ASHLAND, Ore., Feb. 7, 2008 — With less than 24 hours remaining in the inaugural round of the Iron WebMaster competition, two designers were neck and neck. In the end, Cynthia Nord of Indianapolis surged ahead to win Round 1 with the help of her fans. She and other contestants are already hard at work on Round 2.
WebRing, Inc., a pioneer in Internet social networking, launched the Iron WebMaster competition this January to much enthusiasm. Over 50 competitors signed up, but only 14 were able to meet the short deadline, many citing that they didn't have enough time to complete their entries.
Loosely based on the formats of hit shows like "Iron Chef" and "American Idol," the Iron WebMaster competition is composed of 5 rounds occurring over a 14 week period. Competitors are encouraged to join the contest at the start of any round. "We intentionally made the design phase of each round short. It's definitely challenging and keeps the competition lively," says Tim Killeen, President of WebRing, Inc.
Round 1 challenged amateur and professional Web designers alike to create a Web developer profile. After each competitor uploaded their entries, the voting phase began. Both public and "celebrity" judges then rushed to rate each site based on how well the entries followed the rules of the round and how well their profiles presented their abilities as Web designers. Now that the round has closed, all the entries are housed on Iron WebMaster and serve as their profiles for the remainder of the competition.
"We're thrilled with the turnout," says Killeen. "We're looking forward to Round 2, where the theme is Valentine's Day. A number of new competitors have joined this round. We've taken a sneak peek at some of the completed entries and they have us excited!" In addition, Killeen notes how invaluable the current sponsors, CoffeeCup and PuzzleProz to name a few, have been in making the competition a success and welcomes other sponsors to join in the fun.
For more information regarding the Iron WebMaster competition, including themes for upcoming rounds, visit or contact Tim Killeen at Email or (541) 488-9895.
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