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Instant Messaging Giveaway
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft is planning on giving away $1000/hr randomly to users of the new MSN messenger. They are going to send instant messages to the winners. I can just see it now, 'You've won $1000 in the MSN Messenger giveaway, just go this website and enter your SS# and credit card info for verification.'" Where's Ed McMahon with the big check when you need him?
Sounds like a trial run of a marketing/publicity stunt. Next thing you know, they're selling IM "pop-up ads" to companies in blocks. It'll be the next "feature" of IM. When rolled out, everyone's permission setting, buried somewhere deep in the settings, will be "I want IM ads." Then, when enough people get completely annoyed by it and complain, Microsoft will "apologize" but only after seeing how long they can stretch it out...all the while raking in cash.
IM "spam" is going to be the next big headache...and of course, the knee-jerk reaction will be to pass more laws.
"Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither!"
I'm fairly sure they dont care about the client. They just want the network. They'd like to have 'the' IM network of choice.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Yes, the law requires a free entry, but this kind of giveaway makes it real easy to drown it out.
We haven't seen the official rules yet, but what I expect the free entry method to be will be to send a 3x5 inch card with your name and mailing and indicating which hour's drawing you want to be entered for to an address in Redmond. There will likely be a limit one mail-in card per hourly drawing, which will equate to the one entry that online users will get for showing up on the service during that hour. Cards must be handwritten, no printed cards accepted.
But, the catch is that if you want to enter all 24 drawings in a day, you'll need to seperately mail 24 envelopes with single cards in them. Afterall, 37 cent stamps are paid to the United States Postal Service and not Microsoft.
Still, spending $62.16 to enter all of the drawings in a week seems a bit unwise, because you'll only be allowed to win one $1,000 if you win at all. Lottery tickets would be a better use of that money.
Can pitch out thousands to some numb-nuts but for the faithful investors, they get to kiss Bill's arse.
Yeah, seriously. After all, owning MSFT over the past ten years is just a *huge*, *huge* mistake. Er, well, mistake if what you're trying to accomplish is to not make any money.
So, ivestors should be cheesed off if their company has a contest that, (are you ready for the shock of this?) gives away prizes? If they give away $1,000 an hour, for a *month*, it'll cost them a bit more than half a million. Compared to conventional advertising, and the number of users this might bring in?
Yes, indeed. It looks like owning MSFT will continue to be a huge mistake. I weep for those poor investors.
I'm more worried about the opposite effect -- someone out there is going to start IMing random users, telling them to visit a Microsoft-looking web page and enter their login and passwords (along with some other identifying information) to receive their prize. Odds are they'll hit just enough suckers who've actually entered the contest (and a few who haven't) to get a $@!%load of stolen accounts.
Of course, people have been doing this anyways without Microsoft's help -- or AOL's, or Yahoo's. So maybe I'm making something out of nothing here.