Instant Jury Acquires Onthejury.com

HOBOKEN, NJ September 20, 2010 – Today Instant Jury (www.instantjury.com), the court of public opinion, acquired www.onthejury.com, a similar jury-of-your-peers type website where anonymous users post arguments and have the public jury vote for a winner.

“We are very excited to open up the Instant Jury community to the faithful users of On the Jury,” states Scott Kaufman, Marketing Director for Instant Jury. “We have a special awards system in place for On the Jury users so they can transition to our site’s system without having to start over [accumulating award points].”

Instant Jury awards points called Jury Credits to its users for completing daily tasks such as leaving comments or voting on cases. The jurors accumulate points and acquire various levels of status to form the Grand Jury on the site’s homepage.

“We are developing new programs with various partners for the Jury Credit system such as a redeemable prize bar and special site privileges based on status,” says Kaufman. “ It will be an interesting study to see if someone is willing to trade-in a social network status for monetary value.”

Instantjury.com has a global user base of 2,500 members and growing.

The Grand Jury : How to Earn Jury Credits 101

Jury Credits are our way of keeping score for those who do their digital civic duty at The Court of Public Opinion. Jury Credits will not only earn you a spot on the Grand Jury but they will also give you some rank among the other jurors.

Levels:

• Citizen: an Instant Jury virgin - 0-49 Credits
• Samaritan: Experienced in the Instant Jury sack. Understands how the parts (of the cases) work - 50 Credits
• Counselor: Banged every case from here to Beijing- 125 Credits
  
• Judge: Master of the IJ Penal System- 175 Credits
• Supreme Court Justice: the highest honor at the Court of Public Opinion: 1000 Credits
  

Do these easy tasks to start earning credits:

Join a Jury = +1 Jury Credit
Comment on a case = +1 Jury Credit (max 1 per case)
First Juror to Join the Jury = +3 Jury Credits
Serve as a Plaintiff or Defendant = +5 Jury Credits
Reaching 100 pt milestones (100, 200, 300 etc) = +10 Jury Credits

Fail to do these tasks and it'll cost ya'!

We take rank seriously so in order to maintain your standing and place among the Grand Jury, you must report regularly or fulfill your commitments or you will lose Jury Credits.

Fail to log in to Instant Jury in a 24 Hour Period= - 1 Jury Credit
Join a Jury but fail to place a vote= -1 Jury Credit

What can I do with my Jury Credits?

Instant Jury is still growing so nothing yet. But wait! We are working on instituting two new rewards for those with ample Jury Credits:

1) Special privileges at each level- judge a case, moderate the message board etc...

2) A prize bar where you can redeem your credits for prizes. Like real prizes and not the rubber monster pencil toppers you used to get for scoring 300 on SkeeBall.

However, we need to reach a certain number of users before we can institute these programs or no one will benefit. That's why we need your help to spread the word about Instant Jury. Tell your friends about cases, tweet out our links, update your facebook status with details about great cases...all of these things help us get more jurors. Sooner or later, you can use your Judge status to rule in favor of your friend as she sues her ex and then treat her to something like Cupcake Stop.com by trading in some credits.

More to come! Please contact us with any suggestions!

Also be on the watch for special contests to earn BIG CREDITS for small tasks.

The Jury Box: A New YouTube Channel

Welcome to The Jury Box, a new YouTube channel dedicated to the jurors of Instant Jury. We'll be using this channel for all sorts of videos... media coverage of Instant Jury, relevant evidence for cases, and of course YOU the JUROR. Check out the first video done by our friend Sean.

Sometimes typing into a comment box makes it difficult to get your point across or your words are misinterpreted by another juror. The Jury Box now makes it possible to comment on any case with video. At Instant Jury, no good deed goes unrewarded so to kick things off, we will be rewarding Jury Credits for all jurors using the new channel.

Post a video about a case = 500 Jury Credits
For every 500 views = 100 Jury Credits

This is a great way for new jurors to collect some jury credits fast and earn a spot on the Grand Jury.

Here's how to do it:

1. Record a video of yourself or something relevant to any of the cases (new or old) and post it to YouTube.
2. Make yourself known in the video; "Hi...this is Juror Wingman27 from InstantJury.com and I have a little something to say about the case "Always Late for Dinner"...
   
3. Send an email with a link to your video to judge[at]instantjury[dot]com .
4. The Judge will post your video to The Jury Box and announce to the jurors when the video is live.

This channel is designed to be a fun and interactive addition to the Instant Jury community. The Judge reserves the right to decline any video from being part of the channel in which no points will be rewarded. If you don't like it, then SUE 'EM!

Thanks for helping the Instant Jury community grow. We look forward to seeing your videos.


