Bopsta Blog - formerly Google Idol

Testing embedding

2007-02-08T07:35:00.000+10:00

The Bopsta Market is open for business...

2007-01-22T10:06:00.000+10:00

Hello Bopstas,

After an intense brainstorming weekend with myself and my groovy dance partner, Let's call her Brooke, we've decided to bend the rules of the Bopsta Market and allow you, the faithful and inspiring community, to start trading for yourself.

Now, every member of Bopsta will have the opportunity to offer something for 'sale' in the market. For example, TG might just want to sell his cool Safari Hat for a few thousand Gold. Or Edaz might offer a cameo appearance in their upcoming video to the lucky buyer! Or Maggie might run around in the snow screaming your name for 2 hrs if you pay the right price! (Actually, I'm sure Maggie would do that for free =)

Here's how to do it.

1. Log out and log back in to Bopsta - This MUST be done first to update your links
2. Go to your My Bopsta page and click the 'Products' link at the top
3. Click the 'Add a new product' link
4. Fill out the form and click the 'Save' button

The product will first go into a list for me to administer so nothing 'dodgy' goes up, but soon enough, your product will be available in the one and only Bopsta Market.

This is still in trial/beta at the moment but both Brooke and I have a great feeling about it. I believe this will add a whole new dimension to our already wonderful community.

Now get your thinking caps on and start trading!

Ben & Brooke
ps. Remember, the currency is Bopsta Gold. If you trade an item, you personally must cover the cost of postage for that item.

It's time to spread the word... again.

2006-11-13T10:16:00.000+10:00

So, well, gee, we're Bopsta now huh? Fair dinkum!

A few of us are happy, a few of us are sad, a few of us are just plain confused. What's important though is that we're ALL Bopstas! We've had to make some pretty monumental changes over the past few days and in the transition/rebranding of any site, that's to be expected. I thought I'd try to help you along the path to Bopsta-dom with a couple of hints.

Time to update your browser bookmarks.
Ditch googleidol.com, it's bopsta.com now. Think of this as spring cleaning, because it's 4 letters shorter and you'll never mistake it for a search engine again!
While you're at it, update you links.
If you have your own personal website/blog/journal/myspace or any other online presence, please take a few minutes to update your links from googleidol.com to bopsta.com. This will not only get your site up to date, it will also help Bopsta to be 'seen' by more people.
And last of all, tell the world what's happened to us and why we're now Bopsta.
(If you're not sure, click here.) If you've got your own blog/site, take a minute to write about the pressure that Fremantle Media have put on us and why your favourite site has been forced to change its name. I'm personally not happy about it, but I'm only one man. Why not voice your own opinion? The more people who read it, the more people will come to Bopsta and the more people will watch your videos! Everybody wins!! Except Fremantle Media, hopefully :)

So, life after Gidol goes on at Bopsta. We will remain the world's very best online video competition site, where the community supports the artists, and the best performance wins!

Your Captain Bopsta,

Ben Petro

Gidol threat update

2006-10-20T11:22:00.000+10:00

Thank you everybody for your thoughts, comments and ideas. Your response so far has been very heartwarming and though I had my suspiscions, I never knew for sure the amount of passion and devotion this community could demonstrate.

I am currently seeking legal advice from a number of avenues and am weighing up my options for responding. There's not much more I can say right now, but again, thank you for your unbridled commitment to Gidol.

In the meantime, how about that Jamie Cullum comp hey!? It's getting close! :)

Ben

Our Gidol is under threat

2006-10-19T10:15:00.000+10:00

I don't blog here much anymore and I apologise for that. You see, I'm not really a natural blogger so I often have trouble coming up with things to blog about. Recently I've told you about some new great features introduced to the site, and about all the new competitions we've started.

But have I told you that we now have over 1,700 quality videos? We've run about 30 competitions and handed out 60 medals. There's currently over 1 Million Gidol Gold floating around the site and we're booked out for Gidol of the Week until March next year!

