Go to:

http://www.youtube.com/2008conventions

And submit a video answering the question:

“Why are you a Republican in 2008?”

-or-

“Why are you a Democrat in 2008?”

The 5 most creative and compelling videos will be selected by each Convention committee, and YouTube users will vote for the winner.

The deadline for submission is AUGUST 1 – so submit your video today!

Contest news: Sports Illustrated and Gilette have teamd up for a mashup video contest. Sports Illustrated provides a bunch of high def video clips of its swimsuit models, plus a very slick, but simple video editing software based on easy drag/drop Ajax commands. Go here to start mashing. Once you finish your mashup video, which you can synch with basic background music, you can then embed the video in your blog, FaceBook page, or send the link to others. The contest site is here.

Analysis: I’m finishing an article on user-generated content and mashups (that I hope to share soon). I’ve been canvassing some of these mashup contests, and the video tools for the SI contest are quite nice and user-friendly. The shell looks like your basic iMovie or Moviemaker page, but with fewer editing options. The video quality is so high, though, and the models so beautiful, that anyone will be able to put together a cool video.

I think we have only seen the tip of the iceberg with mainstream media attempting to cultivate user-generated content. The lines between media content and user-generated content will get blurred.

Sports Illustrated also has a YouTube channel with its own swimsuit videos for YouTube.

News: YouTube has teamed up with HP and Fox Searchlight to host a 2-7 minute video contest. To enter, you need to include 3 elements: (1) someone in a situation above her/his maturity level, (3) “shenanigans” used in the dialogue, and (3) one character must pass a photograph to another character.  (More)

Analysis: If I had time, I might even consider doing this. My digital short probably would be centered around a law school student.

You can win $50,000 for creating a 90 second video. Here’s the write up from YT:

1) Film yourself explaning why you would be the next best Miss Horrorfest. Your submission can be only :90 seconds in length and should include the words “MISS HORRORFEST” and “HORRORFEST, NOVEMBER 9-18, 2007″ somewhere in the video.

2) Create a Youtube profile and upload your video.

3) Join this group: http://www.youtube.com/group/misshorrorfest2007 and submit your video for approval.

For Official Rules please visit: http://liquidgaming.net/horrorfest_2007/rules.html

These kids are my favorite so far! But you probably can do a better lip synch job. Here’s the song you have to sing and rules.  You can watch the entry videos here.

Starts May 24. You need to make 3 videos.  Winner gets some exposure, “gear,” and chance to make a commercial for Sierra Mist.

Go here for details. Here are the list of approved movies you can spoof, some which give you the copyrighted clips to play around with and mash up. You have until May 21st, so get started!

Win $57,000 if you make the best commercial, determined by voters. You have until August 6. So far, there are only 132 entries, so you have a decent chance. More here.

You’ll be seeing more of these kinds of contests in the future. I wonder what advertising firms think.

News:  In Yahoo! talent show is a sign of desperation, Mashable blog reports about Yahoo!’s video talent show, the winner of which gets $50,000 and a show on Yahoo video.  Mashable writes: “This is pretty much typical of Yahoo’s backward strategy. First off, a contest is no way to build long term value – it gets a little press buzz, but you can’t deny that Google is going to come out ahead here. But more annoying is the way they launched it: with a ‘pretty’ professional presenter in a studio reading some lines. That’s typical of Yahoo’s patronizing way of believing that professional content will win the day.”

Analysis:  I don’t see this contest as negatively as Mashable blog.  Not sure why it’s “patronizing” for Yahoo! to hire a professional ad team to prepare the Intro ad for the talent show.  YouTube did the same thing for its Underground rock band talent show, and Mashable seems pretty keen on YouTube.  Both contests aim to “discover” and reward some unknown talent.  There is nothing patronizing about that, to me.  After all, isn’t that a part of the American dream?

Mashable may be right that there could be some desperation to Yahoo!’s contest, given its fierce competition with darling Google and last earnings report.  But Yahoo’s gotta do something to revive its business and generate some positive momentum.  Staying competitive in online video has to be one of Yahoo!’s top priorities.