In the last 24 hours I have witnessed and participated in 3 online blogging contests. Contests are always fun but they are really powerful too. Lets take a look.

We all know the power of social media networking and it’s ability to go viral. We also know it’s not easy to get people talking and working for you. This is where contests come in. We can offer something of value in exchange for a little bit of work and interaction.

Mashable is having a contest right now giving away a free pass to Demo 09 worth $2,995. All they ask for you to participate is to post a comment, which finishes this sentence: “I’d like to attend the DEMO 09 emerging technology conference because…”

This is not particularly difficult. It requires you to spend a few moments being creative. Writing something intelligent with a mix of goofy and a bit of sucking up and poof you have a comment.

Melanie Nathan just opened the doors to her new blog, Canadian SEO. After introducing herself, the blog and talking a bit about what she does she offered up a small contest.

“And now, in the interest of keeping things er, interesting…. I’ll be picking one commenter below by end of day Friday, to receive a fun-filled Canadian themed prize package. Hmmm. What *ever* could it be???”

Again all you have to do is post a comment. This prize package is probably not valued at $3,000 like the Mashable contest but it still invokes a challenge in us. It’s fun and interesting and I want to be apart of it. Even if all I get is a mini Canadian flag and some maple syrup.

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