The Contest

Okay, so let's get on with the contest! The One Ping Only First Anniversary Contest is your chance to create the reality show that you would put on the air if you had the means -- Richard Branson proved that you can buy your reality show into existence, however terrible -- or the one you would most like to see a network to do.

Send an outline or description, no more than one page in length, that describes the reality show of your dreams...or our nightmares. Be as detailed as you'd like (but keeping it to one page), be funny, be serious; help us see your "vision" for the next great reality show. I know some of you have already expressed on your blogs some ideas on how you'd do versions of shows already on the air -- copy 'em, paste 'em, dress 'em up and send 'em in!

The outlines will be judged by me and our very own Rita, The Reality TV Queen. I am going to rely on her expertise and her lack of bias -- she doesn't read other blogs so she won't be swayed any connection to anyone's blog. She will get the outlines without names, so anyone who is eligible (even if they're related to me) can participate. From her selections and with her input, I will have final say. Just call me "The Donald Lite."

The contest is open as of 11:59 p.m. (PT) tonight, and is subject to the rules found here. That's right, rules. Writing contest rules is one of the parts of my job that I enjoy the most (believe it or not) and I wasn't about to have a contest without 'em. So go take a look, they're pretty basic and they lay out the dos and don'ts.

The entries have to be in me by midnight on February 1st, and should be sent to moburns[at]gmail[dot]com, with the subject line "Contest Entry." If you don't have that subject line, I cannot be responsible for treating any potential entries as spam!

Prizes, you ask? Of course there are prizes! The details are in the rules, but there will be one Grand Prize winner and one First Prize - Honorable Mention. The Grand Prize includes a $10 Starbucks card, a box of my favorite See's truffles, and a limited edition One Ping Only magnet calendar, along with a few other goodies.

So get busy and send in your ideas -- be the next Mark Burnett!