Sounds like a wonderful world here at Gidol doesn't it!? Well I'm very sorry to say that our vibrant community, the one that has been built by each and every one of you, is under threat.

Yesterday I received a Cease & Desist from Fremantle Media (who own American Idol and all other Idol franchises around the world) who are demanding the "complete termination of all activities [at our website]" claiming that "[Gidol] customers are more than likely to assume that the services are offered by Freemantle Media" and "[as a result of Gidol] consumers have no reason to seek out licensed idol trademarks...causing significant damage to the goodwill of the Idol programs". They've given me until October 24 to meet their demands.

Pretty heavy huh!? And also in stark contrast to our friends at Google who have supported our endeavour from day one.

Trust that I will keep you all very closely informed as to any developments in this case! :)

Your Gidol warrior,
Ben Petro

It's time to be the judge!

2006-10-16T08:48:00.000+10:00

The judging period is now underway for the 'Jamie Cullum - Photograph' competition at Gidol.

This competition has been our most successful yet with 20 outstanding entries from 9 different countries. Once you start watching these videos, it's clear that a lot of planning and production has gone into their making, so now it's important for you, the public, to take the time and rate the videos how you see fit.

Remember, Gidol is all about participation, fun and giving the general public the opportunity to voice their opinion.

Show the world you care, and judge the competition now!

New competitions at Gidol!

2006-10-11T14:15:00.000+10:00

Gidol Producers is really starting to take shape. Two competitions have recently finished including the Bollywood dance action of the Aneela feat. Arash promotion, and also our very own Microbefox's competition for the Gidol Shorts. We received some fantastic and inspiring entries for both competitions, and the very popular J & C Studios were victorious in both of them!

This week sees the beginning of the rating for the Jamie Cullum - Photograph comp of which we have received 15 outstanding entries! Considering this is such a long and involved song, the videos submitted are all of a very high standard and my praise goes out to all involved. Rating starts on the 14th, so make sure you all rate each video in the competition; it's your voice that makes the difference!

Also finishing soon is Margreeteliene's Nederlandse Competitie and in the footsteps of that, we've just started 2 new comps for our French and German audiences.

Lastly, LingLing is now running a very special comp to demonstrate the huge global reach that Gidol has, with 'Put your town on the map'. No matter where you live, tell the world about your town, city or suburb and show us what you love about it.

There is plenty of room to be creative with all of these competitions, so don't just do something standard. Show us what you're made of! Become a Gidol today!

Some new 'bells & whistles' to enjoy

2006-10-05T10:18:00.000+10:00

As our community of talented and dedicated film makers and enthusiasts continues to grow, we're constantly adding new features to make Gidol your number one place on the web.

This week we've introduced a new photo gallery feature and your very own personal blog. Upload some photographs of the behind-the-scenes action and show your fans a different side to you. Or why not try desigining yourself an album cover and use Gidol as a self-promotional tool!?

Once you've shown us what you look like, take some time and tell us a bit more about your personality. The Blog is your personal journal at Gidol where you can let your fans know exactly what you're up to and what you've got planned over the coming weeks and months.

With all these new 'bells & whistles', Gidol is growing into a very powerful and fun community for you all to enjoy. If there's something you think we're missing though, make sure you let us know! All suggestions will be carefully considered and believe me, you will get credit for any ideas you come up with.

Ben
The man behind the bells... well not the Blog, that was Microbefox's idea!

We're NOT just a lip-synching site!

2006-09-18T11:19:00.000+10:00

Yes, we may have started as a competition for amateurs lip-syncing to professional songs, but we've since evolved into so much more. If you haven't already noticed, try to get your head around what myGidol is actually becoming:

"We are an online community of talented film-makers from around the world"

Have you noticed all the new videos appearing in the myGidol profiles from people like Microbefox, ShiningBoys, MarkJacob, Edaz and even DanceGuru? More and more short-films, documentaries, live performances, and original artists' songs are being show-cased at Gidol, and this is all without encouragement.

