/tiki/tiki-view_blog.php?blogId=1
why is it ironic that he’s a copywriter? (genuinely don’t understand) Congratulations though.
Congratulations to all! And the winner is truly fabulous. Well done, everyone.
I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m a little disappointed, but after reading through the winners, I can actually say that they all deserved it. Great job!
And thanks so much Brian for hosting this contest!
SCATJ aka Robin
http:scaccesstojustice.wordpress.com
Wow, those were good. And judging them must have took….half of forever. Congrats to the winners!
Not surprisingly, the winner is not a haiku. What can you expect when a person who does not have a faintest clue of what a haiku is holds a haiku contest.
I used to hold very high respect for you, but with this ridiculous contest you lost it all. A professional writer should know what a haiku is (especially a copywriter, considering copywriting is very close to poetry).
Epic fail.
Maija, as I stated in the post, I know what a haiku is, and I purposefully broke the rules.
Mediocre writers follow rules.
@Maija Wow, what a way to attempt to spoil a really fun contest. It got our whole office writing and IMing attempts at Haiku. And, not surprisingly, some broke the 5-7-5 syllable rule. Did that make them less fun? No, not at all. The winning entry won’t be posted in American Poety journals, but the fun we all had will be remembered…
Epic spoilsport.
Congratualtions to all of the winners, and all other entrants. It was very fun to read, and even try to write or compose an entry.
Perhaps my efforts will be worthy of entering in an upcoming contest.
Fiona Fell - The Profit Maximising Web Geek
http://www.FionaFell.com.au
Disappointed at not winning I am. For the winners, in *awe* I am. By the creative outlet this contest provided, thank you.
Congratulations to the winners! Yes, only on Twitter is being stalked a good thing.
Brian,
Great fun. Thanks for opening this up for submissions. Haiku has a way of reaching for the heart. It would be great if you’d list all the entries as a .doc for downloading, just for the fun of it. What say ye?
I’m thrilled! Thank you very much–and thanks for all the kind words to all the Haikuers!
kj