Video entries for "War Of Words" is now on......!!!!!

i2X Media 

(organizers of WORD UP, the biggest Spoken Word Event in Nigeria)

Presents 

War Of Words 

(A Spoken Word Poetry Competition)

 This June, Spoken Word Poets will grace the stage like never before to kiss words and make them dance.

Up for grabs

• $300 for the winner and
• The top three poets get to perform at the next edition of WORD UP on August 17, 2013 alongside popular international  Def Poet – Black ICE.

 Do you have what it takes? Here is all you have to do  

1. Submit an original poem that is in English, pidgin English or a combination of both. Please note that All non-english words used in the poem must be explained in the information box of the video.
2. Ensure The title of your poem  contains the official hashtag #WarOfWords, else your entry is not valid.
3.  Ensure  your name/ stage name, email address and wordings of the video are in the information box of the video. If the information box cannot contain the wordings of the poem, send it to wordup4one1@gmail.com stating your name and title of the poem with the hashtag in the subject box of the mail.
4. Ensure your  video submission is not be more than 3 minutes long and remember it must be uploaded on your Youtube channel. If you don’t have a Youtube channel, please open one.
5. The submitted video must be one camera, one poet and recorded specifically for the competition. No live performance videos and no special effects. Please note that all poets are limited to one submission ONLY.
6. You will be required to post the link of the Youtube Video in the comment section of  any posts  on  http://wordup411.blogspot.com,  to render your entry as valid.
7. You will also be required to tweet the video link with the official hashtag #WarOfWords to @WORDUP411
8. The theme of the video entry is, “In it to win.” 

Ready to WOW us?

Video submission starts NOW till Midnight of June 14, 2013 !!!!!!

Follow us all on Twitter: @WORDUP411 , @Olulu4ever , @talk2duvy , @DonFabrino , @ikekhuahdan 

Like us on facebook https://www.facebook.com/wordup411

The Actual date, venue and time of the competition will be communicated once we have our finalists.

A total of 15 poets will be chosen from the entries for the competition. The first ten will be chosen by our in-house judges. The last five will be chosen based on most viewed, most liked  and the videos with the most comments.

Thus, if you are a Spoken Word Artist, Performance Poet, or a Wordsmith, 

then you should not miss this one chance, to  kiss words and make them dance.

HOW TELECOM COMPANIES CAN MAKE MONEY FROM SPOKEN WORD POETRY IN NIGERIA.

The mere fact that you are reading this means one, you believe it and two, you like money :).

Well, don't worry, I did not write this just to catch your attention. What you have here is based on years of research.

But surely you don't expect me to just disclose "trade secrets" just like that. Though if you read between the lines, you will get a good idea of what I am “trying not to write in full.” But if you don’t get it, well, that’s why I am here as a consultant, and you know that, “there is nothing free in Freetown.”

Ok, so how can telecom companies make money from Spoken Word Poetry in Nigeria?

First, what does Spoken Word Poetry and telecom companies have in common? Words!!! Whether it is written words (i.e. Texts, BBM, and Emails) or Spoken Words (i.e. phone calls and voice mails), they are words.

Two, it’s a known fact that talents are diverse, and people have aspiration as regards their talents. They want to showcase themselves on the big stage. That’s why musically inclined people who want to be a “TuFace,” “M.i ” or a “D’Banj,”  flock to a “Naija got talent” or “Project Fame.” They know after the competition there is a place, (call it industry if you like), for them to progress into.

So we looked at the model of Comedy growth in Nigeria and we created, WORD UP, the biggest Spoken Word Poetry event in Nigeria. After a couple of shows and a lot of noise, (pun intended), we have more poets than we ever can feature. Meaning, poets now have that “big stage” they crave for and also, we now need to introduce “conditions” before they can get to feature on that “big stage.”

Three, why would I want to be a Spoken Word Poet if there is no big platform to showcase my skills? Ok, we have got WORD UP (the biggest Spoken Word Poetry event in Nigeria). How do I get on WORD UP? Well, you have to cross seven rivers and climb seven mountains and bring us the head of an albino Eagle. Or pick up your phone and em………em ………..!!!!!

Four, with so many poetry writing competitions, why don’t we get to hear about the winners after the competition? And yes, there was a Performance Poetry/ Spoken Word competition last year; do you want to know what happened to the winner?

Five, how is WORD UP the biggest Spoken Word Poetry event in Nigeria? If you had people come in from Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Namibia and even UK, to feature at the event, is that big or not? Ok wait, I am still “coming” (pun intended).

If you have Shihan Van Clief and Black Ice coming in for your shows in May and August 2013 respectively, is that big or not?

For the uninitiated, you might want to ask, who is Shihan? Who is Black Ice? No, long thing, Google them, Google Def Poetry Jam, watch their videos on Youtube, and please note the number of views they have on Youtube.

Now imagine a “local, unknown boy (or girl)” sharing the stage with them. But getting on that stage is not automatic; after all, there are “no free oranges in Orange town.”

Six, enough rambling, how can telecom companies make money from Spoken Word Poetry in Nigeria? Hmm, my lips are sealed, go read between the lines, if you still don’t get it, then, call me, I am a consultant in this field, and I can assure you, we are not that many in Nigeria, and well, (rolls eyes), I still collect my fees in Naira.

But really, if you still don’t get it, let me put it this way. We have created a platform for “only the best Spoken Word Poets” to feature on. However, what qualifies a poet as been good enough to perform at WORD UP? Just like “Star,” they would need to be triple filtered and we know the drill in getting them “filtered.”

If it is still not clear to you, come talk to us, together we will set the “stairs” and add it to our platform. Hey, stop looking under the stairs that is not where the money is. The money is in “setting the stairs.”

My next two articles will be;

      1.    How Banks can make money from Spoken Word Poetry.

      2.    How FMCG can make money from Spoken Word Poetry.

Oops, that might need to wait until after May 18 2013. I’ve the biggest Spoken Word Poetry event to organize and Shihan Van Clief (the internationally renowned Spoken Word Poet) will be in town for the event.

Ciao.

By

Olumide Holloway

+2348025070892

olulu4ever@gmail.com