On
Saturday, Dec 5 at 10:00 AM (ET) the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will reveal the location of 10 8-foot balloons fixed in public locations in the continental United States.
i-Neighbors wants to be the first to report the location of all 10 8-foot balloons. Help us demonstrate how the Internet can be used to mobilize people locally to respond to a time-critical problem! If you see one of DARPA's balloons be the first to email its location to
redballoon@i-neighbors.org.
If i-Neighbors is the first to report the location of all 10 balloons you will share in the $40,000 prize:
- The first person to email redballoon@i-neighbors.org with the correct location of a balloon will receive a $1,000 reward (one reward for each of the 10 balloons).
- All emails received at redballoon@i-neighbors.org that verify the location of a balloon that has already been reported will be entered into a random draw for a reward of $1,000.
- The remaining prize money will be used to support the ongoing efforts of i-Neighbors.org.
Who is eligible to participate?
Anyone! (even if you are not an i-Neighbor user).
How do I participate?
The challenge is open from 10:00am (ET) Dec ember 5 through 12:00pm (ET) on December 14, 2009. Email the location of a DARPA balloon to
redballoon@i-neighbors.org (you do not need to see the balloon in-person, you can hear about it from a friend, or even read about it online!).
What information do I need to send?
You need only send an email to
redballoon@i-neighbors.org with the location of a DARPA balloon (there may also be a number on the balloon).
The location of a balloon must be reported with an error of less than 1.0 mile. Street addresses, major cross-roads, or degree decimal formats are acceptable, but the preferred format is the balloon latitude and longitude coordinates in degree-minute-second (DD-MM-SS).
How will I know if it is a DARPA balloon?
DARPA officials accompanying the balloon will have credentials to verify their identities. You can see a picture of the balloons
here.
How will I get updates on i-Neighbors progress in the challenge?
Updates on our progress will be made on our
announcemnts page and through
Twitter.
Why will i-Neighbors win?
i-Neighbors has over 70,000 users who are dedicated to their local communities. i-Neighbors is about mobilizing to solve local problems. The geographically dispersed nature of i-Neighbors makes it ideal to identify and verify the balloons that will be positioned as part of this challenge.
The fine print:
A valid email address must be used to report a balloon location to
redballoon@i-neighbors.org. The email address used to report a location will be used to verify the balloon location and to contact individuals if a reward is awarded. Payment will only be made in the event that i-Neighbors is the first to report the location of all 10 balloons and DARPA awards i-Neighbors the Network Challenge prize. The terms of this contest may be modified at any time without notice (for example, if DARPA changes their rules, cancels, or postpones the challenge). More information on the DARPA Network Challenge can be found on the
DARPA website.
