As you may recall, the Linux Foundation last year ran a video contest that drew a lot of entries, many of which were not only entertaining, but had surprisingly high production values as well.  Last year's invitation was to use the popular "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" ad series as an inspiration, and you can see the winning videos here (all of last year's entries can be found here).

Well, it's that time again, and LF has just annnounced this year's contest theme, rules and deadline.  The announcement is here, and also pasted in at the end of this blog entry.  This year, the invitation is to submit what a Super Bowl ad for Linux might be like, if there was ever to be such a thing.

As was the case last year, there’s an interdisciplinary, all-star cast of judges (Andrew Morton, Stephen O’Grady, Stormy Peters, Brandon Phillips, Bob Sutor, and Steven Vaughan-Nichols), prizes, and the announcement/screening of the winning entries on April 14 at this year’s Collaboration Summit, in San Francisco.

So the next time you get an urge to post some random bit of video at YouTube, take it up a notch, and show what you can really produce.  The deadline for entries is Midnight, April 4, and the full contest rules are here.  If you don’t feel like competing, you might want to drop by the conntest site to view, and vote for, the entries you like best. 

And if you don’t do either, sign up for this year’s Collaboration Summit – there may not be a red carpet the winners of the video contest, but there’s no question it’s the place to be seen if you’re into Linux.

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Linux Foundation Announces 2010 “We’re Linux” Video Contest: The Linux Super Bowl Ad

By Linux_Foundation – February 4, 2010 – 10:53pm

Linux Foundation Announces 2010 “We’re Linux” Video Contest: The Linux Super Bowl Ad

“We’re Linux” returns for the second year in a row, aims to surface creative user-generated ads for the popular operating system

SAN FRANCISCO, February 5, 2010 – The Linux Foundation (LF), the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced the 2010 “We’re Linux” video contest. The contest seeks to find the best user-generated videos that demonstrate what Linux means to those who use it and inspire others to try it.

The contest is calling all community members and amateur filmmakers to share with the public what a 30-60 second Linux-focused spot for the Super Bowl might look like. This theme is not a requirement for entry; however, videos that can demonstrate the benefits of Linux to the general public are likely to receive more community votes. The submissions should aim to inspire people to use Linux, create conversations among the public, and convey the power and ideals of Linux.

The contest officially begins today and will be open for submissions through midnight on April 4, 2010. The winner will be revealed at the Linux Foundation’s Collaboration Summit on April 14, 2010 in San Francisco and will be awarded with a laptop loaded with Linux and a trip to LinuxCon (http://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/linuxcon) in Boston, Mass.

“We have been inspired by the creativity and level of participation we have seen for the ‘We’re Linux’ video contest and want to provide a forum again this year for people to share,” said Amanda McPherson, vice president, marketing and developer programs, The Linux Foundation. “The contest attracts an extended community of folks to Linux and allows us all to weigh in on the best Linux videos.”

The winner will be determined by a combination of online community ranking and a panel of judges that includes:

• Andrew Morton, lead Linux kernel maintainer;
• Stephen O’Grady, co-founder, Red Monk;
• Stormy Peters, executive director, GNOME Foundation;
• Brandon Phillips, Linux kernel developer, Novell;
• Bob Sutor, VP, Open Source and Linux, IBM Software Group; and
• Steven Vaughan-Nichols, journalist, ComputerWorld.

Last year, the “We’re Linux” contest called on participants to consider the popular “I’m a Mac; I’m a PC” commercials and create their own videos to promote Linux. The concept was based on the idea that while Apple and Microsoft have billions of dollars in advertising budgets, Linux had the power of crowds. The winning video, by Amitay Tweeto and titled “What Does it Mean to Be Free” (http://video.linuxfoundation.org/contest/winners), was an inspirational piece that communicated the ideals of the open source operating system.

To submit a video and for more information on the contest rules and guidelines, please visit: http://video.linuxfoundation.org/contest/we-are-linux-superbowl-ad-contest.

About the Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. Founded in 2007, the Linux Foundation sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and is supported by leading Linux and open source companies and developers from around the world. The Linux Foundation promotes, protects and standardizes Linux by hosting important workgroups, events and online resources such as Linux.com. For more information, please visit www.linuxfoundation.org.