#ideademocracy

[theideademocracy]

Which College is right for me?

If you or a loved one has ever asked that question then you’ll love this IdeaChallenge! But even if you haven’t here’s your chance to actually make a difference and help hundreds of thousands if not millions of students.

We’re asking you to help design a better version of the college scorecard, a website that helps students compare, analyse and review data for all US Universities. Just click the image to view the IdeaChallenge, read the brief and participate. There’s $2500 up for grabs to make it worth your while.

[theideademocracy]

Great with a camera? Get featured on our home page!

We're looking for a full screen photograph for our home page that captures what IdeaDemocracy is about. Quite simply, the photograph should capture or reflect creativity, collaboration and communication. We'll be sure to credit the winning photographer and mention their name. Unfortunately we can't offer a cash prize for this contest, so while we won't make you rich, we do hope to make you famous. You can read more & participate here .

[theideademocracy]

Got a great travel story?....Now convert it into a custom tour!

Pic courtesy Andrey Salikov

We've got a fun IdeaProject for you. Here's how it works. A New Delhi based Travel & Tour Website is looking for interesting ideas to create custom tours. If you've had a unique and enjoyable travel experience anywhere in the world tell us about it, send us pictures that can be featured on the website and the travel website will use your experiences to create a custom 7 day tour. If you're lucky they may even name it after you!

So if you've had a memorable travel experience, done and seen things unusual and returned with great stories to tell your friends. And even thought to yourself, more people should do this then here's your opportunity to convert your experience into a compelling tour for others.

To get started, you can view the contest details here and sign up here to participate.

We look forward to seeing your photos and reading your stories.

[theideademocracy]

JWT & Ford India, storm in a hatchback?

JWT India and Ford Figo's solution to Berlo's bunga bunga troubles, Paris Hilton's Kardashian woes and Michael Schumacher's younger competition seems to have landed JWT India and its client Ford India in a lot of hot water. The story goes that these ads were uploaded to 'ads of the world' where they drew a lot of international condemnation for being sexually offensive and leading to JWT being forced to hastily withdraw them from India's leading advertising awards festival.

As someone who some years ago was part of a team who on President Bill Clinton's maiden visit to India released an advertisement for a job board parodying the Lewinsky affair and suggesting he might be in the job market, I perhaps should reserve judgement. 

Chances are more people would have seen these ads as part of the on-going press reportage than they would have as actual advertising. These ads were clearly created to try and win awards and not enhance Ford India's or Ford Figo's brand values. And that's the real problem - many in the advertising industry's need for self-gratification and desire for peer approval at any cost. Too bad for the client!

So what do you think? Is this just a storm in a teacup or do you actually think these ads are offensive and sexist? Do leave a comment here or join the discussion on our Facebook page here.

[theideademocracy]

Globalisation....of sorts

Globalisation has been taking a bit of a beating of late. The financial crisis, rising income inequality, currency wars and continued protectionism have all in some form or the other been attributed to unchecked globalisation. Whatever your views, what's undeniable is that the world is becoming a smaller place and whether you like to call it globalisation or not the effects are hard not to notice. On a visit just outside Bangalore I saw something that really made me stop and think and I had to take a picture. It's a camera phone picture so I apologise for the poor quality. But yes, the world is impacting everyone's lives including those in rural India. Don't miss the Louisiana Tee and Tablet!

I'm sure many of you come across similar sights wherever you live. The next time you do, do take a picture and send it in, it'll be fun to share our visual representations of that bad word, globalisation. You can share your pictures on our Facebook page here .

[theideademocracy]

Got a camera? Enjoy making videos? ....We need your help!

Pic: http://www.marketsmartsites.com/tag/video/

If you've got a camera or camera phone, enjoy making videos and have great imagination and creativity then IdeaDemocracy's got a contest that we think you'll enjoy participating in. IdeaDemocracy is asking people to make a short video that tells people what we're all about. 

As you know, we're a start-up and much as we'd like to, we don't have an enormous cash prize to offer. But what we will do is to post all entries to our YouTube channel and the winner will be selected by popular vote. The winning video will be displayed on our home page and will feature the producer's name. We will also promote the video through our social media pages, blog and through PR around the contest. To thank you for your time and to cover the cost of production we're offering a $200 award. Most of all this is a chance to have some fun, get your videos out there and have them seen by tons of people!

To read more about the contest and how you can participate, you can get started here. We hope you'll participate and help us make this a success.

[theideademocracy]

IdeaDemocracy - New & Improved!

We've just added a bunch of features to IdeaDemocracy that we think you'll find both useful as well as enjoy using. Here are some of them.

1. You can now start an IdeaProject and even better its free for a limited time only! Choose your category - Graphic Design, Original Writing, Web & Mobile or Multi-media and get started. 

2. You can now view Ideator or individual creatives. Browse through portfolios, applaud work that you like or simply get in touch.

3. We've added messaging. So feel free to get in touch and communicate with fellow creatives or people posting IdeaProjects.

We hope to see you on IdeaDemocracy! Its a great way for businesses and brands to connect with creative talent and Ideas. And its a great way for creative talent to connect with business opportunities.

As always, we'd love to hear from you. So please don't hesitate to comment or get in touch with us.

[theideademocracy]

Got great visual design skills? Looking to make a name for yourself? Intern with us!

We are looking for someone to join our team as a Visual Design Intern and depending on performance to grow into a permanent team member and shareholder.

The person should have the following skills:

1. Adobe Photoshop and Creative Suite. 2. Understand design for web. 3. Excellent typography skills. 4. Grid based design understanding. 5. A good grasp of color theory. 6. A portfolio to prove yourself.

You can work from home and anywhere within the US or India. No Pay for the first three months but depending on performance you will be offered vested equity. This is an exciting opportunity for anyone with talent & creativity and with great front-end design skills who’s looking for an opportunity to apply those skills to a large scale, highly visible online project and grow into an integral member of the creative team. Get in touch with us - rohit(@)theideademocracy.com or apply here.