Now as all these new videos continue to be added and the genres, styles, languages and themes continue to expand, we will start opening up new competitions to enter and vote on. But more importantly, myGidol will continue to grow into a very powerful and professional community of film-makers from all regions of the world who actively participate and encourage their peers.

If you're a visitor who's never produced a video - like me =) - then make sure you have your say. Join myGidol and leave a comment on someone's profile, save your favourites and rate the videos. Not only does this encourage the filmmakers who are building the site, but it also earns you a few Gidol Gold along the way. And as the Market continues to grow, you'll soon be benefiting from your effort as well.

Now, I'm off to see what great new videos have been added... so should you!

Ben
Of Gidol fame :)

Voting privileges must now be earnt.

2006-09-15T16:48:00.000+10:00

Due to an ever-increasing incidence of fraudulent voting, I've been forced to implement new functionality to secure the Gidol system and make the competitions run more fairly.

I've introduced a system of quality assurance whereby users must now 'qualify' to vote. The specifics of exactly what happens behind the scenes is part of our 'secret sauce' so don't worry too much about it. What is important is that users can no longer create a multitude of fake email accounts and cast their vote, thus improving the credibility of our competitions and site on a whole.

Ben

Great new competitions to enter

2006-09-06T11:59:00.000+10:00

The times are changing here at Gidol. No longer are we entirely focussed on amateur performances based around lip-syncing to popular songs - which is still a whole lot of fun, mind you! - but we've recently opened our doors to a much wider range of 'disciplines' and genres.

You may have noticed the new 'user-generated' competitions that are currently running.

Firstly, we have a great new track from Aneela feat. Arash who are asking you to show off your dancing skills. Bollywood dancing that is!

Secondly, our very own Microbefox has begun a competition where you'll need to show us your acting and short-film production skills.

And lastly, the hugely-popular best-selling Jazz prodigy from London, Jamie Cullum is asking for you to show us your story-telling skills.

From now on, we will be regularly featuring new and exciting competitions and promotions here at Gidol. After all, it's you, the audience, who is now in the driver's seat. And not only do you have the chance to express yourself and show the world your creativity and individuality, you can also pick up some great prizes along the way! What a wonderful world it is here at Gidol :)

If you've got an idea for a competition that you'd like to run, contact us at mygidol@googleidol.com and tell us what you're thinking.

Director, overlord and chieftain,

Ben Petro

Where in the world are our Gidols?

2006-09-01T09:01:00.000+10:00

After only 1 month of launching myGidol, our membership is rapidly growing and so are the quantity and quality of videos. But don't you find yourself asking where they're all coming from? Well ask no longer because I've just introduced a brand-spanking new feature to Gidol:

Where in the world are our Gidols?

This groovy new feature will display our Gidols and the locations they've set as their home. Click the button, and you will be able to see the most recent video they've uploaded, and link directly to their myGidol profile.

From today, when people join myGidol, they will have the option of setting a home location. For all you Gidols who've been with us for a while, you can set your home location by updating your Profile.

Now, when you're setting your home location, please DO NOT set the exact location to your home address. We respect your privacy and do not plan to give your home address away to the world. Simply select the nearest town, or even the lake closest to your home - if you wish you lived in the sea!

Indulge in comfort on the Sumo Lounge Omni

2006-08-25T10:05:00.000+10:00

When Andrew from Sumo Lounge contacted me offering a sample of the Sumo Omni, I was intrigued. After all, he did claim it to be the most comfortable chair in the world. I thought; "As if anyone could even know that!"

Four days, 10,000 miles and one very speedy FedEx delivery later, I unwrapped what resembled a circus big-top, and began frantically dialing numbers trying to track down a bean-bag-fill supplier with enough stock to satisfy my unusual requirements - enough beans for 4 standard bags?

