Saturday, June 12, 2010

The Top 10 DJs in Second Life's Gay Scene

Following on from my list of the Ten Coolest Gay Clubs in Second Life, I decided to investigate another major factor that makes a club great: the DJs. I didn't want to make this an easily rigged popular vote so I decided to go with a peer voting system.

A famous example of a peer voted award is the Oscars. Movie industry professionals recognize the achievements of their fellows at the Academy Awards.

There's no Academy of Disc Jockey Arts & Sciences in Second Life, so I tracked down 193 DJs to survey and collated the results.

Voting was close, with the exception of the number one DJ, so several people tied for a certain number of votes. I decided to make these equal place getters, so we have ended up with 16 people in the top ten list.

Without further ado, here are the top DJs in the gay grid (followed by their DJ name and fan group):

Equal tenth place:
Equal ninth place:
Equal eighth place:
Equal seventh place:
Sixth place:
Fifth place:
Equal fourth place:
Third place:
Second place:
First place:
As I mentioned above, DJ InsyX was far ahead of the pack in the voting tally, which is a measure of the high regard in which he is held by the DJ community.

Congratulations, InsyX, and to all in top ten positions!

Finally I'd like to mention the following runners up, each of whom attracted a significant number of votes: Arcangelo Hellmann, Atreyu Witrial, Blaise Pooley, Braden Darkstone, Bren Betts, Esmiel Posthorn, Jarrod Fitzpatrick, Queen Edman, Ralphy Triellis, Romeo Reardon, Rylan Sirnah, Kadie Pinkenba and Scary Jester.

34 comments:

  1. i totally disagree with this list, no offense to anyone but i only find parts of this to be true, so shame to who voted

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  2. Anonymous, I surveyed almost 200 DJs so I don't think the results can be dismissed peremptorily. Do you have any specific objections?

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  3. Congratulations Jago on publishing a survey that few (including myself) would be willing to do. And I can tell everyone Jago spent many hours this week hunting down the DJ's on the gay club scene and tallying their votes. My advice to anyone who things that some names should have had more votes than they did is to leave a comment here to that effect.

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  4. the real top ten is everyone from number seven down lol

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  5. Thanks, Eddi!

    Anonymous, in a sense you're correct, but I personally felt that it was impossible to split DJs who received an equal number of votes.

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  6. I am both shocked and honored by this. There are so many good DJs on this list and the runner ups list. Just to be listed with them is a blessing. The real number one winners are the party goers that get to hear all the fantastic music sets the DJs bring forth. :)

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  7. I would like to thank everyone. I am not sure how I made it into the top Ten but I am very honored.

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  8. I've only noticed the absence of well known djs like Kito Kyong, Sascha Laval, Heloq Tomsen, Samuel Fallen and other europeans....

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  9. InsyX, it's a well-deserved recognition!

    Vanyel, congratulations!

    Karl, those particular names were surveyed and some of them did quite well, but fell below the cut-off for the 'runners up' section unfortunately.

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  10. Talk about being humbled...I love what I do, just never have much time for more than a set or two a week. Its truly an honor to be able to play music and have so many wonderful friends here. I don't have any account to log into to post this but its Rocket Jefferson here so it will show up annonymously.

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  11. I'm thrilled to be sharing the #9 spot on Jago's survey. And so...without further ado..*takes out his speech* ...I'd like to thank to the academy, the people who voted for me, my hairdresser, the lady who emailed me the recipe for Neiman Marcus' chocolate chip cookies, all the fabulous peeps who make my sets so much fun, and the paparazzo who took all those nekkid pix of Brad Pitt back in the day.

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  12. Just wondering who (what group of people) you asked for voting, since many of us who go to hear several of these awesome djs never knew about this until the results were published.

    This is in no way a complaint, rather a question of who the voters were...was it a chosen panel or random guys-off-the-SL-streets and how many got to vote? If you do this again, would there be a way to get in on the voting action?

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  13. Rocket, congratulations!

    Merrick, LOL and congrats!

    Ima, the voters were all DJs themselves. I surveyed 193 in total. I chose not to go with a survey of the general population or a panel because I thought DJs would offer an expert opinion.

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  14. I feel really honored to be ranked so high. Thanks for all your votes everyone and for the pole Jago. You put a lot of work into this!

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  15. Are you really going to do the 10 biggest sluts on the gay scene next or was that a joke?

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  16. Impressive work, Jago! Having the DJs do the voting was an excellant idea and makes it more interesting about who scored highest. Thanks for all the hours you put into this.

    Congratulations to my friends, InsyX, Kaj, Merrick, Dehrynn, Blaise and Esmiel!!

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  17. The biggest sluts on the gay scene lol
    Ziggy runs for cover....

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  18. Kaj, thanks and congratulations :)

    Eddi, can you send me your phone book so I can get started on that?

    Ima, thankyou :)

    Ziggy, LOL!

