Saturday, May 2, 2009

Craigslist Ad of the Week

Title: Problem Solvers Wanted. Enter to win the James Dyson Award!
When: 2009-04-30
Who: James Dyson Award
Description:
Have an invention you think could make an impact? Here's your opportunity. The challenge: design something that solves a problem.

Enter the James Dyson Award, a global design award that celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers, for the chance to win £10,000 for you and your university.

Looking for inspiration? Here's what last year's US finalist, Ryan Jansen, came up with: The Rake n Take , a gardening device that not only gathers the leaves but also picks them up as well.

To learn more about the contest and how it works, please visit http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/.

The James Dyson Award is open to product design, industrial design and engineering university level students (or graduates within 3 years of graduation). Please visit http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/TermsAndConditions.aspx for full rules and regulations.
Comments: Yes, I realize that Craigslist is often used to spread the word, so I understand placing this ad in the architect/engineer job board, but I still have to ask, "since when is entering a competition a job?" The sentence "Problem Solvers Wanted" is just a tad misleading, even if it is followed immediately by an accurate description of the ad. As much as New Yorkers want to win £10,000 (close to $15,000, at today's rate), they also want to get paid for the work they do. Here there's no guarantee of that, and realistically the chances of being the one to snag the pounds is slim indeed. For those interested who are hearing about the competition via this Craigslist ad, you have a month and a half to come up with a stellar idea, seven months less than those who discovered it elsewhere.