BusinessWeek may be considering the creation of an online video hub for entrepreneurs looking for a space to post their pitches for its online component.
Adding this feature would attract a lot of attention and offer new ways for viewers and subscribers to participate with the online version of the business-oriented publication, increasing traffic, gaining new users, monetize the site, and staying within the lines of overall BusinessWeek content aspirations. BusinessWeek is also considering the launch of an online-video-based contest for those users submitting plans, for a chance to win $500,000 in venture capital funding. No word yet on what security and disclosure measures will be taken for these contests.
Considering the amount of value it could bring to a fledgling idea or emerging start-up, it's rather surprising that this type of user interaction hasn't yet been incorporated into a major media site. For the contests, other users would rate each proposal in order to choose a winner. John Byrne, BusinessWeek's executive editor and the acting editor-in-chief for its website, indicates that with this inclusion the company would likely by a new technology platform.
In related news, Bambi Franciso's Vator.tv, which already has gotten a boost of funding from former MySpace CEO Richard Rosenblatt.