An interesting twist on American Inventor is coming today to, not to network TV (although now would be a great time to pitch it to the networks, given the WGA strike), but to the internet.
They're turning the process of launching an internet startup into a reality show over at YouBeTheVC. Winners that win the game show will get "financing, programming/web development, expert mentoring, office space, legal, accounting, administrative and marketing support, as well as a stipend to live and work in Cambridge." All you bring to the table is the idea and the buzzwords.
Don't think this is going to be as easy as pulling one over on George Foreman, though. There are two judges from Google: Marissa Mayer and Craig Walker, but also a bevy of entrepreneurs mostly from the social and video space, with a few tech journalists thrown in for good measure.
CNBC's Squawk Box featured them today, and while they over-simplified that resources and knowlege it takes to actually build a successful non-venture backed organization these days, they did make note of the fact that competition is quite stiff for folks who haven't been venture-backed in the past.
The FAQ at YouBeTheVC is a great primer for those interested in becoming "buzzword compliant" in the Web 2.0 and VC world, but it also reveals that a large portion of how the final selections will be made will rely on user voting. They say that there will be careful eyes on any type of voter manipulation, but I'm skeptical. There is definitely a danger of those with large social graphs being promoted ahead of those with simply good ideas.