Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where do the stories on ShowHype come from?

ShowHype stories come from two sources — users and the ShowHype content engine. ShowHype tracks thousands of entertainment blogs, then analyzes each post for relevance and influence. Users can also submit a link to a story that they've found or write their own article on ShowHype.

2. How do stories make it to the home page?

The home page displays the most popular stories, as determined by links and votes. Once an article or video gets linked or submitted as a story on ShowHype, we track how much Hype it has by counting votes, links, and comments. As a story gets older, we discount its Hype score to keep the content fresh.

3. How do I submit stories on ShowHype?

There are two ways to submit stories on ShowHype. First, from almost any page, click on the Submit a Story button to share a link to a video, podcast, or article. If it's already been submitted by someone else, you'll be able to comment or hype it up.

4. Are there rules about what kind of content or language is okay to post?

Please keep the language PG-13, especially in story titles when you submit a post to ShowHype. Other bloggers use our content widgets to automatically display top ShowHype stories on their sites, and their readers might not be as comfortable with cussin' as we are. And obviously, abide by the Terms of Service, which ask you nicely to not post or write anything that is "obscene, racist, defamatory, abusive, threatening, libelous, or violates the intellectual property or other rights of a third party."

5. Can I write a blog on ShowHype?

Yes. Just click on the Submit a Story button, select the entertainment category for your post, and click on the ShowHype Original button. When you've finished writing, you can preview before publishing, and after you publish, you'll have 15 minutes to edit or delete your story. From your user profile page, you can view your submissions in blog format and share that link with others if you want.

6. How do I keep track of how my story submissions are doing?

Two options:

1. From your profile page, click on the Activity link in the right sidebar to view all of the stories you've submitted, voted on, and commented on.
2. You can add your story submissions to the Dashboard. Click on the Customize button, select My Profile, and choose the My Submissions widget.

7. I have an entertainment blog. How do I find out whether my blog is being tracked by ShowHype?

Enter the name of your blog in the search box in the header. You can also enter the name of the show or category that you write about, and then click on the "Blogs" link in the right hand sidebar.

8. How do I get my blog tracked by ShowHype?

Just send us a message with the URL of your blog and we'll check it out.

9. What does it mean to claim a blog?

Claiming a blog is when you verify to ShowHype that you are the rightful owner of a blog that we are tracking. Once you've verified that you own the blog, you have the option of receiving notifications when your posts are submitted, voted, or commented on by others. See the blog rankings page for examples of claimed blogs.

How to claim your blog:

1. Find your blog profile page on ShowHype by entering the name in the search box.
2. Click on the Claim Blog button at the top of the page.
3. Follow the instructions to verify that you're the owner — we generate a bit of code for you to drop onto your home page. It's invisible so it won't mess up your template.
4. Once you've claimed your blog, set your notification preferences — the link is under your avatar on your blog profile page.

10. Can I submit my own blog posts to ShowHype?

Yes, please do! We encourage you to submit your best stories (since we all have off days) and to also hype up other people's work. Either vote for them if they've already been submitted, or if you're the first to come across a great story, hype it up! Surfacing quality content for the community is what will attract new readers to the site and your own future posts. The entire community of readers and bloggers benefit, and besides, helping other bloggers out is the nice thing to do, and people notice.

11. Are there posting widgets?

Yes - in the footer of the site there are links for Browser Shortcuts and Tools for Bloggers.

12. What is ShowHype's policy regarding external nofollow links?

In general, we try to pass along link-love to all of our tracked blogs and other trusted entertainment sites. However, if a site has a Google PageRank of 0, we will use nofollow links until the site gets to a PageRank of 1 or more. We're happy to help you get from 1 to 5, but you'll need to get to 1 on your own.

13. How do I view stories for my favorite stars or shows?

First find the shows that you want to set as favorites by entering their names into the search box in the header. Then click on the Add as Favorite button at the top of the page.

You now have two options for viewing stories about your favorite shows:

1. From any page on the site, your profile sidebar gives you quick access to your friends, groups, and favorites. You can click on a single show or star's name, or the View Details link next to your favorites from this sidebar to access content related to all of your favorites.
2. You can add Favorites widgets to the Dashboard. Click on the Customize button, select My Favorites, and choose which pieces of content related to your favorites that you want to display.

14. How do I make someone a friend on ShowHype?

Click on any user name link or profile from a story or enter a user name into the search box in the header. On the profile page, click on the Add as a Friend button next to the ShowHype stat sheet to send them a request. If they accept, you will both show up in each other's Friend lists.

15. How do I view stories submitted by my friends?

You have two options for viewing what your friends have submitted and hyped up:

1. From any page on the site, your profile sidebar gives you quick access to your friends, groups, and favorites. You can click on any of the avatars to get to that user's profile page, or the View Details link to access content from all of your friends on one page.
2. You can add Friend widgets to the Dashboard. Click on the Customize button and select My Favorites. For Friends: Stories or Friends: Stories Hyped, you can choose whether to view content from any or all of your friends.

16. How do I send messages to my friends?

From a user's profile page, you can leave a public sticky note or send a private message. Use the buttons at the top of the page next to the ShowHype stat sheet.

17. What's the difference between sticky note and private message?

Sticky notes can be read by anyone. Private messages can only be viewed from a user's inbox or from their email, if they've set a preference to have their messages forwarded.

18. How do I check for new messages?

In the top right corner of the header, there is a link for My Inbox. If you have any new messages since you last logged in, you will get an alert posted next to this link.

19. What are Groups?

Groups are simply a way for any number of ShowHype users to get together to talk about entertainment. Anyone can create a new group and designate it as public, private or closed. Closed groups show up in the Groups list but require an invitation from the administrator to join. Group members have a shared forum, can view each other's activity on the site, and compare their game picks rankings.

20. How do I know if there's a new message posted to a group forum?

You can set preferences to receive alerts in your ShowHype Inbox or your email. For any group you belong to, click on the group home page, then on the Notification Options link in the right sidebar. For both email and ShowHype Inbox, you can choose from no alerts, immediate delivery, or daily digest.

21. How are Contributor and Commenter rankings determined?

Your Contributor score is based on how many stories you've submitted and how many up votes they receive. Submitting stories from a variety of sites is rewarded with an extra boost. The Commenter score is based on how many comments you've posted and how many up votes they receive. Both the Top Contributor and Top Commenter rankings are weighted more for recent activity.

22. How are points awarded for Pop Quiz?

Next to each question is the Pop Quiz Factor (PQF). Points are awarded based on how many people pick each answer. You get more points for picking upsets. Each person who picked an incorrect choice gets -1 x PQF. All of the losing points are then added together, along with a bonus Pop Quiz Factor, and divvied up among the winners.

So if a question with PQF of 10 is answered by two people and they both pick the correct option, they each get PQF 10/2 = 5 points. If one of them had picked the right answer and the other had not, the loser would get -1 x 10 = -10 points, and the winner would get 10+10 = 20 points.