AOL is combining with Survivor creator Mark Burnett for “Gold Rush”, a reality game that will challenge players to use clues buried in AOL Network websites to find 13 caches of gold buried around the United States.
The web-based reality series will run across several sites on the AOL network, including AOL.com, AIM.com, Moviefone.com, and MapQuest.com. Challengers will be able to hunt for clues across the sites and look for hidden treasure buried across the United States.
The clues and the online reality show will also be promoted on television, print, and cell phones. Mr. Burnett said he was amazed by the number of fans who communicated online about his TV series.
The clues will not require any particular specialized expertise to understand. “Many of the clues are based around pop culture,” explained Mr. Burnett. “You don’t need an engineering degree or math degree. It’s really for regular people.”
Considering the relative success of geocaching, a game like this that involves clues, many of which come from pop trivia, could see a lot of success and bring a lot of visitors to AOL’s properties. Some people might even discover they like AOL’s search engine.
TDavid notes that Yahoo with Steven Spielberg and NBC’s forthcoming Treasure Hunters all have similar concepts. He also says:
Recently I lamented the lack of interaction between TV and the internet and how excited I was to learn of Microsoft research hyperlink video technology. Hopefully these shows will be a success and further blur the lines between the internet and television. I think it’s a great trend with lots of upside potential. Otherwise, the most interaction we will continue to receive as viewers is text message voting a la American Idol. There can be so much more interaction.
Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.
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