I had the pleasure of being a judge last week at Cisco’s Digital Cribs contest in New York City. The event took place at the Tribecca Theater where eight short films were premiered. These films were the result of a contest created by Cisco to challenge the creativity of NYU film and business students. The goal was to create a short film that told a story of how technology is being used in new and innovative ways. They were extremely creative and very well done and I hated the fact that I was one of the three judges determining the winner. I thought this gig would be a walk in the park …but it wasn’t. After viewing the Digital Cribs videos several times at home prior to the contest, a few favorites emerged but I was having a hard time picking just one.For Gods sake, there were 1,000s of dollars at stake and with our current tough economic situation, I really felt the pressure. I love movies, popcorn and Goobers chocolate covered peanuts but none of these give me the experience to carry out this task in a responsible manner. So I enlisted the help of the Dominguez family and several friends to help me make my final decision. I gave them the rules I was given and had them watch all eight movies. I saw them scribbling notes and go into deep thought after each of them. In the end, this plan backfired because all of them selected a different film, and in typical Gen Y fashion, argued passionately why their selection was the best. It was a train wreck on picking a winner but it did make for a very lively and entertaining night. In the end, after much debate with myself, I picked the one that I thought most closely matched the criteria I was given. I submitted my scores along with the other two judges and surprised to learn that my highest scoring film didn’t win. One of the other judges actually scored it the lowest of the eight. There is a big lesson here for me. If anyone ever needs a judge at any film contest…don’t call me!Even with this major disappointment on the personal front, it was still an incredible evening. The stories featured in the films reinforce the incredible impact that technology is having on our world and highlight how we are living in very interesting times.Check out the films yourself and let me know your favorite.