Update: The contest is now closed and the drawing went to Ankur Jain. Thanks to everyone for their support. We'll do more fun stuff like this again.

It's a blog post extravaganza! To celebrate Jing's third year, we've got a whopper of a blog post with a contest and an exclusive behind-the-scenes video.

First, the contest...

You can see Jing's wish list below. Sure, there's never enough sunscreen, and the dashing suit would make splendid formal wear. Webcams are always cool for Jing Pro--but our favorite thing is more people using Jing. Maybe you can help?

(Click the image for full size)

If you're reading this, you know Jing is pretty swell. So in honor of Jing's third birthday, we hope you'll help more people discover Jing and explain why they should check it out. If you want a little incentive, use Jing to take a screenshot of your message (email, Facebook post, tweet, WoW chat, whatever) and post the link in the body of the comments below.

We'll randomly draw a winner for a bundle of Camtasia Studio (or Camtasia for Mac) and Snagit for every 30 people that show us how they've spread the word over the next few days. We'll close this Tuesday July 27th at 5 pm Eastern Time (GMT -5:00).

Jing might not be as fancy or sophisticated as its big brothers Camtasia and Snagit, but when you need more power you can always count on them.

Summary:

• Tell someone about Jing
• Do it by next Tuesday
• Capture a screenshot of your message
• Send it to Screencast.com and post the link in the body of the comments below
• Get lucky and maybe win some other TechSmith software

Now, some behind the scenes action!

While coincidental, TechSmith remodeled some buildings and the Jing team has relocated to a new workspace. We consider our new area a nod toward Jing's birthday and it's an appreciated upgrade for us!

I pulled out my Flip and filmed the team in their new habitat. There's nothing developers like more than seeing me armed with a camera for some spontaneous filming. The video is under 2 minutes.

Thanks for all your support over the years! We look forward to this coming year!

Hi, I'm Matt--a new intern working with Jing and I got to draw the winners of our Snagit 10 raffle today. We had 28 participants, which means we should give away 3 copies. However, it's Friday and it's the first time we've seen the sun here in Michigan in three days (unless you count the Jing sun on our desktops) so we decided to throw an extra copy in. Play the video to see if you won!

We want to thank everyone who participated in the contest! We'll be in touch with the winners!

Can't see or hear the video? Click here: http://screencast.com/t/ODNlZDgyNjk

Update: The raffle has ended and we've announced the winners here.

TechSmith released Snagit 10 yesterday. We thought it might be fun to give away some copies to Jing users. Sorry, this is for Windows-only, but when the Mac version of Snagit comes out of public Beta we'll do this again.

Here's how it will work:

1. Download and install Snagit 10.
2. Use Jing to take a capture (image or video) of some part of Snagit 10.
3. Send the capture to Screencast.com and then paste the returned URL into the comment section of this post. (How do I share to Screencast.com?)

We'll randomly pick 1 winner for every 10 comments we receive (and round up) so you're guaranteed at least a 10% chance. Winners will receive a key via email to unlock the trial version.

We'll close the comments tomorrow (Thursday) at 5 pm Eastern Time (GMT -5) The raffle has ended. Winners announced here. Thanks everybody!

Good luck!

Vista and Windows 7 allow us to provide a tooltip for the programs in the Start Menu. Sure, we could have done something normal like "Capture screen images and videos." Booooriiing...

We wanted to capture the essence of Jing yet keep it short, and what better way than to use a Haiku! Don, our Mac dev, came up with this gem! Check it out:

We know it's silly, but let's have some fun. We're always looking for improvement--even when it comes to our tooltips. We appreciate feedback too! Do you want to make the tooltip for the next Jing release? It doesn't have to be a Haiku, but short is good. Post ideas here and if we especially like one, we'll add it to Jing! Have fun and be creative!

I had to pull out something important from my Jing History the other day and couldn't help but notice the range of Jings that spanned the "Work-Related" and "Shenanigans" types. After all, Jing is for adding visual elements to all sorts of conversations.

That said, here are some examples of some funny Jings I've seen lately.

