Connect Ohio Launches YouTube Video PSA Contest

Contact: Amanda Murphy
614-220-0190 or amurphy@connectohio.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2011

Winners may be selected for upcoming statewide public service announcements, receive an iPad

COLUMBUS – Ohio residents now have a chance to become the stars of an upcoming statewide public service campaign. Connect Ohio, a non-profit public-private partnership, has launched a YouTube video public service announcement contest to gather meaningful stories of Ohioans using broadband technology. The winning video(s) will be 30- or 60-seconds in length and demonstrate the usefulness of the Internet to the daily lives of Ohioans, creative ways people use Internet technology, and how “Life is better with Broadband.” The contest winner(s) will receive an Apple iPad and may be selected to appear in Connect Ohio’s Every Citizen Online public service announcements.

The Every Citizen Online program offers free basic computer and Internet training to adults in Ohio to introduce new users to a wide range of communication, education, and healthcare tools available online. Connect Ohio has partnered with more than 100 libraries and community colleges across the state to offer the training. A statewide public awareness campaign was launched by Connect Ohio in December 2010 and included television, radio, and print mediums. Additional public service announcements will be produced in April 2011.

Contest rules and guidelines can be found at http://connectohio.org/consumer_training/video_contest.php or by e-mailing youtubecontest@connectohio.org. Videos must be uploaded to YouTube.com, and then submitted to Connect Ohio at http://connectohio.org/consumer_training/video_contest.php. Entries are due by March 21, 2011, and winners will be announced in April.

For more information on the Every Citizen Online program, visit http://connectohio.org/consumer_training or call 1-855-NOW-I-CAN (669-42260) to find a local training location.

View Connect Ohio’s Every Citizen Online televised public service announcements: http://connectohio.org/consumer_training/media.php.

# # #

Connect Ohio, a division of Connected Nation, is a nonprofit, technology-neutral public-private partnership that works with telecommunications providers, business and community leaders, information technology companies, researchers, public agencies, libraries and universities in an effort to help extend affordable high-speed Internet service to every Ohio household. For more information about what Connect Ohio is doing to accelerate technology in Ohio's communities, visit http://www.connectohio.org.

Related Links: Connect Ohio on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ConnectOhio

Connect Ohio on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ConnectOH

# # #