I spent a little bit of time on Friday hashing out an idea for the first MOJO challenge. You should do it too. The prize is awesome (a year paid fellowship in a newsroom somewhere in the world), but even if you aren’t interested in that, you can just practice having an idea. No, seriously, I’ve worked with journalists in the past, I’m into web and video and news, but I didn’t have an idea for the MOJO Unlocking Video Challenge at all.
I just sat here thinking, “How can code make news better specifically in relation to video on the web?” Well, anything is possible with code, we all know that. Sure it takes time and research and resources, but the Web is the all expansive, lighting fast evolving monolith of media. If you think it, it could be. Whether it’s a good idea or not is another story.
But I don’t think the MOJO team is too overly concerned with judging other people’s ideas. Yeah, there will be judgement in the realm of the contest, but if it has to do with news, video and the Web, the idea will fit. People might not like it, might not think it’s innovative, but this is a Napkin Sketch challenge! So, whatever!
Rephrase the MOJO challenge in terms that you are passionate about, go for a walk, think up something and then bring it into the world. It doesn’t have to be refined. Practice having ideas that pertain to a certain topic, submit the idea to MOJO and maybe you help someone else have an idea that will revolutionize the news. Or maybe your idea is awesome, everyone loves it and you gain fame and fortune.
Related articles
- Knight, Mozilla launch news innovation challenge (wendynorris.posterous.com)
- 10+ reasons to enter the Knight-Mozilla news innovation challenge (phillipadsmith.com)
