Google loves the cloud. Primarily I’m referring to the Internet and how more and more we access our favorite programs, files, and tools through the web rather than from the desktop. Gmail (Gmail), Google Docs (Google Docs), YouTube (YouTube), Facebook (Facebook), Flickr (Flickr), and Twitter (Twitter) all exist in the cloud.
In fact, Google loves the cloud so much that it took this metaphor literally today in a worldwide competition, Day in the Cloud, which asks you to go on a virtual scavenger hunt in order to win free laptops, Virgin America flights, and more.
In fact, Google loves the cloud so much that it took this metaphor literally today in a worldwide competition, Day in the Cloud, which asks you to go on a virtual scavenger hunt in order to win free laptops, Virgin America flights, and more.
The kicker? Google launched the competition by throwing a ton of people onto two Virgin America flights at 6 AM PT this morning to try and solve these puzzles. And while I was on the plane, I interviewed Google and Virgin America execs 30,000 feet in the air on how they use social media.
The Contest
The Google Apps/Virgin America challenge is a 60 minute game with 10 rounds — 9 standard rounds and 1 creative round. Every task you complete increases your “altitude,” which is essentially your score. While you’ll know your score on the first nine rounds immediately, the “creative” round is judged by Google judges on the following metrics: Accuracy, Creativity, Internet Navigation Skill and Googliness (Googliness?!). The creative serves as the tiebreaker.
I won’t quite give away what each challenge entails, but they all involve Google Apps in some way (i.e. Gmail). And what if you are one of the people to win? Google and Virgin America are giving away a netbook, a TB of Google storage, and 12 tickets for Virgin America flights (plus wifi).
You can play the game either on any Virgin America flight, or on the ground. The competition ends at 11:59 PM PT tonight, so there’s still time to win yourself a netbook!
Interviews:
I conducted three interviews while I was suspended over California (the flight was from San Francisco to Los Angeles). Each interview focused on how they used social media and Google Apps for better business and better customer relationships. Here’s all three short interviews:
1. Porter Gale, Virgin America’s Vice President of Marketing, on how Virgin America uses social media and her advice for how a business should utilize it:
2. Tom Oliveri, Director of Product Marketing for Google Apps, chatting about the relationship between social media, Google Apps, and businesses, as well as practical tips for how to utilize them effectively:
3. Noah Dorrance, Marketing Director of Crushpad, explains his company’s unique take on wine and how they harness social media for the business:
By Ben Parr writer
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