The end of 2012 marked many things (remember the fiscal cliff?), and among them was the conclusion of the year’s NASPP Question of the Week Contest. For those of you who are asking “What’s the Question of the Week Contest?”, it’s a weekly quiz challenge designed for stock plan professionals to test their know-how in a variety of areas, while competing against their peers. There’s a new question each week, and a correct answer earns points.
And the Winners Are…
A big congrats to screen name alias edodge for coming out on top of our 2012 contest, with a score of 410. The screen names of the top 5 scorers are:
- edodge (410 points)
- mamaandmore (400 points)
- Flower power121 (395 points)
- DMekwunye (370 points)
- CEP 1001 (365 points)
What’s in a Name?
In reviewing the scores from last year’s challenge, I couldn’t help but observe the originality of some of the screen names users are deploying in our contest. It seems nothing was off limits, from the range of “equity” and “stock” possibilities (Equidude, StockPrincess, Stockmonster, Stock Diva and so on) to a few that would probably require a happy hour and some time to explain. Some of my favorite screen names are:
- Cabanaboy
- honey badger don’t care
- InCaseIFlunk
- Stockless in Seattle
- Guido
- RU Crazy
- Emily’s Tutu
I’m not suggesting that I understand what any of these screen names mean, but they did bring a smile or a laugh.
Play, Outwit, Outlast!
Are you missing out on the fun? Can out outwit your fellow stock plan professionals in a contest? We’ve just reset scores and this week’s challenge starts a whole new contest, so this is the perfect time for NASPP members to sign up, create your screen alias and jump into the Question of the Week Contest. We leave all of January’s questions active for the entire month, so you have plenty of time to complete the first quizzes of the new game. Answers to the quizzes are found within any of the content on our web site, so if you don’t know one right off the bat, you can search our site. It’s a great way to test and hone your knowledge, week after week!
Stump Your Peers
If you really want to take the game to a new level, our Stump Your Peers feature allows you to submit your own question and answer for one of the weekly quizzes. You’ll get the credit, and, you can still take the quiz that week, giving you the advantage (since you’ll know the answer).
Membership
The weekly quizzes are only available to NASPP members, so renew or join today!
Best of luck to everyone in 2013.
-Jennifer
Tags: Question of the Week, question of the week challenge
Last year, over 500 NASPP members registered to play the NASPP Question of the Week Challenge, which ranks your equity compensation prowess against that of your peers’. The challenge is now complete for 2010 and a champion has emerged.
The Power of Flowers
The number one ranked contender in the Question of the Week Challenge is Flower power 121, with a score of 310 points out of a possible 330.
Coming in close behind and tied for second place are gonefishin and SNOWPEA, with 275 points each. Ranked third is AMC35, with 270 points.
(You didn’t think I was going to post the actual name of the winners, did you? We promised anonymity to all players–that’s the reason for the screen names. I could tell you the names, but then I’d have to kill you and I don’t want to lose any blog readers.)
What’s in a Name?
Not only are the challenge participants a pretty smart bunch, but they are also very clever when it comes to screen names. Color me impressed (speaking as someone who doesn’t have an eBay account because I can’t think up a clever enough name).
In the category of stock compensation related names, my favorites are Bob: Maximum Supreme Commander, Equity Department; Got Equity?; and Sleepless in Stock Plan Admin. Land; with an honorable mention to Equity Ed.
Register for the 2011 Challenge
The NASPP’s “Question of the Week” challenge allows you to compete against your peers and colleagues (and sworn enemies) in feats of intellectual strength and skill. You are pitted against the finest in the profession to see how your expertise stacks up–and learn in the process.
Each week a new question is posted; you get ten points for each question you answer correctly. Your score is then ranked against all of the other players to see how you compare. But don’t worry, the rankings are on an anonymous basis–you choose your screen name when you register to play–so no one will know your score but you.
The challenge begins anew for 2011! If you didn’t play in 2010, choose your screen name now so you can play this year (if you played in 2010, don’t re-register–keep playing under the same screen name so we can compute your all-time score). Don’t wait–we’ll leave all the questions up for the month of January, but beginning in February, if you miss a week, you miss out on the full points for that week’s question.
Time Has Run Out!
All NASPP memberships expire on a calendar-year basis–if you haven’t already, renew your membership for 2011 today.
Got Questions on Section 6039?
We have answers! Submit your questions now for the next webcast in the NASPP’s Ask the Experts series, “Last Chance to Ask Questions About Section 6039 Returns,” and our experts will address them during the webcast on February 3.
NASPP “To Do” List
We have so much going on here at the NASPP that it can be hard to keep track of it all, so I keep an ongoing “to do” list for you here in my blog.
– Barbara
Tags: question of the week challenge