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?

Comments

Old news....

[pissoncutler]

Big deal, Bill Gates has been paying me $200 for every email I send for years...

Re:Old news....

[dtfarmer]

I wouldn't use microsoft software unless they offered to pay me $1000! Oh, wait a minute.... crap!

What about other clients?

[anewsome]

It says specifically only MSN client software. I guess I won't be winning.

Re:What about other clients?

[Ironstud]

But think of what you save from not using it:

You have to give SS# and Credit Card, so those could possible be submitted for a nice spam. Or better yet they will take 1000 from your credit card to give it back to you.

If you are going to be given a prize you should not have to give vital informaiton (SS#) or financial informaiton (Credit Card).

Re:What about other clients?

[LostCluster]

If you're going to be given a prize greater than $600, the prize giver must collect your SS#... and then send it to the tax man.

Re:What about other clients?

[TopShelf]

Hmmm... I think that's the point.

For users of other clients, MSN could send the following:

Message 1: "You just won $1,000!"

Message 2: "Oops, it appears that you're not using MSN Messenger, and so you are not eligible. We'll instead move on to the next contestant. Sorry."

Re:What about other clients?

[stratjakt]

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.

Re:What about other clients?

[Geek of Tech]

Do you have any idea how funny it would be if someone with a linux box with an msn client (like gaim or amsn) won $1000 from Microsoft?

Oh well, at least I though it was funny..........

Re:What about other clients?

[MikeXpop]

Johney: Yay! So Microsoft, where's my money?

Microsoft: Here Johney, we noticed you don't have windows. So, our gift to you: 50 brand new copies of XP Professional! At $200 a copy, that equals $1000!

Johney: Oh. What a rip off. Stupid Microsoft...

IRS: Johney, our records show that you recieved a prize totaling $1000. You owe us $80 now.

Re:What about other clients?

[operagost]

Then Johnny goes to eBay ...

Re:What about other clients?

[micromoog]

So, our gift to you: 50 brand new copies of XP Professional! At $200 a copy, that equals $1000!

Then Johnny learns math.

And in a related story,

[stratjakt]

RMS is giving out handjobs to all GNU/linux users.

Re:And in a related story,

[Mr. Bad Example]

RMS is giving out handjobs to all GNU/linux users.

That's GNU/handjobs, you insensitive clod!

This will tide me over

[koan]

Till the Liberian banks pay off

Editors finally checked their e-mail?

[goldspider]

I've been getting that e-mail for years now!

Though, somewhat suspiciously, I haven't yet been paid that $5 for every person I forwarded it to...

Pfft!

[Pinguu]

'You've won $1000 in the MSN Messenger giveaway, just go this website and enter your SS# and credit card info for verification.'
Fusking spam again! *delete*

Re:Pfft!

[mblase]

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.

$1000?

[Quasar1999]

Do I have to use their client? Or will Trillian still suffice? ;)

Seriously though, what the hell is with giving away money for using their network? I mean they already get to keep ANY and ALL IP that is transmitted over MSN Messenger, why would they need to get people to use their servers instead of .... Oh shit... now I get it... [ Frantically uninstalls MSN from system ]

No Purchase Necessary?

[Thoguth]

Most giveaways are explicitly required to have rules that allow people to be eligible to win without purchasing a product. If such a rule applies to this contest, they'll have to have a way for people to enter without purchasing Windows, won't they?

Re:No Purchase Necessary?

[LostCluster]

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.

Re:No Purchase Necessary?

[Odin's Raven]

Most giveaways are explicitly required to have rules that allow people to be eligible to win without purchasing a product. If such a rule applies to this contest, they'll have to have a way for people to enter without purchasing Windows, won't they?

But doesn't everyone get a copy of Windows when they buy their computer? After all, only evil vendors catering to software pirates would sell computers without Windows.

Or at least that's what I learned from Microsoft's OEM section a couple of years ago when they talked about the evils of "Naked PCs".

(For those who don't remember the "Naked PC" campaign, you'll have to go to the Wayback Machine to find a copy of Microsoft's page -- Microsoft removed it from their OEM area after this PR campaign failed.)

Even identity theft...

[slide-rule]

... is better with the butterfly. Who knew? ;)

ROFL!!!

[cavemanf16]

This story should have been submitted with the 'foot' icon! I would have to have gone crazy to do all of the following:

1) Use Microsoft Messenger
2) Trust an anonymous source IM'ing me with a "You just won $1000! Please go to http://www.microsoft.messenger.winner.com/ to claim it! (We must have all your info to claim the prize, btw)"
3) Actually follow said spam message to the site (We all know that just clicking on a malicious website and letting ActiveX controls and other such nonsense run in the background in IE is BEGGING for a complete computer hijacking)

Oh wait, Microsoft must be testing out a new business plan:

10 Spam
20 Collect more email addresses
30 Spam some more!
40 ?
50 GOTO 40
60 Profit!

... In slashdot ...

[Eudial]

... we're SICKIN TIRED of all these "... in soviet russia.." jokes!

What else is new?

[Petronius]

Drug dealer gives away free samples at street corner. News at 11.

Re:What else is new?

[TheRaven64]

Seriously. I'm pretty sure that's just a wives tale, part of all the scary stories they tell 6th graders about drug users. I never get offered free dope on the streets.

I agree. There are a lot of drug dealers about, and if you could get a free sample from each one then this would keep you drugged up for a long time...

