RSSMicrosoft to Donate Portion of Messenger Ad Sales
By Ed Oswald | Published March 1, 2007, 4:09 PM
Microsoft is giving its users an opportunity to direct where its charitable efforts go to through the i'm Initiative, which sends a portion of Windows Live Messenger ad revenue to a selected charity.
In order for the effort to work, a user must add a special code to the end of their display name that would then be tracked. The more often a user sends instant messages, the more Microsoft donates to that charity.
Users would need to have Windows Live Messenger 8.1 and reside in the United States to participate, however messages to overseas friends would still count. Each participating group would receive a minimum of $100,000 per year, the company said.
"Not everyone has the financial ability to give money to the causes they care about," the Windows Live Messenger team said on its blog Thursday. "That is where the i'm Initiative steps in - it enables Windows Live Messenger users to make a difference by directing a portion of Messenger's advertising revenue to a cause of their choosing."
Participating charities include the American Red Cross, National AIDS Fund, the Sierra Club, stopglobalwarming.org, and UNICEF among others. An icon "i'm" -- short for "I'm making a difference -- would appear alongside the display name of users participating in the initiative.
Only one cause can be supported at a time, although the company says users can switch between charities as often as they'd like. More information is available from the official i'm Initiative Web site.
How about letting me choose which charity it goes to? That would be innovative. Microsoft is known for supporting various left wing causes. But at least their not as left wing as Google.
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I'd rather not see those annoying ads in the first place. The lack of ads are the main reason I use Skype instead of the MS and Yahoo Messengers. I'm sick and tired of ads everywhere.
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I am glad MS is doing something for the wider community that can really help people.
If I were a cynic I would say it was a ploy to clean up their image. The question this would bring to mind "What are they trying to hide that is so dreadful that they need a preemptive PR campaign?" I don't like to be that cynical so I'm inclined to think they are just trying to undo the years of bad PR.
Bill does run a charity that funds international humanitarian causes. It isn't a new concept for the folks at Redmond.
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Yeah, they've been doing a lot of charity work. Announced or not.
One of my MS friends used to work full time on looking for organizations to give money to. Mostly rural schools and underprivileged communities.
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