Paper Magazine teams up with Myspace

Starting this blog has caused me to pay more attention to my own social network sites. Earlier today I logged into Myspace (http://www.myspace.com). On the Myspace homepage I saw that they were promoting a contest for Paper Magazine as one of their features. I clicked on the link to read more about the contest, and I was directed to the official Myspace page of Paper Magazine (http://www.myspace.com/papermagazine).

The contest is titled, "Paper's Un-Hollywood Digital Film Contest". The competition part consists of digital video camera submissions. Whatever person submits the best unprofessional digital film wins $500 in cash and prizes, coverage in Paper Magazine, and screening of the winning video at the Un-Hollywood Digital Film Festival held in NYC.

I then scrolled down to the rules section which I thought was very interesting. Rule number one stated that entrants had to be Myspace members. Rule number two explained how to submit the video which involved using Viral Videos, the Myspace video software.

Although Myspace as a social networking site is promoting Paper Magazine and their contest (which was probably a good idea on Paper's part because to be honest I had never heard of the magazine before seeing the feature on Myspace), it seems like they have also done a good job involving their network in the contest for possible site promotion. First of all, the explanation to the contest is available on their own Myspace page. People have to connect to Myspace in some way, shape, or form to read about the contest. Also, as rule number one states, you have to be a Myspace member in order to enter (not that it has anything to do with being able to shoot a good video, but it's part of the rules). Uploading of the video submission also takes place through the Myspace network to ensure membership. Even though Myspace is not an official sponsor of the contest, they have made it a point to increase membership from promoting Paper Magazine (http://www.papermag.com) and their contest on the site.

What do you think? Was it fair of Myspace to involve themselves in Paper Magazine's contest after they promoted them on their site?