You see, the Sumo Lounge is, as its name suggests, large. I'm not a big guy by any means, so it wouldn't take much to accommodate my scrawny frame, but when I first lay down, I instantly become one with the Sumo. Andrew was right; it is unmistakeably the world's most comfortable bean-bag, sofa, chair and bed, all in one.

It's not until your totally comfortable with the sheer size and versatility of the Sumo Lounge that you really begin to appreciate its ingenuity. For not only is it big and comfortable, it also looks great, is the centre of attention and will leave you wondering why you ever bought a sofa. My old leather lounge-suite now sits alone in the corner gathering dust, traded up for a far more intelligent solution. Also, at a fraction of the cost of any other suite on the market, it just makes so much sense.

Now that my Sumo is as much a part of my apartment as I am - let's face it, it'll be a lot easier to get me out the door than it! - I find myself constantly challenged by a new problem to solve: Do I feel like lying, sitting, leaning or straddling? Maybe I'm in a lounging type of mood. No, I'm far too exhausted to merely lounge. Tonight I'm going for the all out loll.

Rediscover your laziness, you'll thank me for it! And to mark a momentus occassion for Gidol, the Sumo Lounge is now available in the Gidol Market. Save up your Gold, because this deal is worth waiting for!

What's new at Gidol?

2006-08-21T10:16:00.000+10:00

In a word: Lots!

Over the past few weeks I've been working day and night taking Gidol to the next level, and I'm very pleased to let you in on a few secrets as to what I've been doing.

1) Change to the first round of competitions.

If you've checked out the newest Rock Webcam and Kids competitions, you would have noticed that no longer is the first round based on 8 heats of voted videos, but instead, all videos that have been accepted for the competition are available for rating by you. Each person with a myGidol account can rate each video only once (so you don't have to watch them all in one day) and at the end of the week, the 8 highest rated videos will progress to the finals.

The finals will operate in the standard way that we're all used to and they will be made up as follows: The highest rated video will go up against the lowest rated (out of the top 8), the 2nd highest will go up against the 2nd lowest and so forth. This way, we will have grand final that is between the two highest rated videos - in theory!

This will also mean that competitions will run for one month from start to finish and we'll be able to get a LOT more videos featured in the competitions.

2) User-generated myGidol competitions

After discussing some ideas for new competitions with a few Gidols in the forum (short films, for instance), I decided it was time to hand over the reigns to you, the public. Until now, all competitions have been built and managed entirely by me, and of course my fearless and dedicated Talent Scout, Let's call her Brooke.

Today is the dawn of a new era at Gidol though, as I have just introduced user-generated myGidol competitions whereby the format and running of the comps and video ratings will be created and managed by you. Well, not ALL of you, but the 'lucky' ones who earn the right.

To see an example of one of these competitions right now, check out Universal Music Germany's very own promotion for Aneela feat. Arash. This competition was started by UMG and they are the ones you need to impress. They're also offering some great prizes like a new 4GB iPod Nano, so there's even more reason to check them out now!

Now you may have noticed I mentioned something about 'earning' the right to start a competition. Well that brings me to my final, and most important point:

3) Loyalty to Gidol

If there's one thing that has become very obvious over the past 6 months, it's that there's only one thing more powerful than the great videos we receive and that's the dedicated loyalty that the fans have shown to the site. I appreciate each and every one of you and the contribution you make and now it's time to give something back.

For the past few weeks there's been something very significant happening behind the scenes that none of you are aware of. I've been watching you! And based on what I've seen, I've worked out how much you are actually using the site and how loyal you are. I've been counting your ratings, your videos, your bsides and your favourites and I've been tallying up Loyalty Points for you all. Soon, you will see how many points you've accrued, and in the very near future, you will be able to trade your loyalty points for real, tangible prizes. Like the Gidol tshirt for instance. You'll need a few thousand points but when you've got them, I'll send you a tshirt and it won't cost you a dollar. Save up your points and soon, you'll be able to 'buy' your very own myGidol competition.

