Over at JavaLobby they are starting a new program called NIKO. The top three posts each day are going to win some cash. I've read in a couple places that people think this is a bad idea. I disagree and I'll explain why.

First, we are not talking about very large sums of money. The top prize each day is only $50. I don't think that is going to drastically change blogs in that community. The prize amounts sound to me as though that are at a perfect place. It is just enough to encourage people but not enough incentive for people to abuse the system.

Second, people that spend the time and energy to put together really good posts each day are going to be rewarded. If this program improves the quality of posts in that Java community's blogs even a little bit it is a good thing.

A summary of the NIKO program is explained by Rick Ross:


In short, with our NIKO program we are going to begin offering a cash bounty and front-page recognition to the members who submit the best new content postings each day. At Javalobby, for example, we are going to award $50 to the first-place NIKO winner each day, $30 to the second-place winner, and $20 to the third-place winner. Good content is valuable, and we feel it is in the best interests of the entire community for that value to be recognized and acknowledged in concrete ways. All three of each day's NIKO winners will have their pictures shown in a new section on the Javalobby home page along with links to their personal profiles and their winning stories. We'd like it to be a place of honor, and while nobody is going to get rich on $50 a day, we hope the money won't be too unpleasant either!