"Roy Schestowitz" <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:9658817.bdcfBzn48R@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Bill Gates: "Show us your Wow and win a trip around the world"
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | You're not doing this in vain though. Microsoft promises to offer
> | a Vista Ultimate PC in every country/region as a prize for the best
> | Wow, and from the all submissions, the best Wow-er will receive a
> | high definition video camera, AND a seven-days trip around the world
> | to see the most stunning vistas, including Sydney's Harbor Bridge and
> | Opera House, Beijing's Great Wall, Agra's Taj Mahal, New York?s
> | Empire State Building and Paris? Eiffel Tower.
> `----
>
> http://www.our-picks.com/archives/2007/01/08/bill-gates-show-us-your-wow-and-win-a-trip-around-the-world/
> http://tinyurl.com/wampr
Seems like a standard marketting campaign to me. I believe MTV and
various sport leagues (e.g. NFL, NBA, etc.) have done similar campaigns in
the past, and perhaps MS is trying to mimick them to appeal to a specific
target market.
>
> Our resident trolls know what it's all about. Hey, Funky, how was that
> laptop
> you received for wading through thousands of Web pages trying to identify
> images whose use does not comply with some modified licence? Do they pay
> you
> in laptops or in pizza?
When you make accusations like this without any sort of evidence, it
lowers your credibility. Your tone seems to indicate that you're losing your
cool, and when you become emotional, it's harder to think rationally, which
may reflect in your postings. Usually, you're very good at just turning the
other cheek and avoiding confrontations. Under normal circumstances, when
someone starts to lose their cool over usenet due to trolls, I generally
recommend they take a break and step away from the computer for a while, to
calm down. However, I fear that some posters here (perhaps yourself
included) might interpret this as some sort of manipulative trick to get you
to post less. So I don't know what advice I can provide you with, except to
point out the dangerous situation you may be in by making these
personal-attack posts.
[snip most, but keeping the article headers so readers will get a "feel" for
the type of content that was snipped]
> Seattle Area Bloggers Needed for Microsoft User Research Study
> Bribing Bloggers
> Microsoft's Laptop Giveaway Becoming PR Disaster?
> Bribing Bloggers
> Now Microsoft Wants Its Laptop Back
> Microsoft Sent A Free Laptop With Windows Vista
> Windows Live OneCare competition
> Microsoft Traps and Hunts for Bloggers in India !!
I can't think of any reason why you would continue to put undue emphasis
on Microsoft's issuing review laptop when it has been repeatedly pointed out
that this is very common in the industry, except to unfairly attack
Microsoft.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061228-8514.html
<quote>
To listen to the outcry, one might think that this kind of thing doesn't
happen everyday.
Well, it most certainly does. And Microsoft is neither the first nor the
best at the fine art of influencing the influencers. You might be surprised
to learn this, but this fine art sees thousands and thousands of people
employed in its service. It's an industry!
[...]
This practice is not uncommon. Product developers and manufacturers are
often itching to give out freebies to tech influencers because it's smart
marketing. Do you really think Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal goes
to some secret underground Apple Store to buy his hot new iPod to review a
month before it's even announced? Do you think hardware review sites sneak
into processor fabs late at night to gain access to hardware samples that
won't be on retail shelves for months? Do you really think they're sending
all of that stuff back?
</quote>
- Oliver
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