Loyalty is the driving force behind the wonderful community and fresh content at Gidol, and soon you will be able to cash it in, and take home something very special.

So as you can see, there's actually been a whole lot happening here at Gidol and I've been dying to tell you all about it! Let me know what you think, and start gathering your ideas about a great new competition to run. For more information, log in to myGidol and click the link at the top for "My Competitions".

Always yours,
Ben 'Gidolman' Petro

500+ videos on myGidol

2006-08-11T11:34:00.000+10:00

It's been just over a week since we launched myGidol and already we've received over 500 videos; some old, many new, all good. With this ever-growing library of videos, I thought now would be a good time to let you know a few tricks on finding them, and what to do with them once you have.

Firstly, you will notice on the homepage I added a section titled: "Our most recent Gidols". This lists the 6 latest videos to be 'approved' for viewing. Click the link and it will take you to the Gidol page where you will find a list of the most recent 36 Gidols who've join. Each Gidol's profile contains the videos that they've uploaded and you can watch any of these whenever you like.

If you watch a video and like what you see, why not rate it? Simply choose the rating out of 5, click the button and voila, your rating is added to the tally. These ratings are displayed to the user so they will know which of their videos are the most popular, and hopefully create new ones based on that.

I've also added a brand new "Google Personalised Homepage" Gadget which will allow you to see the 2 most recent videos right on your Google Homepage. Never used the Google Homepage? Try it out, it keeps all your important information right in one place and now Gidol is there as well. To add the Gadget, click this button:

And lastly, now that you've joined myGidol and uploaded some videos, I bet you want to tell your friends and family. Just send them the link that appears at the top of your myGidol profile. It's simply www.mygidol.com/<your username>. Mine is www.mygidol.com/ben. Pretty simple huh!?

That's all for now, but remember; there's lots of great features coming soon as well as some fantastic promotions that will make you wish you could just dance around in front of the camera all day... stay tuned.

Ben

myGidol - what's it all about?

2006-08-04T10:33:00.000+10:00

Gidol has grown up. We're 5 mths old now and we're slowly learning to walk. Soon we'll be running, but until then, we're busy working on our baby steps.... whatever!

This week we released myGidol - as most of you are aware - and I thought now would be a good time to clue you in on what's been happening behind the scenes that's prompted this change, and also offer you a sneak peak into what's coming.

Until now, my Thursday & Friday nights and most of the weekend have been consumed with updating the website. New competitions, setting the votes for past competitions, writing reviews on the performances, announcing the winners and a plethora of other menial tasks, not to mention watching the hundred or so videos that come in every week! Needless to say, my life, and the time I spend with my trusty Talent Scout / Girlfriend, Let's call her, Brooke has been reduced to a fairly mundane series of necessary work-duties. And yes, I still have a full-time job amongst this.

Anyway, I decided that I needed to rebuild Gidol to allow me to take a weekend off - my first in five months.

And thus, myGidol emerged. Da naaaa!!! Now, all entries that you submit are collated into a very sophisticated and whiz-bang system that allows me to quickly 'approve' you for competitions, organise the heats and finals and give you near-instant feedback as to when your video will be shown on the site. If you get sent to the B-Sides, you'll know. If you've been selected for an upcoming competition, you'll also know. Pretty neat huh!?

You can also save your favourite Gidols to your myGidol profile so you'll never miss any of their new work, and even rate the videos you watch. These are just a few of the great features at myGidol and very soon we'll be releasing new functionality to make your experience even more fun.

And now... I can finally have a friday night out at the pub, and enjoy the lighter things in life. Who knows, with all this free time on my hands, I might even make a video for myself!

Enjoy, and as usual, let me know what you think.

Your faithful Gidolman,
Ben

myGidol is all yours!

2006-08-02T21:04:00.000+10:00

It's five months today since Gidol first took to the stage and since then we've been successfully unearthing some of the best amateur talent the world has ever seen.