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  19. Yes! Congrats everyone! Wow #2! I am really really shocked! It really means a lot more when your fellow DJ's think so highly of you. Congrat to Insyx and everyone else! It's all about having fun and enjoying the music you love to spin, create, and party with! :) -Shep

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  20. I agree with ANON. The Top 10 DJ's are really 7th place to 1st place. DJ's must be evaluated both by their craft, their interaction with the public, and their day in/day out public professionalism. I think a few, but surely not all, characters below 7th place act more often as a net liability to the SL experience. We must also remember, many fans specifically avoid this list, as they enjoy experiences that are more personal and raw. Congradulations to all. I think it was a well done survey. There are only a few outliers I would disagree with.

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  21. To Anonymous who wrote this: "I think a few, but surely not all, characters below 7th place act more often as a net liability to the SL experience". I have to disagree.

    Everyone who was mentioned in these articles, and the runner-ups (which Jago should have called runner-ups and up and coming DJ's) is good in their craft in one way or another. They would not have been mentioned by their peers if they were not.

    And they certainly are not a liability to the SL experience, each of them has a loyal fan base which appreciates the time they spent entertaining others.

    I can honestly say hands out the DJ's of Second Life are some of the finest and most committed Second Lifers out there, and congratulations to those of you mentioned who are finally get the mention you deserve.

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  22. Shep, thanks for the comment and congratulations :)

    Anon, thanks for the comment! I'm not sure of the grounds for some DJs being considered a liability so I won't comment except to say that I expect negative and positive aspects would be taken into account by the other DJs when voting so the top ranked in the list should be some of the more professional and positive :)

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  23. You asked DJs to nominate other Djs, which results in skewed, subjective, and statistically meaningless responses.

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  24. The only liabilities I see in this discussion are the "Anonymous" critics who lack the courage to stand publicly behind their comments. I salute the Anonymous party poopers, one finger at a time. Now, let's all chill out and support SL's gay clubs. We're all on the same side.

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  25. Anonymous, I'm sorry that you're so disappointed by the results.

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  26. Although we value our general fans and various party goers opinions since we are playing for them to make them feel great, we also have our idols and are idols of others within our peers. To me this contest is not viewed just as who is the best DJs amongst our peers, but it is also who alot of our peers look up to, yet at the same time everyone putting their own spin on the profession.

    Those that are ranked high on this survey results know, or will start, being a great asset to many new DJs that come into the business. I for one started because I heard people like Wesley, Erik Rimbald, and other DJs 3 years plus ago that made me like the idea of Djing. If it was not for my love of music, helping people have a good time and DJs who started before me influence I would not have been in this line of work.

    No matter the rank amongst the peers, we all have a duty to be there for each of the new DJs that step out of that SL starting portal. As well as continuing being there for he DJs that are great now yet are younger than us in the profession. At the same time we must keep an open mind and lern from the new guys too, since they have the spirit to continue letting our profession grow beyond our years. I started before Kaj, Sasch, DaddyAdam, Tomtom and many others. They have asked me for advice and I was there for them every step of the way. However, i have learned a lot from them as much as I have from people that started before me. That is why it is an honor to be held in high esteem within "The Family." If other DJs view other DJs in this light then everyone here deserves to be on this list period!

    That in a nutshell is what this survey means to me. There is no number one DJ or number 100...There is only what the party people and their smiles and coming away with a good time that counts. For that I think this is a great survey and hats off to Jago for doing it :)

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  27. I'm not disappointed. I couldn't care less one way or another. I'm just pointing out that friends nominating their friends is a meaningless exercise.

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  28. The same could be said of any survey-based methodology. That's why I polled 193 DJs and asked them to nominate five each.

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  29. Can we please just add "Anonymous" to the Honorable Mention catagory and give him/her a lollipop? I mean...I know he's/ she's "not disapponted" and "couldn't care less one way or another" ... but really, I can't spend all my time fretting over the bruised ego of a sulking Anonymous DJ, because I have to go rig the voting for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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  30. All egotistic nonsence - who gives a flying f..k who the best are????? as long as we all have a good time and enjoy music we can dance to...... some listed cant even get jobs as a DJ in RL so lets not knock them LOL LOL

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  31. Jago, I'd really like to thank and congratulate you on the evident success of this survey. You're methodology, integrity, and conclusions have taken more than a few hits -- from Anonymous critics who claim to have no interest in SL's GLBT DJ's in general or the "real Top 10" in particular. If ambivalence is anything to go by, then the lively 30+ comments your survey has logged (so far) indicate a resounding success and a job well done, because eveyone and their manicurist seems to have an opinion. For my own part, I'm really honored to be anywhere on this list, let alone sharing 9th place with a deserving colleague. Finally, to all the Anonymous critics out there who reject these results, I invite you to attend one of my sets and critique me directly after any of my shows. Constructive criticism and advice is always preferable to anonymous, and let's be honest: cowardly bitching behind a veil of secrecy.

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  32. I'm too busy downloading music, Djing and helping my friends to comment here, but thanks to thoes who voted for me

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  33. congrats to all the winners guys!!! I am Dj Hotboy in second life i did not place but oh well lol...I enjoyed what i do in Sl and congrats to my dj baby Nash Gearhead WooT..and all the rest

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  34. Congrats to InsyX and everyone in the top 10 :D esp big hugs to Gregster too.. He's a mate and a great DJ xx WD Jago hon

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