CLIP MySpace and Wall Street Journal contest to make World Economic Forum in Davos “a place for friends”?

from VentureBeat by Tam Vo

 MySpace has joined forces with the Wall Street Journal for“MySpace Journal,” a competition to send one lucky MySpace user to the World Economic Forumin Davos, Switzerland. The winner will be a “special correspondent” on behalf of the entire MySpace community and get to join the Davos press corps. If this sounds familiar, it’s because YouTube has a Davos contest too.

The World Economic Forum is an annual meeting that brings together political and business leaders, intellectuals and journalists to discuss pressing global issues like the environment and poverty — this year’s theme is aptly themed “Shaping the Post-Crisis World.”

Starting today, aspiring reporters can upload a video of themselves explaining why they deserve to attend the forum, as a response to one of three pre-selected questions — for example, “If you were given the opportunity to take one person (living or historical figure) to Davos in order to make an impact on the conference, who would it be and why?” Entrants must also keep their answer to 90 seconds or less, so I wonder if those crazy speed-talking college debate kids will have an advantage.

The winner will be selected by a panel of expert judges, including Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and MySpace co-founder and chief executive Chris DeWolfe. The prize includes an all-expenses paid trip to Davos, a press pass and “Congress and Media Centre access.” The MySpace community doesn’t get to vote, but users get to rate their favorites...

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News Corp Siblings, Wall Street Journal and MySpace Partner For Davos -- Awkward! (NWS)

from Silicon Alley Insider by Nicholas Carlson

Ever since before News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal, the fear in that newsroom has been that the Australian mogul would drag the illustrious paper into the mud -- down where Rupe likes to play with Darva Conger from "Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire?," Bill O'Reilly and Tila Tequila, from the hormone-infested social network MySpace.

Don't look now, but here comes "MySpace Journal."

Fortunately for the Wall Street Journal's brand -- and unfortunately for the rest of us, giggling on the sidelines -- MySpace Journal is just a one-off partnership between the awkwardly-paired News Corp (NWS) siblings.

Though yes, it is a particularly goofy partnership -- one that will send one lucky MySpace user to the snooty World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he or she will be a "citizen journalist," blogging for the Wall Street Journal.

Reports CNET's Caroline McCarthy:

MySpace is now accepting video submissions in which entrants explain their reasons for wanting to attend and be a member of the Davos press corps. One winner, chosen by a panel of industry figureheads that includes pundit and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe, will receive an all-expenses paid trip, a coveted press pass, and a blog on MySpace that will also be syndicated to The Wall Street Journal's Web site.