If my previous experience with ICQ...

[sin(theta)]

...is any indication it will more likely say:

"U have just won! 2 claim your prize forward this message 2 *everyone* in your contact list!

This is 4 real, no joke. If u don't do this MSN will stop being free!!"

Re:It's sad actually

[Molina the Bofh]

Actually thats not the biggest MS giveaway. I received a letter from Bill Gates himself that said:

Subject: FW: Must Read!!!! Bill Gates (fwd)

Hello everybody, My name is Bill Gates. I have just written up an e-mail tracing program that traces everyone to whom this message is forwarded to. I am experimenting with this and I need your help. Forward this to everyone you know and if it reaches 1000 people everyone on the list will receive $1000 at my expense. Enjoy.

Your friend,
Bill Gates

I have already forwarded it to 900 people. Almost there.

9am to 7pm PST?

[anicklin]

That makes sense. Run a contest during business hours to encourage people to chat with each other instead of... getting work done. The majority of the winners will be housewives, stay-at-home-for-the-summer kids, and whoever else can run the software through their firewalls...

Even if you follow the parent, you're not eligible

[TrekkieGod]

LOL OMG HAHAHA ROTFL LOLOL OMG U SO FUNNY LOLOLOL

Sorry...The promotion applies only to MSN users, not aolers

Gee willickers

[sharky611aol.com]

So all I have to do to win the Microsoft Lottery is sell my soul? Sign me up!! "There's no such thing as a soul. It's just something they made up to scare kids, like the boogieman or Michael Jackson"

Could be illegal in some countries...

[the_germ]

In Germany a company cannot hold up a lottery where only users of it's product can participate.

So if for example Coca-Cola puts some random numbers on the inside of their bottles and makes some kind of lottery of it, it must provide the same winnning chance to people who just call in though they haven't bougth the product (and not obtained a number).

So Microsoft would need to provide the same chance for getting the bucks to everyone who's using another IM as well.

Don't know how it's handled in other countries, but I think it's like that in many European countries.

---------

Re:Could be illegal in some countries...

[satterth]

Ripped from www.msnmessenger-download.com

ELIGIBILITY: This sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, 18 years of age or older at the time of entry who have access to a personal computer running Microsoft Windows 98 (or later version) operating system and Internet Access as of July 15, 2003. Void where prohibited by law. Employees of Microsoft Corporation and anyone working directly on Microsoft programs and their respective affiliates, parent companies, subsidiaries, promotion, advertising and promotional agencies and the immediate family members and persons living in the households of each are not eligible to enter.

Microsoft Strategy

[Poltras]

Well... This is all in MS strategy: why spam when someone else can spam for you instead?

prelude to something more sinister?

[D0wnsp0ut]

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.

M$ would have to pay me to use their crap

[aardwolf204]

I've always said it, Microsoft would have to pay me before I used their crap. Now it looks like they've finally caved.

Big Prize Giveaway

[s20451]

I would like to announce that I am giving away $1000 to the first 10 slashdotters who reply to this post. In your reply, please include your credit card number and social security number for verification.

Disclaimer for idiots: This is a joke. Go to http://goatse.cx for the real giveaway.

I thought so too until ...

[pherris]

I saw this banner ad on this page..

If you go to msn.com, click on "MSN Messenger - New!" on the left column, click on one of the download links and you'll see the ad. BTW, here's the rules. .

The SSN and CC# number comment was meant as a joke. You know, Joe Luser enters the contest (or is told he was automaticly entered), gets an IM from a scammer telling him "just this information please and we'll send you the money". Later he realizes all he got was the wrong end of a plunger.

Re:To bad Microsoft Stock Investors

[malfunct]

MS started paying dividends on shares of stock this year. I think it was $0.16 per share (thought I might be wrong).

Re:To bad Microsoft Stock Investors

[Latent IT]

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.

The RIAA contest

[DigiShaman]

In other news, the RIAA has said it plans on randomly sueing a user every hour that's logged into the Kazaa network for $1,000. To enter the contest, just be sure your not using Kazaa and you can increase your odds of keeping your $1,000.

in soviet russia...

[captainclever]

Microsoft software pays you!

Sorry, couldn't resist :)

only $1000?

[SHEENmaster]

Is that supposed to pay me back for the time I wasted with them? Not to mention the costs of Win3.1, Win95, NT4, Wind98, Visual Studio 6, and a year's source code when a certain M$ filesystem fell apart mid-project.

I can see those stupid XP popup bubbles going for days with "You might be a winner, click here to find out!" and "If this is annoying, you've won!"

Sad...

[di0s]

They actually resort to *paying* people to use thier IM client?? Maybe they're testing out that new exploit...

Scam Opportunity

[HopeUnknown]

This should make great business for scammers taking advantage of the promotion...

Billg2003: CONGRATULATIONS YOU JUST WON MONEYS IN THE AMOUNT OF ONE THOUSAND (1,000) US DOLLARS
Rod981973: OMFG r u serious??? Wait...is this a trick?
Billg2003: NO LOOK ON CNN WHAT IS YOUR ACCOUNT#
Rod981973: WOW kewl!! Deposit it in my checking, it's #...

New and Improved Smilies!!!

[the_pooh_experience]

It also lets users personalize their messages and their screen backgrounds more by adding animated emoticons or "smileys," creating their own images and sending photos to friends.

I knew there was a reason to upgrade!