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First Red Balloon Found! DARPA Balloon #6!

Okay…first red herring found. How will we deal with similar misinformation tomorrow?

balloon1DARPA has issued a challenge so that it can study study how to solve large scale problems with social networks. All day today people have clamored to create teams in preparation for tomorrow’s red balloon hunt. Tomorrow from 10am eastern time to 4pm local time 10 red weather balloons will be anchored near roads throughout the United States. The person who finds all ten balloons and reports their GPS coordinates will receive $40,000.

Rather than forming a team, I am offering $1000 to the first person who reports the correct coordinates of any of the 10 balloons to me if I am able to win the prize. Read the details here.

Where is red balloon #6?

Okay, the contest doesn’t start until 10am tomorrow. But you can see red balloon #6 here and see the rest in DARPA’s gallery. This post begs an interesting question. How will we distinguish the red herrings? The false information? Each entrant only gets 25 guesses. How many ghost will we chase between now and December 14th?

Get at least $10 from this

I will pay $10 a retweet to each of the first 100 people who retweet the following message on Twitter if I win the challenge. No money rewards will be paid if I am not the first to report all 10 red balloons. Be sure to follow @djuggler.

Help @djuggler win the DARPA challenge. $ rewards for balloons and RTs; http://3.ly/10luftballoons #10luftballoons

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All I want for Christmas is 10 red balloons

Update: Winner declared! As expected, the MIT team won.

If I win, I will share $1000 with each person who was first to correctly identify the location of a balloon.

I will pay $10 a retweet to each of the first 100 people who retweet the following message on Twitter if I win the challenge. No money rewards will be paid if I am not the first to report all 10 red balloons. Be sure to follow @djuggler.

Help @djuggler win the DARPA challenge. $ rewards for balloons and RTs; http://3.ly/10luftballoons #10luftballoons

I’ve always been fascinated with the DARPA challenges. I through for sure I could be a contender on the first DARPA automated car challenge but I could not figure out how to devote all my time to development and still feed my family. I guess that’s part of the challenge. There are many other challenges out there like the X-Prize. These are usually gone after by universities and corporations (I think). Now DARPA has one that is right up my alley. Tomorrow, December 5th, 10 red balloons will be launched in the United States. The places are specific. The person who finds all 10 is rewarded with $40,000. DARPA is studying how to solve large scale problems with social networks.

9910 red balloons.
floating in the summerwinter sky.
Panic bells, it’s red alert.
There’s something here from somewhere else.
The warDARPA machine springs to life.
Opens up onemy eager eye.
Focusing it on the skysocial media.
Where 9910 red balloons goTwitter by.
[Source, eighty-eightynine, Lyrics: Nena – 99 Luftballoons (99 Red Balloons); modified by Doug McCaughan]
See the interview with 99 Luftballoons English version author Kevin McAlea.

DARPA Red Balloon ChallengeI believe the large networks of the Internet social media celebrities will get the balloons. However, I’m going to have a shot. I’m registered and soliciting your help If you see a large red balloon with a number on it, please twitter a DM to @djuggler, email juggler@gmail.com, Skype djuggler or call me (865)686-8693 with its location and if possible its GPS coordinates. If I win, I will share $1000 with each person who was first to correctly identify the location of a balloon. A correct location is GPS coordinates with an error of less than 1.0 mile. That means if you are first to correctly tell me where balloon #3 is and I find the other #9 balloons and win, you get $1000 after I receive the prize money. DARPA has pictures of the balloons here.

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