Have Video? Post It Online to Win Rs 10k

Have Video? Post It Online to Win Rs 10k is a news report published by The Times of India on 19 July 2013, written by Shobha John. The article covers the launch of Contest Tube, a video competition platform by Indian social network WorldFloat that offered monetary prizes for user-generated content receiving the most “likes.” It features commentary from Sunil Abraham questioning the long-term viability of Indian social networking platforms, citing their historical failure to build sustainable user loyalty despite initial sign-up numbers.

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Article Details

📰 Published in:: The Times of India
✍️ Author:: Shobha John
📅 Date:: 19 July 2013
📄 Type:: News Report
📰 Newspaper Link:: Read Online

Full Text

NEW DELHI: Making money just got easier. Grab a computer, upload any video, garner the maximum number of 'likes' and, eureka, you are in for some moolah. If this sounds too good to be true, ask Pushkar Mahatta, founder of WorldFloat, where this video contest will start at the end of this month.

"Any idea which allows people to make money will grab attention. At the same time, most people have an innate desire to show off – their talent, their histrionic abilities, their babies….," says Mahatta. "I combined the need for fame and the need to make money in this video contest called Contest Tube." People can upload any video for Rs 100 on any day and users have to 'like' them. At the end of the month, whichever video gets the maximum 'likes' will win Rs 10,000.

Contest Tube combines the concept of audience votes, a la American Idol and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, with the 'likes' of Facebook. Will it be a game-changer in the digital sphere? Mahatta hopes to get at least 2,000 users hooked within the first month.

When he started WorldFloat last June, he had 12,000 sign-ups the first month. Today, he claims, it has a presence in 2,500 cities worldwide with 16 million users. WorldFloat allows users to virtually float and connect with people by tapping the photos moving around.

However, not everyone is gung-ho about the online contest. Experts say that such tactics don't get user loyalty. Sunil Abraham, executive director of Bangalore-based Centre for Internet & Society, says, "I wonder how long this site will last. While India has community and caste-based sites, social networking sites for some reason haven't worked." Digital consultant Shubho Sengupta says he's circumspect about online contests as they are mainly after data. "A contest is a marketing strategy. Some 20-30% of users are online only to take part in contests and many are fake."

Mahatta, though, is making sure his business has a solid foundation. A person can 'like' a video just once. "We can make out from the IP address if the same person is logging in more times," he says. "This won't be allowed. I hope this contest will be one-up on Facebook. We want the West to see Indian sites as a challenge."

Context and Background

The article was published during a period when social media platforms and user-generated content models were rapidly expanding in India. Incentive-based participation, particularly through contests and cash rewards, had become a common strategy for new digital platforms seeking rapid user growth and visibility in an increasingly crowded online ecosystem.

However, concerns about sustainability, data quality, and long-term community building were already emerging. Experts quoted in the article caution that engagement driven primarily by monetary incentives may not translate into loyal user bases or meaningful social networks. These concerns reflected broader debates in India’s digital policy and media circles about platform design, data exploitation, and the difference between short-term traction and durable online communities.