Yahoo Kicks Off Instant Messaging Contest

Jeff Hester
June 1, 2004

Yahoo! kicked off their IM Live contest Tuesday night, with seven pairs of friends competing for a trip to Hawaii. The concept is part Survivor, part the Real World. Each team chats for three hours a night, while the rest of us watch. You can flip between the teams like channel surfing, and then vote for your favorite team. The team with the least votes is eliminated, so on Day Two, only six teams will be competing, and so on until there is only one team left.
You can vote once each night, and one lucky voter will also win a trip to Hawaii, thanks to the good folks at Yahoo!

One of the teams includes Stephanie, a BigBlueBall member (bluevalentine). I had a chance to catch up with Stephanie after Day 1 of the contest and find out what it was like to be in a instant messaging competition.

Watching the first night of IM Live was an interesting experience from the perspective of a spectator. What was it like for you as contestants?

It was a bit stressful at first. I remember looking at the clock and thinking "Wow, we’ve only been doing this for 20 minutes? What are we going to do for the next 2 hours and 40 minutes?" but after we started gettingquestions in from some of the viewers, the time went by so quickly.

What did you do to prepare for night one?

Its not something you can really prepare for. We jus told our friends and such about the contest to get some votes coming in. Other than that, I put on a clean shirt and some lipstick.

What was the first thing you did after night one was finished?

Stood up and stretched. Best stretch I’ve ever had.

Is there anything that you’re NOT allowed to do during the contest?

Its a family show so gotta watch the language and make sure there isn’t much questionable subject matter. It was something we were worried about at first but I think we were able to stay entertaining while keeping it clean.

Have you had a chance to meet the other teams? What were the dynamics between all the contestants like?

We met all the other teams when we were in California. Great people. I understand why they were picked. The first night, 6 of us (Jake and I and two of the other teams) all went out for burgers and I stayed up late drinking bourbon with one of the teams. We had a great time. Good people andI’ll be sure to send them each a postcard from Hawaii.

How does it feel to have your conversations judged by thousands of other people?

I’m an exhibitionist. I’ve always been a ham and love being the center of attention. I talk to strangers in bars. It's nothing new to me.

You got my vote, but how soon will you know whether you have enough votes to continue to the next night?

We’ll find out in the morning. I feel pretty good about going through to the next round. Lets just hope that you and our other fans keep coming backeach night!

Assuming you move on, which it looked like you will, what do you have in store for the rest of the week? Anything we should be sure to tune in for?

Wednesday night is "Advice Night" People will be able to email or IM us with questions they need advice on--relationship, career, that sort of stuff. Early next week we have a drinking game planned. We like audience participation

Is there a way for fans to get in touch with you?

We can be emailed at yahoochat@bluevalentine.net or anyone can IM me anytime at swingkid1978. Trust me, I don’t bite.. much.

Why should we vote for Stephanie and Jake?

A vote for us is a vote for all that is good and holy or bad and evil, whichever you like more. All the cool kids vote for Jake and Stephanie, and you want to be cool, don’t you? I can tie cherry stems into knots with my tongue and will be willing to do it on chat in exchange for votes. If we make it, I’ll send postcards, while drunk, to all those who vote for us. Each vote for us means one less kitten has to be sacrificed to the Yahoogods.

To cast your vote and have a chance to win a trip to Hawaii, visit the IM Live! website from June 2 through June 8 between 8-11 PM EDT.

Good luck to Stephanie and her friend Jake! Be sure to stop by out IM Live discussion and share your comments on the contest.