• Here's the one I use for when I need to express my approval: http://www.screencast.com/t/lh2dLB7ymMQ
• Don't even ask, I don't know what this is: http://screencast.com/t/Yjk1ZmE0
• Space bumper sticker? http://screencast.com/t/MmFhYWRhNTIt
• You can do videos too, don't forget! http://screencast.com/t/2OmoEPhX

Do you have a Jing or two in your History that shows a lighter side?

Well, we have 5 Jing shirts in need of good homes! (Large and XL only--sorry!)

1. Post your fun Jings in the Comments.
2. Do it by Thursday March 11, 2010.
3. We'll randomly pick 5 winners post the results on Friday.

Note: Use your real email address when you submit a comment because that's how we'll get in touch with you if we need to ship you a shirt.

Hey Jing users! We have an update on the Screencast 4 Cash Contest that MindBites has going on. The deadline is quickly approaching, and there are a lot of great entries to vote on. We'd love to see a Jing user win this contest so get your entry submitted by 11:59 PM CST on Monday June 1 and you could win $1000!

Entering the contest is easy. Simply register at MindBites and then create and upload an original screencast tutorial. The screencasts must be instructional in nature, at least three minutes long, and focused on tech (e.g. software, development, or gaming). You can find the rules here. Not sure what to teach in your screencast? It doesn't have to be rocket science, and it doesn't have to be something that no one other than yourself knows how to do. Make a screencast about tips to get more out of software or online apps you use every day, or maybe sneaky tricks for online games you play... If you do it on a computer, it's pretty much fair game.

The Grand Prize winner will receive $1000 plus a copy of Camtasia Studio and Snagit. There is also a People's Choice Award winner who will walk away with $500 and a copy of Snagit!

So get out there and Screencast!

If you're still not sold on the idea of making a screencast for the contest (probably because you just have no use for $1000, right?), there's no acceptable excuse for opting not to vote. For every vote cast, $0.10 will be donated to the Youth for Technology Foundation. YTF obviously can't buy too much technology for a dime, so we need everyone to mobilize to make sure they walk away with enough money to really make a difference for some deserving kids in some underserved communities. Voting begins Tuesday June 2nd and will end on June 8th. The Grand Prize and People's Choice Winners will be announced on June 9th.

In the interest of transparency, I have to let you know that TechSmith is a sponsor. Our Chief Evangelist, Betsy Weber will be a judge for the grand prize winner portion of the contest.

Happy Screencasting!

Katie Lewis
Product Marketing Manager

Hey Jing users! Are you ready to accept a challenge? I thought so! MindBites has a screencast contest and the grand prize is $1,000! Who couldn't use a $1,000?

MindBites is a website where you can find, publish, sell and distribute video tutorials and how-to lessons (on the MindBites site, on your own site, and across the web). You can find instructional videos on everything from Calculus lessons to Photoshop tutorials.

Entering the contest is easy. Simply register at MindBites and then create and upload an original screencast tutorial. The lesson must be instructional in nature, focused on tech (e.g. software, development, or gaming), at least three minutes long, and meet the standard MindBites lesson guidelines. You can find the rules here.

The Grand Prize winner will receive $1000 plus a copy of Camtasia Studio and Snagit. There is also a People's Choice Award winner who will walk away with $500 and a copy of Snagit!

So, what's the timeline?

* April 21st - Contest and weekly People's Choice voting begins
* May 18th (11:59 PM CST) - Entry Deadline
* May 19th - Daily People's Choicevoting begins
* May 26th (11:59 PM CST) - Daily voting ends
* May 27th - Winners announced

How do you vote? Simply login or register as a user (don't worry it's free and painless), click on the "All Entries - Vote!" tab here and add your vote to your favorite. And, as an added bonus every time you vote, 10¢ goes to the Youth for Technology Foundation (up to $1000)! Vote - it's for a good cause!

If you're on Twitter, you can follow along at @mindbites or @techsmith for reports on the contest and the hashtag to use on Twitter to tag contest tweets is: #cast4cash

And, in the interest of transparency, I have to let you know that TechSmith is a sponsor and I have the honor of being a judge.

I would love to see a Jing user win this contest! Make me proud!