Google is actually giving out prize money for creative ideas to help the world.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/biztech/09/24/google.project/index.htmlFAQ
About the Project
Submitting Entries
Idea Selection
Implementing Ideas
Video Guidelines
More Questions
About the Project
Q: What is Project 10100?
A: Project 10100 (pronounced "Project 10 to the 100th") is a call for ideas to change the world, in the hope of helping as many people as possible.
Q: Why is Google doing this?
A: The short answer is that we think helping people is a good thing, and empowering people to help others is an even better thing. Here's the long answer.
Q: How many ideas are you funding?
A: We have committed $10 million to fund up to five ideas selected by our advisory board.
Q. Why the name 10100?
A: 10100 is another way of expressing the number "googol," a one followed by one hundred zeroes. Our company's very name expresses our goal of achieving great results through smart technology that starts small and scales dramatically over time to have a tremendous long-term impact. Project 10100 is a similar attempt to produce those kinds of scalable results by harnessing our users' insights and creativity. We don't know what ideas would help the most people. This project's premise is that maybe you do.
Submitting Entries
Q: How do I submit an idea?
A: Submit your idea by filling out the submission form.
Q: Can I submit more than one idea?
A: Yes!
Q: Can an organization submit an idea for this project?
A: All ideas must be submitted by individuals. You may submit an idea on behalf of an organization you're affiliated with, but please note that we cannot guarantee your organization will be selected to implement the idea if it is chosen. Once we've selected up to five ideas for funding, we will use an RFP process to identify the organization(s) that are in the best position to implement the selected ideas. We will be providing funding to these organizations to implement the ideas.
Q: What if another person submits an idea that is similar to my entry?
A: The purpose of Project 10100 is to identify great ideas and bring them to life. If an idea is selected that is similar to yours, and it succeeds, everybody wins. That's the spirit of this program and we hope all entrants will embrace it.
Q: What do I get if my idea is chosen?
A: You get good karma and the satisfaction of knowing that your idea might truly help a lot of people.
Q: What if I forgot to include something on my submission form?
A: The form will prompt you to complete all necessary information, but once you've submitted your idea, you won't be able to revise it. Please make sure to review your work carefully before you submit it.
Idea Selection
Q: How will you decide which ideas to fund?
A: A selection of Google employees will review all the ideas submitted and select 100 for public consideration. The 100 top ideas will be announced on January 27, 2009, at which point we will invite the public to select twenty semi-finalists. An advisory board will then choose up to five final ideas for funding and implementation. We plan to announce these winners in early February.
Q: Who is on the advisory board?
The advisory board will be composed of five to seven individuals known for their expertise in the submission categories.
Q: What criteria will be used to select the winning ideas?
The following five criteria will be considered by the advisory panel in evaluating and selecting the winning ideas:
Reach: How many people would this idea affect?
Depth: How deeply are people impacted? How urgent is the need?
Attainability: Can this idea be implemented within a year or two?
Efficiency: How simple and cost-effective is your idea?
Longevity: How long will the idea's impact last?
Implementing the ideas
Q. How will Google implement these ideas?
Once we've selected up to five ideas for funding, we will begin an RFP process to identify the organization(s) and proposals that are in the best position to help implement the selected ideas.
Q: I know an organization that I believe can implement my idea if it is selected. What should I do?
The submission form includes a field where you can recommend an organization to implement your idea. If your idea is selected for funding, we will contact this organization when we begin the selection process for the implementation phase. Please note that this does not guarantee that they will be chosen to implement the idea.
Video submission guidelines
Q: What can I include in the video portion of my submission?
A: You may include a video of no longer than thirty seconds to further explain or illustrate your idea. Please note that the video will be treated as supplementary material-- you still need to explain your idea in the text part of the submission.
In addition, your video must meet the following criteria:
(a) It must be uploaded on YouTube and available for public viewing.
(b) It must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libelous or contain any content that is in appropriate, indecent, sexual, profane, indecent, tortuous, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the call for submissions.
(c) It must not contain content, material or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to all applicable federal, state, provincial or local laws and regulations the laws or regulations in any state where video is created.
(d) It must not contain any content, material or element that displays any third party advertising, slogan, logo, trademark or otherwise indicates a sponsorship or endorsement by a third party, commercial entity.
(e) It must be an original, unpublished work that does not contain, incorporate or otherwise use any content, material or element that is owned by a third party or entity.
(f) It cannot contain any content, element, or material that violates a third party's publicity, privacy or intellectual property rights.
(g) It cannot be longer than thirty seconds If it is longer than this, only the first thirty seconds will be evaluated.
(h) Any text or speech in the video must be in one of the following languages: English, German, French, Portuguese (Brazil), Turkish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Korean, Russian, Swahili, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Arabic, Hindi, Greek, Czech, Hebrew, Danish, or Thai
More Questions
Q: I've got more questions. Who should I ask?
A: If you have more questions, please email us.
