Yuppers.  I’m gonna get to run a contest, or two, on my blog and via Twitter.

Here are some great Twitter contests I’ve observed:

• @Skydiver — the all-day HARO trivia event was un-freakin’ believable.  Not sure where Peter stashed all the stuff leading up to it.  Doesn’t he live in NYC?  (Once had a boyfriend whose sister lived in NYC apartment with the weirdest set up EVER.  The shower was placed on a counter in the kitchen and the toilet was in a broom closet.)
• @namecheap — the holiday trivia contest which awarded free domains to the winners.  Great way to promote your brand and get people to have a little fun!
• Shortyawards — not really a contest per se but well done — excellent use of tweet and retweet
• Same goes for the @mashable awards — I think the multi-staged event, with nominations, finalists and easy to tweet links made for a contest where everyone who participated helped to publicize it.
• The Great KMart Blog Giveaway generated enough controversy (can you say sponsored blogging) to last us all awhile.  Kudos to Chris Brogan for thinking through the whole thing, handling it responsibly and not strangling any of his detractors.  (I would have been tempted.)  If you missed this pre-holiday tempest in a teapot — Chris and other bloggers were given $500 gift cards to shop at Kmart and blog about it.  Chris was very clear that this was a sponsored event.  (He also taught his kids a nice lesson in giving — using some of the money to get toys for donating to Toys for Tots.)  He wrote about the shopping trip and offered the chance to win a similar spree to his readers — simply blog or tweet about it or create a “wish list.”  (Can’t remember the exact requirements but my recollection was that an entry was simply accomplished.)  Some people took Chris to task for sponsored blogging to which I say, the expectation that all content is on the web free of charge is ridiculous and created by independently wealthy excellent writers is what got the media into some of this mess in the first place — but that’s a post for another day.
• Every day on Twitter I see references to blog contests — Wii paraphanelia seems especially popular among the mommy-bloggers.

I do some volunteer work with the Charles River Museum of Industry (totally cool and eclectic place — great for events!)  Every year the major fund-raiser involves hosting the Waltham Food & Wine Festival, a night where visitors can come to the museum and sample dishes from just about every restaurant in the Waltham area AND sample fine wines poured by an area gourmet wine store.  There is a silent auction and an opportunity to wander around the museum (the birthplace of the American manufacturing industry.)  I requested tickets for this fabulous event — valued at $45 each and will be working out how to give them away via Twitter.  What’s your suggestion?  What method do you think will garner the most attention for the event?  (It’s a good cause!)  What contests have you seen on Twitter that impressed you?  Or that made you want to enter?

Stay tuned for more information on this contest as it becomes available.  (i.e. as we figure it out together.)