Six Flags, for instance, has created a contest on Bix.com called the Great American Scream-Off, in which participants upload videos of themselves screaming — as they might do on a roller coaster — for prizes including free passes.
Mr. Kristof has created a contest to take one student traveling with him to the developing world; he writes that "even if you don't win, you can do this kind of thing on your own".
And now Microsoft has created a contest on Facebook to let one user get their own picture featured on Bing.
Meanwhile Turkey - which snubbed the contest this year citing dissatisfaction with the rules - has created its own rival to Eurovision.
It also has created a special insert about the contest for key cards it is distributing to guests at hotels in 11 markets, including Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Oakland.
The committee is also using Facebook to hold a fan photo contest, awarding winners free tickets to events, and it has created Olympic minigames on the social network.
Russian casemodder "Xooler" has created this utterly insane mod for an Nvidia-sponsored SLI casemod contest.
It took his total for the tournament to five goals overall and killed the game as a contest although Muhammad could have created a more exciting finish had he shown greater composure.
I've created contests, coached teams and edited problems from regional events to the International Mathematics Olympiad.
The guardians have created this contest for what seems to be nothing but their own sense of power, and they are ruthless in seeing it through to the end: death for the loser.