- Brett, Instant Jury Court Reporter

The Wedding Case Winner

WOW! On behalf of our married friends and all of us here at Instant Jury we’d like to thank all of those jurors that participated in our recent contest. The suggestions were great and all were taken into consideration. There were some good comments from all! Everyone from our more seasoned jurors like tanyamae, ajdm326 and our old friend EvilPenguin to some of our newer faces like Joslynm, nufnuf and chasethdevil. I hope we continue to hear from you new jurors in the future!!

The contest was such a success we would like to do it again. So if you or your friends are having a dispute, email us at info [at] instantjury [dot] com and let’s get you on the site!! If your case is a good one, we’ll feature it and award prizes for the participants involved.

We’ve got a great community of jurors and we would once again like to thank everyone for participating. Without further ado, the winner of the dozen gourmet cupcakes from www.cupcakestop.com is juror Sayins_all !!!! We’ve emailed you and asked you to choose from one of over 70 different types of gourmet cupcakes from our sponsor.

Keep those cases coming and we look forward to hosting our next contest with some more great giveaways! Continue to check in with us for more details.

The Judge

Mo' Weddings, Mo' Problems

...and where are problems best solved? Instant Jury of course!

I was at our friend Mike and Karen's shore house this weekend when I noticed the usually care free and happy couple seemed unusually tense and cold with each other. After a few John Daly's (Arnold Palmer iced tea + vodka), they opened up and told me they are at ends with each other over a planning problem for their wedding in December. Karen did not want my opinion since she knows I am best friends with her beau. Fine by me...I suggested that they take their case to Instant Jury and let the public help them find a solution. They agreed!

Since this is a case featuring friends that are near and dear to the Judge, the court will be awarding a prize of 12 gourmet cupcakes courtesy of our sponsor, Cupcake Stop.com. 12 cupcakes of your choice (a dozen of one flavor) will be shipped via FedEx to the juror who posts the most interesting, most original or most practical solution to our couple's woes.


The couple is preparing their statements and the case will be posted this Wednesday, June 23 at 12:00PM EST.

Here are the ground rules:

• The comment must be left by a registered user. Anonymous comments will not be considered for the prize.
  
• The juror must reside in the United States (Sorry internationals! We'll award you 200 Jury Credits if you win and reside elsewhere.)
• The comment must be left before the verdict is delivered.
• The Judge and the IJ staff will vote on the winner.
  

Good luck and thanks for helping out!

- The Judge

Score!

CONTEST ENDED 6/1/10
If you're not part of at least one social network, you are quickly falling behind the times. The rate at which news travels has grown exponentially due to these virtual water coolers. Facebook, Twitter and Four Square are three of our favorites. If you add us as a friend on these sites, you will receive 150 Jury Credits for each site. We'll throw in an extra 50 for following us on Blogger too!

Just simply add us as a friend and send us a message with your Instant Jury username and we'll award you the points.

Twitter

Facebook

Facebook Fan Page

Foursquare

Blogger


Wasn't that easy?

Need Help Starting a Case?

In today’s fast paced society, arguments can happen quickly. Knowing how to win them can help you get ahead. Here are 9 tips on how to effectively argue and get your way.

1)Pick your battles. This is the most important point of all. You certainly don’t want to argue with a 6 foot 5 inch bouncer when he insists that you had too much to drink. That’s probably an argument you’re not going to win. Pick the battles that you have a reasonable chance of winning.

2)What’s in it for me? Sometimes just knowing you’re right is justice enough but sometimes it pays to kick and scream to score those two first class tickets to Tahiti. The bigger the prize, the better your argument must be. Always know what you stand to win…and lose!

3)Stack the jury. You need to know who’s going to render the verdict before you start arguing. If you are trying to make a case for watching Monday Night Football to a group of women holding a Sex and the City DVD, you probably won’t get many votes. Make sure you’re on a level playing field.

4)Just the facts ma’am. If you don’t know the key points of your argument as well as your opponent’s, you will have a difficult time creating a sound case. Positioning your strong points against the holes of the oppositions’ will make for stronger case in your favor.

5)Find some red hands. Having irrefutable evidence helps make any case stronger. You can’t just cite your cousin Joey as saying “he thought so too!” Cousin Joey has no credibility but a photo of the crime or a paper trail will.

6)Check your emotions. As much as you would like to reach across the table and rip out the opposition’s endocrine system with your bare hands, showing this type of emotion could hurt your case. Presenting your argument with a sense of calm shows maturity and garners respect and credibility. Wait ‘til after the case is over to go curse like a sailor.

7)Don’t be a bully. Maybe your opponent has some skeletons in their closet that have no bearing on the argument at hand. Don’t reveal them. Doing so looks petty and will only make you lose favor in the eyes of the jury. If you have your facts straight, they will be ammo enough.

