(Enlarge) Columbia resident Dan Janis was one of 10 finalists in the inaugural YouTube / People.com “Be A Red Carpet Reporter Contest.” Top prize was a trip to the 2008 Emmy Awards, where the winner will conduct celebrity interviews with a People.com reporter. (staff photo by Nicole Martyn)

Daniel Janis can schmooze with the best of them. Almost.

All the 20-year-old Columbia resident had to do was convince others that he'd be the best Red Carpet reporter to meet and greet celebrities arriving for the 60th Prime Time Emmy awards on Sunday, Sept. 21 on ABC-TV.

With his interview of two "stars" (Mischa, named "the second-sexiest woman in L.A." and Nora, named the sexiest), the Atholton High graduate (2006), now a junior in the honors program at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., succeeded in impressing first-round judges -- reporters and staff of People.com -- and is in the top 10 among hundreds of entries in the first such contest co-branded by You Tube and People.com.

While he can do smarmy now, he's no natural.

"I used to be one of the worst candidates (for red carpet reporting). I was so shy," the now-loquacious Janis reveals. "But I changed 180 degrees. I had to come out of my shell going door-to-door for my business (Your Way Landscaping)."

Now, such is his confidence and comfort level that "I don't get start-struck," he says, unable to think of anyone with whom he'd be tongue-tied or reduced to babbling.

For the second and final round in the Red Carpet competition, Janis' fate was in the hands of You Tube voters. In a man-on-the-street (or rather, -in-the-house) setting, he interviewed residents about a Chinese restaurant suddenly sprouting in their otherwise peaceful neighborhood.

Whether or not folks across the 'Net could identify with such a situation, voting was supposed to be done on the basis of the entrant's comfort and professional interviewing style on camera, technical execution and overall impression.

"I tried to make it as real as possible. Mine is more of a story rather than just an interview, with a slower pace and some development," which distinguishes it from other entrants, Janis explains. Suffice it to say here that Girl Scout cookies figure prominently.

Nevertheless, when the all the e-votes were counted on Aug. 27, it was Franchesca "Chescaleigh" Ramsey who was chosen to spend a whirlwind two days in Los Angeles receiving her own red-carpet treatment, including hair and makeup by sponsor Revlon, a clothing allowance, VIP entry to exclusive events and the opportunity to work the red carpet with People's Michelle Beadle interviewing Hollywood celebs.

Alas, there are no runner-up awards.

Placing or showing, not winning, have been Janis' lot so far in this sort of Internet video contest, which he has been entering for about two years, using only "a basic camcorder and basic editing stuff."

Just a few weeks ago his video of how to tie a tie also made the top 10 in the Honda Pilot Do-It-Yourself contest. He thinks he came in third, collecting a $100 Home Depot gift card, but not the $15,000 first prize.

And in a February competition held by Pepto Bismol, his video of a hungry customer pulling up at a drive-in window for a heavy meal accompanied by a Pepto Bismol to drink with that earned him a second-place prize of $1,000.

But Janis hasn't let show biz go to his head. He's still a marketing major minoring in statistics and entrepreneurship, not video production.

His dream has always been to own his own business. Of course a business can be anything, like the landscaping company he has already begun and hopes to come back to and expand after graduation (and with which he won first place in Bryant's E-pitch competition, requiring a 90-second pitch to real investors), or video production (which he considers his hobby) or even acting in infomercials such as the humorous one he entered in the "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" competition.

As for the future, all this shmoozing practice may get him somewhere yet.

"One day I want to be on TV as a talk-show host," not an Alex Trebek, Charlie Rose or John McLaughlin, but "the fun, late night TV variety," Janis says. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, to check out Janis' video entries, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAIgUwDwPEw for his first round submission and ZNHdbGLwphc for the second-round entry.

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