contests

Indie Rock Webware: Amie Street, Music Nation, The Hype Machine

As though timed to coincide with the much-anticipated release of indie rock powerhouse The Arcade Fire's album release this week (it's a must-listen, by the way), Monday night's monthly NY Tech Meetup at Cooper Union featured a trio of Gotham-based start-ups devoted to spreading the buzz about independent music. One's a marketplace; one's an ongoing competition; and one's a way to discover what the people who are discovering new music are discovering (in other words, an aggregator).

The first of the three is Amie Street, which we have previously written up on Webware. Amie … Read more

Singapore sponsors contest to build warrior robot

The island city-state of Singapore announced a contest to build a Terminator-style robot, able to operate in urban warfare environments independent of direct human control. That's right; no joystick.

Individuals, companies, universities and research institutes are invited to compete in what the country's Defense Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) calls the TechX Challenge. The autonomous robot DSTA has in mind would be an all-weather unit, able to negotiate stairs, use an elevator and generally move and shoot in a search-and-destroy mode without the aid of satellite navigation, just like a human soldier.

"Operation in urban areas represents … Read more

Pickspal, 'an American Idol for sports fans'

You know, the sports world has made a much smoother transition to the digital age than I'd thought it would. Maybe it was the stereotype lingering in my brain of jocks and wannabe jocks having a disdain for anything nerdy, but I would've thought that sports Web sites and social networks would be slow to get off the ground. Man, was I wrong--just look at fantasy sports, as well as some growing social networks like Takkle. Here's another AlwaysOn attendee, PicksPal, which is a community for people who follow sports so closely that they think they can … Read more

Indie-rock Decemberists take a hint from Colbert

When Stephen Colbert launched his "Green Screen Challenge" a few months ago--encouraging fans to fill in the background of a video of himself running around with a "Star Wars" lightsaber--it was kind of a dorky novelty, much like Colbert himself. Now, brainy indie-rock act The Decemberists are jumping on the bandwagon. The five-piece Portland, Oregon-based group, best known for accordion-filled sea-shanty rock and lyrics full of words that you haven't seen since the SAT, has teamed up with MTVU for its own green-screen challenge.

Here's the lowdown, thanks to music blog Stereogum: The Decemberists … Read more

Knight cash for community innovation

Start your own new-media company. Lead the next new-media wave. And the Knight Brothers Foundation will pay you to get started.

On Monday, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced the Knight Brothers 21st Century News Challenge, a contest that will award up to $5 million to "news projects that best use the digital world to connect people to the real world."

Here's how the foundation describes its quest: "The Knight Brothers 21st Century News Challenge hopes to recognize transformative ideas, pilot projects, leadership initiatives and investment opportunities that will help improve the flow … Read more