Start the Year Right With the DZone 2017 Kickoff Contest

With a new year comes a new DZone contributor contest. This time, we’ll be focusing on our brand-new Security Zone. Today through Feb 12th, we'll be tracking the pageviews received by each piece of original content published on DZone. The top 10 contributors whose article(s) receive the most views over the course of the month will receive prizes. We’ll also be offering weekly rewards for more chances to win!

How to Win

There are two ways to win: by winning one of the weekly prizes, or by winning the monthly prize. Each week, we’ll be giving prizes to the three contributors with the most pageviews on content written during that week.

The weekly prizes are:

• First Place: A $50 Amazon gift card

• Second Place: A $25 Amazon gift card

• Third Place: A $25 Amazon gift card

At the end of the month, the top ten contributors with the most cumulative pageviews on content published during the entire four weeks will also receive prizes.

The monthly prizes are:

• First Place: A $250 Amazon gift card

• Second Place: A $200 Amazon gift card

• Third Place: A $150 Amazon gift card

• Fourth Place: A $125 Amazon gift card

• Fifth Place: A $100 Amazon gift card

• Sixth Place: A $75 Amazon gift card

• Seventh–Tenth Place: A $50 Amazon gift card

The contest will run from Monday, January 16th through Sunday, February 12th.

The Kicker!

For the entire month, content posted to our new Security Zone will count for 2X pageviews. Each week, a second Zone will also count for double the pageviews. The multipliers for each week are the following:

• Week 1: Cloud (January 16th - 22nd)

• Week 2: IoT (January 23rd - 29th)

• Week 3: DevOps (January 30th - February 5th)

• Week 4: Big Data (February 6th – 12th)

Only content published during the contest time frame will count toward the pageview totals. At any time, you can view the contest standings on our Leaderboard.

A Few More Rules:

• Only articles that are "DZone Originals" will count toward pageview totals. That means that syndicated content does NOT count. That also means that posts copied directly from your blog or website and then submitted to DZone do NOT count.

• All articles MUST be submitted by the author—no exceptions! 

• All articles must follow the DZone Article Submission Guidelines, particularly regarding proper English grammar and spelling.

• All contestants must be registered as DZone members and have a complete profile. By "complete profile," we mean it must have the following: username, bio, current email address, and a photo attached to your account.

• At the end of the contest, before issuing prizes, all finalists will be reviewed for eligibility, including a review for pageview gaming and unauthorized content re-syndication.

The winners will be announced on February 14th, 2017. We'll be posting and emailing the current standings once a week until the last day of the contest. You can also view our Leaderboard at any time. 

Our editorial team will be working to ensure all contest entries are published in a timely manner. Please be patient and allow for a turnaround time of three to five business days. Remember: the cleaner your writing, the faster your article will be posted.

If you have any questions, email me at kristenp@dzone.com or leave a comment. Good luck!