As we cross the 500 question mark, my win streak extends to 15 days, with 18 total wins worth $175. This is part 2 in my collection of tips for winning domain registrations in NameCheap’s Twitter contest [see part 1].

This is my Strategy

As i said before, the only way to ensure a win is by submitting the first correct answer for a question. That means speed. The fastest answers post less than 10 seconds after the question is published. I break it down like this: first, you need to see the question as soon as possible. Then, you need to be able to post your answer as fast as possible. I’ll talk about the first one today.

Quick Question

I view the questions (and search for answers) in Firefox. In order to make sure i see questions as soon as they post, i eliminate everything i can that might add delay. I load only @NameCheap’s profile page, not my home page on Twitter where everyone else’s tweets are also loaded. I turn off image loading in Firefox, because all i’m after on the web page is the question, which is text — don’t need images. I also turn off JavaScript in Firefox’s Preferences because Twitter does all kinds of stuff with scripts, some on third-party sites, which can really lag page loading.

Update: as quasihellfish mentioned in the comments, the Mobile version of NameCheap’s Twitter profile is actually a much better way to achieve the same effect as turning off images and scripts in the browser. It’s a stripped-down version of the page intended for light mobile devices so there are no scripts and a minimum of images. Perfect.  If you go this route, you can disregard the browser settings in the previous paragraph.

Your computer and what’s running on it can have a big affect on how responsive it is; similarly, Firefox can get sluggish being open for a while with too many tabs and windows open. Short of upgrading your computer, try a reboot and start your browser fresh. I’m curious if anybody uses some Twitter client or something else to view the questions.

Don’t forget about the social/environmental conditions. This is Twitter after all — one of the most popular social web sites alive, and it’s not without its problems. During peak hours, traffic can slow the site; late at night/early in the morning fewer competitors are awake.

Having an accurate clock is crucial. As soon as the clock flips on the hour, i start hitting reload in Firefox [F5 key]. The answer to the previous question tweets first and the new question of the hour immediately follows. Again, if your clock is not synchronized and is off by even a few seconds, you might be losing precious seconds on your reaction time. The question generally lands within 3 seconds of the hour.

Updates:
Forgot to mention that i have Cuckoo installed on my MacBook Pro to chime every hour on the hour. It’s just one more thing to aid in timing.
If you have lots of extra programs or services running on your computer that might be sapping processing power or may interrupt things, exit or disable them if possible.
Again, the goal is to minimize anything that will increase the time it takes you to see the question.

I’m gonna be posting the other half of my winning strategy, as well as the How To Win Screencast coming in a few days. Now go play!

[Part 1 | This is Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4]