Category Lotusphere
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An idea has been bouncing around the Lotusphere team and members of our community for many years - and this year we decided to act upon it. What is it, you ask? LOTUSPHERE IDOL, of course! Think of "American Idol" (or "Pop Idol" for the non-Americans out there), but for you, the Lotusphere attendees. We're going to give you the opportunity to earn a prestigious session slot, as a speaker, at Lotusphere! But how will it work? Once again, I think I'll put the answers in FAQ form...

Lotusphere Idol FAQ
How exactly will this work?
There will be three steps to earn your spot as the Lotusphere Idol winner.

STEP 1: Anyone who is interested in competing in Lotusphere Idol will email a small abstract - 3-5 sentences - to our special email address (submissions@lotusphereidol.com). Besides your abstract, include: your submission "area" - is a "Developer" submission or an "Administrator" submission; and contact information - both your normal contact info and any contact info you can provide for you while you are at Lotusphere. The judges will choose 2-3 Administration contestants and 2-3 Development contestants.

But before you submit, there are some requirements. First, you must NOT have spoken at Lotusphere in the last 3 years, if ever. This is for those people who have never had the opportunity to speak at Lotusphere, or who haven't in a long time. Second, you MUST commit to creating a full, 60-minute presentation in about 24-36 hours - more on that in a bit.

STEP 2: The chosen contestants will present a 5 minute "audition" of their session during our "LOTUSPHERE IDOL LIVE" session on Tuesday at 1:30 in the Northern Hemisphere D-E room of the Dolphin. It will be a fun-filled session with great auditions, laughs, and more. The judges will make their decision, and then the winner will be announced LIVE at the end of the session!!

STEP 3: The winner will then have a little over a day to prepare their session - with the support and help of the Lotusphere judges. Then the Lotusphere Idol winner will present their session on Thursday at 8:30AM in Southern Hemisphere III at the Dolphin, where they will wow the crowds with their knowledge and speaking skills, and bask in the glory of the Lotusphere stage!

Will the Lotusphere winner get any help?
Yes! Some of the judges will offer to help the winner in crafting their presentation. Additionally the Lotusphere staff is reserving a one-on-one slot with our speaker coach, Bill Chuck, on Wednesday morning - so you'll not only get assistance in preparing your presentation, you'll also get help in being the best speaker possible - think of it as a "Lotusphere Makover"!

Who will be the judges?
We're still determining who will be on the stage, but additional "judges" will be in the audience as well. These "audience" judges will be comprised of the content team track managers; therefore the entire judging panel will be the track managers and the people onstage. The stage judges will be announced very soon - stay tuned! And our Master-of-Ceremonies will be none other than Ed Brill - this should be fun!

Anything else?
The winner of Lotusphere Idol will also be asked to submit a session for next year's Lotusphere - no guarantees it will be selected, but we're always looking for new talent and finding a new speaker like this is a very good way to get noticed.

So, that's it. Get your submissions in early, and we'll pick the contestants next week.

If you have any other questions about this, please ask!

Rock
**You can search the tenfold universe and not find a single being more worthy of loving than yourself. --Buddha