This morning the landscape of the Top 10 in NameCheap’s Twitter contest changed with @haggaret dethroning @b10m from his twelve-day reign in the number-one spot. As of Dec. 22 i have 19 wins ($184) on a 16-day streak, and am in solid contention for the one of the iPod prizes. This is part 3 in my collection of tips for winning domain registrations in NameCheap’s Twitter contest [see part 1 and part 2].

The Other Half

Yesterday i covered strategies for seeing the question as fast as possible. Today is all about tweeting the quickest answer for the first-place win. Because this is a game with so many variables involved, it’s impossible to guarantee anything; and being trivia, knowing or finding answers is the biggest variable. This half of the equation is so complex because so many things have to come together to post the first correct answer. These tricks simply quicken the things over which you do have control.

The Answer

1. Prepare your tweet.
2. Use multiple windows.
3. Copy, don’t type.
4. Use keyboard shortcuts.

First things first. Every correct reply in this game has one thing in common: they must include @NameCheap followed by the answer. So the obvious thing to do is have that typed out ahead of time. I prepare mine in the minute or so before each hour. We just eliminated typing out @NameCheap.

But “where do you type it?” you ask. To which i reply, “you mean you’re not using another window to tweet your answer?” I use Twitterrific (for Mac) which is a Twitter program that floats above all other windows [the TwitterFox extension for Firefox is similar but i have not used it]. That means no matter what page or tab i’m looking at in my browser, Twitterrific is always ready to post the answer. Another plus is that there is no button — you just type and hit Enter, which is another reason i’d advocate against using Twitter’s web interface. We just eliminated switching windows and clicking the reply button.

The majority of the time you won’t know the answer, so let’s assume you have to look it up. The key here is how you invoke the search. Typing is slow and prone to error, so i suggest selecting the text provided in the question. From this point there are several ways to go — the most obvious being to copy and paste into the browser’s search bar, or perhaps use a right-click menu option to search. But i use the Ubiquity extension for Firefox to trigger a Google search (Alt+Space on the keyboard, and type go for Google). It remembers your last typed command, so that’s another thing you can do ahead of time. Keyboard shortcuts will almost always be faster because you are using both hands at the same time (mouse in one hand, keys with the other). [Interesting side note — for the whole first half of this contest i was just using my MacBook Pro's built-in keyboard and trackpad, and i somehow managed to stay competitive without a mouse by using keyboard shortcuts.] Ubiquity can open an inline window and show search results in the same page, or you can hit Enter to go to a new tab with a regular results page. We just eliminated typing, right-clicking, copy/pasting, and switching tabs for searching.

Don’t forget to use keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste when retrieving and posting your answer. Unless you know the answer immediately or it is short (a number, or True or False, for example), copy/paste is quicker and safer than typing. I’ve lost several first-places due to mistyping and having to backspace and correct. There is no credit for misspelled or incorrect answers, even if they are first. We just eliminated typing and typo corrections.

A Few More Tips

The point of all that is to hopefully shave enough seconds from the whole process that you can answer before anyone else. Here are a few more things to keep in mind. Take the time to fully read and understand the question. If you quickly scan it and start searching, you may end up going after the wrong answer. I have done that several times. Sometimes the question is oddly phrased or uses words that don’t produce useful search results. This is where understanding the question helps, so you can get the search going in the right direction. For example, if the question involves a movie i’ll generally head to IMDb, or to Wikipedia if it involves a specific person or date. They’ll usually be at the top of Google’s results anyway, but sometimes you have to coach it a little bit. By the way, Ubiquity can search IMDb, Wikipedia, and many others just by typing the name — it’s pretty quick.

That’s all i can think of for now. Don’t forget: the How To Win Screencast is coming soon. Follow @miahz.

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