Tips on Tips: Why Videogum Doesn’t Use Your Tips and When It Does, Not Give You Credit for Them

“None of my tips to tips@videogum.com are accepted!”
1) Make sure it’s not too old or doesn’t already have too many views. The less obscure and the less “fresh” it is, the less likely Gabe will use it.
2) If you saw it on one of these sites, I wouldn’t bother. Gabe reads these sites too, and if it’s there, he’s already seen it.
http://thedailywh.at/
http://www.dlisted.com/
http://arbroath.blogspot.com/
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/
Huffington Post
Anything Buzzfeed Media related.
3) Is this Videogum-ish? If it’s cruel or mean, it’s probably not right for Videogum. If it doesn’t match the spirit of the site, it’s probably not a good fit.
4) Videogum generally no longer uses tips about Juggalos.
5) Has this already been used on Videogum? Do a quick search of the site if you’re not sure.
6) It’s helpful if you make your e-mail helpful. Give a specific URL for your link; include a brief description. If it only gets funny four minutes in, say so.
7) Realize that your success rate is probably going to be pretty small. There are only so many posts per week, so a good tip might not get used simply because Gabe was focusing on something better. Of my last 40 tips, only four have been used + credited to me. Which brings me to…

“I sent a tip to Videogum, it was used, but I never got credit for it!”
1) Maybe it was a mistake. Send a note to tips@videogum.com and ask about it.
2) Are you sure you sent it as a tip to tips@videogum.com? If you simply posted it on Twitter or Facebook or in the comments, there may be no attribution coming.
3) Maybe the Videogum post was already in the pipeline. That is, Gabe had already seen it elsewhere and had it in queue to go before your email came. I think this happens a lot, especially with film trailers. Because a post appears at 2:30 p.m. doesn’t mean it was written at 2:29 p.m.
4) Did you include your name in the e-mail?

Lastly, “I don’t know whether or not to send this in as a tip.”
Why not? Better you send a tip if you're doubtful about it then have the rest of us miss out on a potentially great clip. While my advice above is to hopefully improve your odds, I don’t want to discourage anyone from sending in a great tip.