8)Win with pride. Saying “I told you so” can feel soooo good. But biting your tongue and not saying anything at all will help you in the long run. No one likes a know-it-all. Don’t be one. Your opponent will know they’re wrong and your silence will be salt in the wound.

9)Lose with dignity. You can’t win ‘em all and you won’t. Don’t be discouraged. Replay the argument in your head and identify where you went wrong. Next time, play it differently.

All New Scoring System is Here!

*** THERE IS AN ERROR WITH THE DIGG BUTTON. ALL SCORES THAT WERE INFLATED AS A RESULT OF THIS ERROR WILL BE ADJUSTED ACCORDINGLY.

THE NEW SCORING SYSTEM IS LIVE!!!

Instant Jury is about making life more fair. So what good is our point system if its not fair for everyone! Some of the new users claim " Its too hard to get on the Grand Jury! How am I eeeever going to get there?" Well, now is your chance. As you know, JURY CREDITS get you to the holiest of jury boxes where you will join Instant Jury Legends Wrench Doozer, Evil Penguin and The Baz!


In the past, jurors could only earn credits for either posting a case or sitting in as a juror. So we thought, well, anyone can do that! But can they do it consistently? Hmmm? So here is the deal...the bestest most loyal, every day jurors will be rewarded. Everyone scream YEAHHH. The stop-in-now-and-again jurors will sustain. Everyone scream YEAHHH. And the I-only-peek-in-every-now-and-again-while-I-enjoy-a-triple-shot-fat-free-skim-soy-frappa-nyoint-nyoint-before-I-have-to-go-back-to-doing-my-TPS-reports kind of users may actually LOSE points. Everyone scream YEAHHH! Now if you want to score, you need to out jure your fellow jurors!

Here is how we will score things from now on:

Earn
Join a Jury = 1 Jury Credit
Comment on a case = 1 Jury Credit (max 1 per case)
Click the Digg Button on a case = 3 Jury Credits
First Juror to Join the Jury = 3 Jury Credits
Serve as a Plaintiff or Defendant = 5 Jury Credits
Reaching 1oo pt milestones (100, 200, 300 etc) = 10 Jury Credits

Lose
Fail to log in to Instant Jury in a 24 Hour Period= - 1 Jury Credit
Join a Jury but fail to place a vote= -1 Jury Credit

More to come! Please contact us with any suggestions!

Another Seinfeld Cookbook Concoction: The Marriage Ref

An overheard NYC subway conversation:

Man: " I heard about this cool new idea that allows couples to air their dirty laundry in a public forum while the world decides who is right and who is wrong"

Woman: " Oh yeah...I heard about that too. Its called InstantJury.com!!"


Man: " Really? I don't think that's what it was called though. This idea is brand new. "


Woman: " No. That is definitely what it's called. Instant Jury has been around for over a year now. "


Man: " No, no. This idea is BRAND new. It was created by Jerry Seinfeld and is going to be on tv."


Woman: "Well, maybe the show is new but the idea is not. Instant Jury is the original for sure."


Man: " Well, you know the Seinfeld's and their "borrowing" of other people's ideas."


Woman: "Fuck Seinfeld."


Man: "Totally."

Instant Jury Guest Judge of the Week: Wendy Diamond, Forbes Magazine Canine Queen

New York, NY. February 19, 2009 – Today Instant Jury (www.instantjury.com), the court of public opinion introduces guest judge, Wendy Diamond, the Martha Stewart of the milk and bone dish (The New Yorker). Wendy Diamond, leading pet lifestyle expert, TV personality and animal rescue advocate, as well as author of the recent It's a Dog's World: The Savvy Guide to Four-Legged Living, will serve as the first guest judge for Instant Jury.

Guest judges will be able to leave comments on everyday cases and also be able to provide the final verdict, no matter what the public is voting. Log on today to leave your pup cases for Wendy Diamond to provide expert advice and rule over the case.

“I am so excited to be the first guest judge for Instant Jury especially since my book, It’s a Dog’s World: The Savvy Guide to Four-Legged Living, has so many great tips for dog owners and dog lovers,” said Wendy Diamond. “I love the idea of being able to rule over a case – I have always wanted to be a judge.”

Instant Jury recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. In that time, Instant Jury has grown to be the go-to site to settle squabbles over fantasy football, roommate issues and any little thing that gets underneath your skin. With thousands of cases on Instant Jury, users have aired their dirty laundry about colleagues wearing too much perfume and replying all on an email conversation to pop culture issues such as Simon leaving American Idol and Sundance Film Festival movies.

