If you received an email with the following opening, what would you do?

Tourism Queensland is seeking an Island Caretaker for the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef – we like to think of it as "The Best Job in the World".

Location: Islands of the Great Barrier reef, Queensland Salary: $150,000 (6 month contract) Responsibilities: Clean the pool Feed the fish Collect the mail Explore The Islands and report back Applicants: Anyone can apply, just visit islandreefjob.com and upload a video application Applications close: 22 February 2009

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I'd check it out. It's the real thing, with a rigorous selection process that includes a 60- second video as part of the application that is rated by viewers of the site.

You can check out latest videos, most popular videos, and most viewed videos. It's a microcosm of online video–where the most popular and most viewed include bikini-clad women (one brave one in Canada was shown with snow flying across the screen), high-energy and entertaining personalities, and well-thought out, targeted messages.

photo by clamabue

How this relates to A Bigger Voice:

• Crystallization. Clearly articulated message that attracts "kindred spirits," individuals who are web-savvy, at ease with online video, articulate, love an adventure, and thrive on fun and connection with others. Part of the wisdom: Creating a posting for a job that seems too good to be true is in itself great marketing and reinforces the type of people who will apply.
• Community-Building. The tools that A Bigger Voice uses to build a community are front and center: Technology, Marketing, Networking. While this might seem like it's all about technology (uploading videos and rating them), the genius is evident in the marketing and networking. I think of marketing as part visibility, part attraction, part filling a need.  Networking happens naturally. I found out about the job opening from a friend who I only occasionally email. I tweeted about this on Twitter (@carolross) and am now blogging about it. The big question: When the main purpose of filling the job is done, what happens to this site and the people who have a passion for adventure, video blogging, the Great Barrier Reef, or applying for jobs too good to be true? I don't know that the Tourism Queensland team intended to build a community from the recruitment process (although video blogging, once it starts will certainly help with that.)
• Sustainability. Obviously, someone figured out the ROI from the Tourism Queensland office before embarking on this effort. 

Looking at this from a slightly different angle, if you were charged with promoting the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef, how would you traditionally do it? And now that word travels fast through the Internet, online video is cheap to produce and easy to upload, and people are hungry for authenticity and freshness, what would you do?  Yeah, that's what I thought. Welcome to a bigger voice….