I've been crunching SETI since 1999 as well as several other
"Boinc projects".
The competition is great, the rewards are victoly alone and no other personal gain. The team wars can be epic battles, lots of cross forums postings (boarding parties).
There are some 'for profit' ventures on there which I always avoid. I stick to the ones that produce results for all to use.
I think Rob is onto something here, many people who 'crunch' are exactly the types we want to educate. I
think this idea has great potential.