Instant Jury allows users to settle disputes, sit on a jury, and be a judge. If you think you're in the right, you'd probably like to know, especially if others will back you up. Instant Jury is the place to air that dirty laundry -- er, evidence -- against meddling roommates, controlling girlfriends, and anyone else who deserves it. File the motion, set the stakes, and plead your case to an instant jury and let the public decide.

“Everyone is saying ‘content is king’ which is why we are so excited to bring guest judges to site to bring new and interesting cases and content,” said Brett Reilly, founder of Instant Jury. “We can’t thank Wendy Diamond enough for being our number one guest judge and we look forward to the other guest judges. Continue to log in to see who is ruling the cases.”

If you are interested in working with Instant Jury to be a guest judge, please contact info [at] instant jury [dot] com.

Happy Anniversary...to US!

New York, NY. February 4, 2009 – Today Instant Jury (www.instantjury.com), the court of public opinion, celebrates its one-year anniversary. In just one year Instant Jury has grown to be the go-to site to settle squabbles over fantasy football, roommate issues and any little thing that gets underneath your skin. With thousands of cases on Instant Jury, users have aired their dirty laundry about colleagues wearing too much perfume and replying all on an email conversation to pop culture issues such as Simon leaving American Idol and Sundance Film Festival movies.

Instant Jury allows users to settle disputes, sit on a jury, and be a judge. If you think you're in the right, you'd probably like to know, especially if others will back you up. Instant Jury is the place to air that dirty laundry -- er, evidence -- against meddling roommates, controlling girlfriends, and anyone else who deserves it. File the motion, set the stakes, and plead your case to an instant jury and let the public decide.

“Instant Jury’s one year anniversary and is a sign of the amount of users coming to the site and the stability of the company moving forward,” said Brett Reilly, founder of Instant Jury. “We started this site on a whim and have been shocked by the attention and the amount of people logging on to settle their squabbles. We look forward to growing the site as we take on year two.”

Looking toward the future, Instant Jury is raising funds to grow the site, restructure the site design and extend its reach to drive more users to the site. In addition, Instant Jury will be targeting different advertising opportunities with digital entertainment and pop culture partnerships.

“I love Instant Jury because when my friends and I are arguing about something stupid – the best quarterback in the NFL, how to say a certain word, you name it – I can just take them to www.instantjury.com to prove I am right,” says Andy Knapp, a frequent Instant Jury user. “It gives me bragging rights because I can say everyone else agreed with me.”

Instant Jury Takes on Sundance

Visit www.instantjury.com to see Sundance squabbles go down.

New York, NY. January 20, 2009 – Today Instant Jury (www.instantjury.com), the court of public opinion, is taking on Sundance Film Festival from January 21-31 by letting Sundance attendees and those that want to follow along log on and argue which movies will win, be the first to get distributed, or score major star power. Not agreeing on who the coolest director is at Sundance, which movie is the best to hit the festival, or who the best looking celebrity walking down Main Street is? Take them to Instant Jury.

Users can log on beginning today, with the first Sundance Instant Jury court case. As horror becomes the most profitable genre in filmmaking, the first Sundance case involves which horror movie will be a break out hit at Sundance: Splice, featuring Adrien Brody as a scientist who plays dangerous games with human and animal DNA, or Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds, buried alive in a coffin with just a cell phone, a candle, and a knife. Log on now, view the evidence, and let your voice be heard. With Sundance beginning this Sunday, users can follow along and weigh in with thoughts on the entertainment buzz.

“People are passionate about movies and everyone has an opinion, so it makes sense that Instant Jury would be front and center for one of the premiere film events of the year,” said Brett Reilly, founder of Instant Jury. “Instant Jury helps settle those annoying arguments, through the help of the Instant Jury community, to prove just who is right. I have seen court cases range from office mates not washing their hands to couples arguing about cleaning gym equipment after use to thoughts on bigger issues in the media like Tiger’s affair. We’ve got it all.”

Instant Jury allows users to settle disputes, sit on a jury, and be a judge. If you think you're in the right, you'd probably like to know, especially if others will back you up. Instant Jury is the place to air that dirty laundry -- er, evidence -- against meddling roommates, controlling girlfriends, and anyone else who deserves it. File the motion, set the stakes, and plead your case to an instant jury and let the public decide.

“I love Instant Jury because when my friends and I are arguing about something stupid – the best quarterback in the NFL, how to say a certain word, you name it – I can just take them to www.instantjury.com to prove I am right,” says Andy Knapp, a frequent Instant Jury user. “It gives me bragging rights because I can say everyone else agreed with me.”

Read more at the Salt Lake Tribune.

The Most Useless Machine Ever...

... and I NEED one.

Seriously, this is BIG news...

If you haven't heard, click here.

Be the Judge

New Years Celebration, Religious Demonstration or Terrorist Attack?