aricartt wrote:Double-take derbys because there is a difference between voting and buying; and woot has a healthy appreciation for that difference. The EC's just give the pickers for the dailies a better pool to choose from. I would almost guarantee that the only reason either one of those things exists is because they add revenue in the long run. Your idealism is cute, but that's about all its good for. The only way in which art comes into woots business model is insofar as it allows them to have better shirts then the sites you mentioned. Thats as far as it ever goes.
So why did they print yesterday's 300-copy special?
Fact is that woot's silence makes it impossible to state one way or another, but I have every reason to believe woot, deep down, cares more about the shirts than the profit. C'mon now, what kind of nitwit starts a SHIRT company to get rich quick, right? Selling $10 American Apparel tees, giving out a grand just for printing, no matter how little you sell... sounds like an incredibly foolish business model to me if all they care about is money.
I've been here a while, and I've seen a LOT of absolute hogwash happen without woot batting an eye, yet I still think that despite being highly misguided, woot, in its heart, wants something better than this, and cares about more than sales. You can call it naive or "cute," but it's entirely possible that I've simply seen enough evidence between that radio silence they maintain to believe they do care, even if their inaction often says the opposite.
billratio wrote:Where does it say that this is an art contest? Is it not just a t-shirt design contest? I am honestly asking this question and would like to know the answer. Is it not acceptable to vote for a shirt because you think it is the best t-shirt design, even though it might not look the best hanging as an oil painting on your wall?
Where does it say design should be free of art? To me they should be inextricably entwined. Design without artistry is just organization, and no one has ever asked for your mother's impeccably organized silverware drawer for gallery work.
Further, where does it say a t-shirt cannot be art, and to that end, where does it say art must be an oil painting? Do a little search on someone like Glennz, who has made a mint off clever, often pop-culture based pieces which transcend normal pop culture for the sheer quality of idea. There is art to a solidly designed and conceived piece, even if it's not "gallery" work. A shirt is a far different canvas. To the same end, though, the shirt canvas shouldn't be discounted as a place for printworthy art and left for the dregs.
Nowhere does it say this MUST be an art site. But why waste potential?
