With today's fierce competition in the reality television singing competition category, it has been hard to to declare a show I’m dedicated to or prefer over the other. Between “American Idol,” “The X-Factor,” and “The Voice,” there are various elements that make one more interesting than the other. And as I learned at the #SXSW Top Chef Panel, reality television programs are now making it a focus to keep the audience engaged beyond the one-hour programming to 24 hours, seven days a week.

“The Voice,” currently in its second season on NBC, has successfully taken an accidental character that gained popularity via online conversation and ran with it. Meet ”Purrfect the Cat.” Purrfect first appeared on the season premiere during a testimonial with owner Cee-Lo (pictured above) and instantly became a hit (mostly because of its humorously silent nature).

Purrfect the Cat now has its own official Facebook page (11,684 likes) and Twitter handle (39,680 followers) where it regularly engages with fans and shares unique content, including personal photos. Purrfect even live Tweets during the show, making witty remarks toward contestants and even the judges (including owner CeeLo). Purrfect successfully carries on the same humorous personality fans who generated it presumed. See a few additional examples of this cat’s silly content below:

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Tiffany & Co is promoting their “What Makes Love True” campaign featuring user-generated images and stories of love. This is available via website and a free downloadable iPhone app. Additional content featured includes exclusive love songs, helpful advice/quotes, and an interactive map where users can recap a romantic moment and share where it happened (New York City and Paris locations only).

The mobile application also features an exclusive Tiffany blue filter for users to use on their own photos (featured in center image above). Similar to the #Marcfam campaign by Marc Jacobs, this program has no direct mention of product or sales promotion but is a strategic execution to help personify the brand’s lifestyle through its consumer's interpretation.

With professional photo editing programs like Instagram available to the everyday consumer at no cost, brands now trust one’s ability to create beautifully edited images that look similar to, if not better than their own print advertising. It’ll be interesting to see if Tiffany’s repurposes some of the beautiful content living on this site for their traditional advertising.

Stewardess, Salt Flats, Paratroopers, Sushi, Falconer. According to Matthew Foster, that's what would make The Best Test Drive Ever. Period.

The video is the end result of a campaign by MINI to introduce its new Coupe. People were asked to submit six-word descriptions of "The Best Test Drive Ever. Period." Then MINI magic was used to make their favorite submission come to life.

Maybe be the most important thing MINI did right here was making it easy for people to participate. The Ask was small: six words. Participants didn't have to take photos or make videos or complete a series of challenges. The Payoff was big: starring in a commercial.

Well done, MINI. Suddenly, I want to take a test drive.

Thanks, David!

[caption id="attachment_3837" align="aligncenter" width="214" caption="We’ve owned and lived in your old house for 15 years now. We still hear your footsteps and laughter every day! Love, Your Grandson"][/caption]

With the death of film-photography, website Dear Photograph gives us a reason to bring old prints back to life.  Voted one of Time’s “50 Best Websites of 2011", this site uses a simple concept to entice users to submit new photos of past and present memories.

The instructions and context of the site are as follows: “Take a picture of a picture from the past in the present.” Images submitted to the site are accompanied by a caption. The majority are visually pleasing and universally sentimental. (**have Kleenex handy if you're a softie.)

It’s making new memories with the old. Remembering an old memory for what it was – and recognizing what it has become. Both retrospect and introspect.

User-generated content sites have always been a favorite of mine to visit on a rainy day. Remember the similar website PostSecret? Judging by Dear Photograph’s great success, a coffee table version is in the works I'm sure. (Or at least hope.)