Today we're very pleased to announce the launch of myGidol; your own personal place to share your masterpieces with our ever growing community of actors, filmmakers, musicians and video enthusiasts.

If you've submitted a video to Gidol in the past, whether it was accepted in a competition or not, now is the time to join myGidol and RESUBMIT your videos for future competitions. myGidol is very easy to join and is of course totally free. For more information and to join now, go to myGidol today.

Please note: All videos received before August 01, 2006 will need to be RESUBMITTED to be considered for future competitions. Sorry for the hassle, but it really doesn't take too long!

Google Video shows their support

2006-07-28T08:42:00.000+10:00

Our friends at Google have highlighted the talent at Gidol this week, featuring the site in their weekly highlights blog.

Click here to read their blog...

Gidol Goodies is open for business

2006-07-20T14:35:00.000+10:00

The next campaign in our mission to take over the solar system began with thunderous applause last night as the doors to the Gidol Goodies store opened to the public.

Aside from watching hundreds of videos, running the competitions, maintaining the forums, talking to the artists and countless other odd jobs, we've been working hard to bring Gidol-wear to your fingertips and have released the very first Gidol T-Shirt; hand designed by our very own Talent Scout/Creative Director, Let's call her Brooke.

By buying one of our shirts, you're not only adding a unique and trendy item to your no doubt already unique and trendy wardrobe, but you're also helping support the unique and trendy community of Gidol! And what could be more unique and.... you get the picture. :) So pleeeease, if you like the shirts and you like what we do for you, show us how much you care. We love nice feedback, but we love selling shirts more!

We hope you like them, and all the new goodies that are coming in the near future. Go to the Gidol Goodies store now!

Ben Petro
Gidolman

It's our turn to show off!

2006-07-10T11:58:00.000+10:00

If I had a dollar each time I was asked: "When are you going to do a video, Ben?", I could retire and not have to slave over Gidol every minute of my spare time. Actually... I would, but that's not the point.

Over the past few days, my trusty talent scout - let's call her, Brooke - and I, have been busy producing our own piece of magic and I'm very pleased to be able to show it off to you! Introducing the very first Gidol Promotional video featuring none other than a collection of some of our most popular Gidols and our new theme song, "Zuperstar" by Sundealers.

Just sit back and enjoy the show!

Well, what did you think????? Please leave us a comment as we'd love to hear your feedback.

Now before I go, let me just say that this is NOT an entry or replacement for the current Gidol Promos competition that we are running with Sundealers. That competition is still running and we're accepting entries until the end of August. There's great prizes to be won including copies of their new album and the top performance will win a Sony Playstation 2!! So get your thinking caps on and start producing!

Cheers,
Ben & the Gidol Talent Scout - let's call her Brooke

More Gidol publicity to enjoy

2006-07-07T14:02:00.000+10:00

If you thought for a moment that the Gidol publicity steam-train had come to a halt, then think again. A couple of weeks ago I filmed an interview with primetime news here in Australia and also did a story for a current affairs type program titled, of all things, A Current Affair!

The first part of the story is all about us, the middle is about our friends from the Original competition, Root Kit, and the last part is about... well... a whole bunch of random and unrelated videos. I'm still struggling to understand how they cut from Gidol to Big Brother UK's Nikki, but hey, any publicity is good publicity right?

Anyway, on with the show: http://ninemsn.video.msn.com/v/en-au/v.htm?g=b5787147-234c-4b5d-bd86-5792b0ed2699

Let me know what you think... and yes, that's me in front of my laptop, where the Gidol magic happens!!

Ben

Mica Prazak and Julia are the new official Gidols!

2006-06-24T15:15:00.000+10:00

After almost two months of competition at both Kids and Rock Gidol, our winners have been crowned. Both grand finals were fought down to the wire and were our closest competitions yet, with only 144 votes separating the top two in the Rock category, and only 51 votes separating the top two in the Kids!

