Macalua.com

I almost fell off my seat when I read this post from Nathan Weinberg’s InsideGoogle:

AOL is combining with Survivor creator Mark Burnett for “Gold Rush”, a reality game that will challenge players to use clues buried in AOL Network websites to find 13 caches of gold buried around the United States.

The game format is suprisingly very similar to the entry I submitted to the Yahoo! Southeast Asia Ideas 2005 contest. My entry “won” but since I wasn’t a Singapore resident, the entry was later disqualified. My contest entry centered on:

…an online scavenger hunt ala-Amazing Race®, with clues scattered all over the more than 80 Yahoo! properties (Photos, Mail, Search, etc.). Participants are led from page to page, uncovering clue after clue. Corporate sponsors may pay for product placement spots in certain points of the scavenger hunt. By laying out the game across the different Yahoo! properties, brand recognition and ultimately product usage is increased.

Now compare that with the “Gold Rush” contest description from RedHerring.com:

The web-based reality series will run across several sites on the AOL network, including AOL.com, AIM.com, Moviefone.com, and MapQuest.com. Challengers will be able to hunt for clues across the sites and look for hidden treasure buried across the United States.

The clues and the online reality show will also be promoted on television, print, and cell phones. Mr. Burnett said he was amazed by the number of fans who communicated online about his TV series.

The buried gold part is somewhat unique, I’ll give Mark Burnett that.

Via Nathan Weinberg.