For the third article in “The Teams of VP” series, we have interviewed one of Virtualpopstar’s older team, the Event Team.
The Event Team, or also known as ET, is a small team whose purpose is to organize and host events and competitions for the members of Virtualpopstar to participate in and enjoy. The team consist of three different roles: hosts, layouters and designers.
The ET’s badge looks like this and if you have any questions about an ET event or ET in general, you can contact a user with that badge.
The Event Team recently hosted applications and will hopefully soon announce who the future ET candidates will be. Until then, you can get to know some of the current Event Team members in this article. If you click on the names to right you will find what Baileyyrosee, Gravitation and Hypoxic answered on some questions regarding their team. Maybe you will learn something new about the team so make sure to read all the interviews!
How long have you been on ET?
I think it’s been about 5 years.
What’s your task in ET?
Layouter, but I also do events.
What does the planning of an event look like?
We normally create a planning forum first to keep track of all ideas & get input and other ideas from all the other members. Then we decide on deadlines & prizes & anything else we might need.
What should you know and prepare for if you aspire to be a member of this team?
Being on the team is extremely fun because you can let your creative side shine through. there is always gonna be some negative reactions but you just have to try to not let it get to you! but on the plus side it is a learning experience and can help you improve your future events!
How much time do you usually spend on this team?
All my time spent logged on is focused on my teams, and a big portion is spent in ET.
What’s the best part about being a member of ET?
Hosting/planning events has always been something I’ve loved to be a part of, even my college degree has a concentration in event planning lol. So it’s really fun to think up new ideas or help be a part of different events/competitions & then seeing how talented and creative everyone on this site is with their entries! But that can also be extremely hard when it comes to having to pick winners lol.
How long have you been on ET?
Since June 2019... I don't remember the exact date.
What’s your task in ET?
My main task is to design (and upload + code prizes made by non-designers), but I tend to help out with other tasks such as voting, announcing winners, sending prizes etc.
What does the planning of an event look like?
I'm not the best person to ask since I don't plan events myself, but it's usually done in a thread specifically made for a certain event in the ET forum section and I do give feedback sometimes.
What should you know and prepare for if you aspire to be a member of this team?
I'd say prepare for being criticized by the community and if you are applying for the host part, make sure you are able to start planning events early so you won't end up stressing too much with finding prizes etc (especially bigger events).
How much time do you usually spend on this team?
It's hard to say since it really depends on what we have going on. Around Christmas for example, I spent a lot of time helping out with the Advent calendar and it was really stressful, but then there are other periods of time when there isn't much to do. I check the ET forum section and our group chat several times a week and that doesn't take a lot of time if I'm not required to do something specific such as make a design or something else.
What’s the best part about being a member of ET?
Before I was a badged designers it was fun to be able to design for a team, even if I didn't get to upload and code myself. Though, it's better now that I can do that myself. Apart from designing, I really like to be helpful, so doing small tasks such as voting for example is nice and I also like the fact that I'm able to have a say in events and competitions! It's also obviously a perk to get free sets, even though I sometimes miss joining the ET competitions.
Anything else about ET you want to share?
There really is no conspiracy going on behind the scenes.
How long have you been on ET?
Honestly cant remember the exact day I was badged but I have found a blog post that was made during my time in bootcamp that dates back to February 2016, so it's been 4 years!
What’s your task in ET?
I'm a host, which basically means I plan, host and vote for winners on a range of events.
What does the planning of an event look like?
It really varies depending on what type of event you are wanting to do! I'll use the example of VPs Next Top Model which is one that I really enjoyed hosting. The idea came from watching maybe a bit too much America's Next Top Model and I wanted to try and replicate that into something that could be done on VP but also wanted to have the way overall winners were determined to be a little different from the normal competition. I planned out what different "photoshoot" themes there would be for that 'season', how many rounds within each season there should be overall and then of course, the amount of winners at each stage. The points system took some tweaking to get right but it meant that users had to take part in a series of competitions in order to have a chance at winning the overall prize. It was fun having a series of competitions that all linked together in attempt to obtain an overall prize and hopefully it will be something that can be brought back in the future!
What should you know and prepare for if you aspire to be a member of this team?
The main thing you should know is to prepare to have fun and be a bit creative, it's always fun to try something different. Of course there is the downside of being apart of the team, which is true of any team really on VP, and that is of course facing criticism for your event/work. That can come in many different forms but being ready to face that is good. Though you are never alone and 9 times out of 10 the criticism is constructive and something that can be used to better improve the event.
How much time do you usually spend on this team?
It really varies depending on the time of year or if theres a "series" of competitions. The busiest time is usually around Christmas when there's the advent calendar and then numerous events crammed into the month in celebration. It's not just the time of year that matters either, the type of event you are hosting also comes in to play. Generally once you have created the concept and main forum you can somewhat relax while the thread is up and entries come in. You need to check through the forum regularly to see if anyone has any queries or has entered incorrectly but that doesn't require a large amount of dedicated time. Whereas if you are hosting an interactive thread you will need to set aside a good couple of hours to just be in the thread playing games and having fun.
What’s the best part about being a member of ET?
Personally I love doing interactive threads with the community and hyping people up for freebies. Especially the Halloween ones as you can really do some ridiculous things and just have a lot of fun with it! I would definitely like to do more in the future for those that haven't gotten to take part!
Anything else about ET you want to share?
As the applications closed at the start of this month I just want to say that I'm excited to see those that will be joining the team and what they can bring! It'll be amazing to have a bunch of fresh faces onboard and I'm excited to work with all of you.