I am a winner in the “I Want My Google TV” contest!

I am extremely PSYCHED to announce that I have been selected as 1 of 100 winners of the “I Want My Google TV” contest. Thanks to being selected as a winner, I now have a brand new Sony NSX46GT1 46″ LCD HDTV with Google TV on the way to my house.

Contest placing and scoring

My video submission landed me in 42nd place out of 100 winners (and thousands of entries). Not too shabby at all.

The videos submitted to the contest were scored by a panel of judges on the following criteria :

How original/creative/entertaining is the Video Submission?
How well do you explain why you love Google TV?
Why are you excited about watching YouTube videos on Google TV?
How is the technical execution (e.g., Camera/Sound/Lighting/Editing)?
Does your Video Submission inspire others to want to have a Google TV in their home?

My I Want My Google TV contest submission

Embedded below is my submission.

The story behind my last minute submission

I actually found out about this contest on the very last day (or the day before) that they were accepting submissions. Due to this, I didn’t have much time to come up with a good concept, do any fancy cinematography or do any editing. Nonetheless, even with these time constraints, I recognized that there was a good probability of winning if I submitted a video and adhered to the scoring guidelines as much as possible, specifically because they were giving out 100 prizes. I whipped up my webcam recorded video very quickly on the last night (December 22nd) that they were accepting submissions and fired it off to the contest.

To be frank, I actually wasn’t very happy with my submission. I thought it was crude, poorly made and not very unique. Even so, you can’t win if you don’t apply, so I had to give it a shot and it paid off!

Ye ole notary and document requirements

On January 5th, I was notified by the Google TV contest team that I had been selected as “a Potential Winner or an Alternate”. In order to be eligible, I had to download three documents; (1) an Affidavit of Eligibility (2) an Entrant Release Form, and (3) a W9 Tax Form to file taxes and return them to the contest administrators by January 13th. The affidavit required notarization.

I was actually out of town during this time frame, so I had to find a notary in unknown lands. I eventually found one via a UPS Store that was close to where I was staying, who popped me with a $10 notary charge. I wasn’t happy about that, but hey, it was worth it!

I was also notified that I was a winner last week, but they asked us not to disclose that we won until the official announcement (today). I was so stoked that I wanted to announce it to everyone right away, but I awaited their announcement as requested.

I’m really looking forward to my new Sony HDTV with Google TV. THANK YOU to Google, YouTube, Sony and everyone else involved in this contest!

5 Comments on “I am a winner in the “I Want My Google TV” contest!”

  1. Oh, snap! I didn’t even know about the contest. You took the very words out of my mouth, too. I am so excited about what’s coming down the pipe with Google’s synthesis with TV. Congrats, Wes!

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