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Yahoo Considers Offering Prizes to Search Users

Posted by Zonk on from the you-get-porn-and-free-music dept.

Bemmu writes "According to the San Francisco Chronicle: 'Yahoo Inc. is considering offering free music downloads, discounts on DVD rentals and frequent-flier miles to users who make the Web site their primary search engine.'" More from the article: "Offering rewards to search engine users isn't new. During the dot-com boom in the late 1990s, a number of companies including AllAdvantage.com and MyPoints.com gave cash, prizes and loyalty points to users, although many of the companies eventually went out of business or were sold at fire sale prices. That's not to say the model never works. One exception is iWon.com, a Web portal that offers cash prizes for using the site. After some success during the boom, iWon is now owned by Ask Jeeves and its parent company IAC/InterActiveCorp. " Update: 02/12 21:07 GMT by Z : Headline changed for accuracy.

9 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. Another Spin to Grab Attention by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The headline reads:
    Yahoo Offering Prizes to Search Users
    Yet the first line of the story is:
    According to the San Francisco Chronicle: 'Yahoo Inc. is considering offering free music downloads, discounts on DVD rentals and frequent-flier miles to users who make the Web site their primary search engine.
    And, in fact, when I search on Yahoo I am not offered any chance to win anything.

    Why do the editors of Slashdot feel the need to spin stories so that the headlines read like it's actually news? Someone mentioned this to the press and suddenly it's headlines that they're doing it. Please don't fall victim to the ways of other news providers, that's why I read Slashdot because it's not using shock reporting to get my attention.

    Yahoo wants this. You're a tool if you print it like this.

    "Stay tuned for a very special local Fox affiliate news report about how just going to school can be harmful for your children. They may already be dead! Find out how at nine."
    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:Another Spin to Grab Attention by darkmonkeh · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If they offer money, I'll use their search engine. It's really the only way they'll get me anywhere near it.

  2. Blingo! by Xshare · · Score: 1, Insightful

    http://www.blingo.com/ Lots of my friends and people who I've heard from have won from Blingo. No spyware, not too many adds. Just a google search with a win every so often. Seems to work for them.

    1. Re:Blingo! by rjrjr · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why was this moderated down? Blingo is a legit site, and they're proof that this prizes-for-eyes models work on some scale. They're not a spam factory, they're not a ponzi scheme, they're not cheats in any way at all. You search, you get results, and occasionally you just might get a movie ticket, or an iPod.

      Full disclosure: they're friends of mine, but I have no business interest with them. Just immense respect.

  3. no thanks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    And support Yahoo turning over people to the authorities? No thanks!

    1. Re:no thanks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Name me a search engine corporation that respects human rights.

  4. FREE Air Miles? by immorak · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Wow, if I use Yahoo! I might get free Air Miles? What happened to what i was looking for.. A good e-mail account or search results?

  5. Can they really be that clueless? by YGingras · · Score: 2, Insightful

    When I search for some keywords, I'm not after free music (unless the keywords are "free" and "music" of course), I'm after relevant search results. Unless Yahoo can feed me those (and they can't at the moment) no amount of free music will make them a usable search engine.

  6. Re:first by fantasticalmonkey · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Negative points are given, not only to change the karma of registered users, but to filter the comments. Some readers will only read comments of +3 or higher for example, and by marking 'first' posts as first posts, people who don't want to see them, don't have to. With regards to the yahoo thing, I can't really see them attracting many users if they do go through with this. I only ever used Yahoo! search when I was logged into my mail account and it was easier than changing to google. If I was on any other webpage, I used google. Since swapping to Gmail, I no longer use Yahoo! and the possibility of getting rewarded really doesn't tempt me to search with them. (Especially since personalised google came along).