Ways that the iPhone contest has changed how I interact with OML

I think the other items on the list really fall under this umbrella. When I joined OML (back in the misty times of a week ago), it was a fun community where I could goof off and make a few virtual friends. Now I find myself looking on other users as rivals in a race for popularity.

Now when I see a list on the homepage that looks interesting, I hesitate before clicking, because I know I'm giving a virtual vote to somebody else looking for the big prize.

As an example, this morning I jotted down notes for this list on a pad on the way to work. I want my lists to be really good, and I'm sure that pressure makes them less so.

Ashamed as I am to admit it, it's there. I had an idea for a list the other day that I thought might be really good, and when I got to the site and found somebody else had already done almost the same thing, I was really upset! It's like OML has become a popularity contest, and we know how well I do in those (see link above)

Minor though it is, the pressure to make popular lists to win the contest has brought more worry, stress, and tension into my life. That, I didn't need.