Firstly, congratulations go to Canada's Mica Prazak and his team who played a see-saw battle with the Dutch boys, Twan, Sjoerd, Manuel en Iwin. Both videos were outstanding in quality and a winner was almost impossible to pick. In the end, the originality and humour of Mica's clip led them to victory.

And secondly, we've all enjoyed Julia's energetic and very cute performance to her favourite band, The Corrs and while it looked like she was out mid-week, she managed to pick up a few vital votes towards the end and jumped back in front.

Let's not forget the rest of the competitors who made these competitions such a huge success though. On behalf of the rest of the world, thank you to all for your wonderful and enjoyable videos.

If you missed any of these videos, make sure you check out the past competitions at Rock Gidol and Kids Gidol.

Thanks for a great time,

Ben Petro
Gidolman

Gidol competitions for June 17 - June 24

2006-06-18T08:58:00.000+10:00

This week we've got a number of different competitions running and so you don't miss anything, I thought I'd take a moment to list them all clearly right here. Make sure you take your time to view all the comps and vote for your favourites! That's what makes Gidol so special - it's up to you!

Firstly, it's Grand Final time at Rock and Kids! After weeks of competition and dozens of fantastic videos, we're down to the final two in each category. Don't miss your chance to vote for the final, every vote counts!

Rock Music Video - Grand Final
vs

Kids - Grand Final
vs

In the Pop section, we're into Heats 3 & 4 of the brand new Music Video competition and again this week, the quality is outstanding. Take your time to watch all of these vids because picking a winner will be difficult.

Pop Music Video - Heat 3

Pop Music Video - Heat 4

And finally, we can't forget the Quarter Finals of the Pop Webcam comp. Your favourites from the first round are back and the competition is tougher. Who will be your Gidol?

Pop Webcam - Quarter Final 1 & 2

Pop Webcam - Quarter Final 3 & 4

Right, there should be enough to keep you busy there for a while! Enjoy the endless entertainment at Gidol.

Gidol is a hit in New Zealand!

2006-06-16T09:38:00.000+10:00

As Joe & Friends and Edaz met in the finals of the last Pop Music Video competition, it looked like it would be a close finish. After news of the battle reached New Zealand shores however, there was little doubting who whould come out on top. The Kiwis got behind their countrymen and this is the publicity they received, the extra votes pushing them through to the Gidol Hall of Fame.

The official Original Gidol format is released

2006-06-05T09:08:00.000+10:00

Gidol was originally launched as a simple online competition between lip-synched webcam performers. Due to its instant popularity, we soon expanded the comps to include higher-quality, edited music videos and then introduced different categories of music - eg, Pop & Rock. Add a few promotional competitions for bands like The Motorettes & Mediengreuppe Telekommander and suddenly Gidol is a lot more complex than ever imagined. You'll notice that a few changes have been made to the structure of content and these promotions now have a new home at Gidol Promos.

This brings me to Original Gidol, which until now has not been running as it was first intended. Original Gidol is a competition devoted entirely to original artists; not just the people who make the videos, but more importantly, the artists who make the music. Think of it as a promotional tool for up and coming bands. The Gidol difference is that we encourage the bands to produce a music video or webcam performance of their song and submit it to our 'Battle of the bands' type competition. The videos are voted on by the public until eventually, a winner emerges.

The first competition features bands from Germany, England, Serbia, Australia, Belgium and Austria. A collection of rock, pop, jazz and funk make up a very diverse group. But remember, this is just the demo and as more and more bands find out about the enormous amount of global exposure they can enjoy from being featured at Original Gidol, more competitions will begin.

So get down to Original Gidol and show your support by learning a bit more about the bands that we've chosen. Read their biographies, visit their websites, download their MP3s and enjoy the world's music the Gidol way.

Keep coming back and you'll soon find a great range of fantastic music that is free to download and enjoy.