I've made no secret of the fact that I love this contest and am proud that I have managed an entry every single week since the beginning. It's one of my favorite posts of the week!
I miss featuring an optional bonus blogger - so I'd love it if that came back again.
I like that the max rep was increased, but also point out that rep and even SP aren't a great indicator of what qualifies as a newbie (since both can be bought to a certain degree). I suspect that projected payout is a better indicator, but even that is incomplete as even a newbie can have a @curie that throws the numbers off.
I'm afraid I don't have too many ideas on making it better right now. I'm struggling with jaw pain (TMJ) at the moment, which is having a negative impact on my mental ability - and I can't see a dentist until next week. (And even that might take care of only one suspected aspect of the pain.)
There are so many factors that can boost a newbie beyond level 50 really easily and curie alone makes a massive difference, but paid votes can do it too. The move to level 55 has really helped with allowing everyone to find people that have shown a little more commitment to sticking around.
As for the optional featured blogger, that is an easy one to add back into the mix. Felt like it wasn't really being used much except for a couple people. But it's optional and if even just one person likes it there is no reason not to have it.
Hope everything works out at the dentist!