Some of you have probably noticed this logo
next to some of your contacts names on Windows Live Messenger. It’s Microsoft’s latest way of getting involved and giving back to important organizations globally. Anybody who uses Windows Live Messenger has the opportunity to participate, and it costs nothing to get involved. The result is that 10 different organizations will receive a portion of the revenue that Microsoft makes off of Messenger.
All that’s required is that a user have Windows Live Messenger Version 8.1 installed. From there, just follow a few simple steps.
- Open up Windows Live Messenger Version 8.1
- Click the arrow next to your name and select options
- Next to your name, you’ll insert a code. Options with the corresponding codes are:
- Be sure to include the asterisks. For example, I chose Boys & Girls Club of America. In the “My Display Name” field, I typed my name as: Ashley *bgca. You’ll know that the code you inserted worked because your display name will look something like this:
From there, Microsoft will take care of distributing the donations where they belong. Any time that you start a conversation, your organization will receive a donation. And best of all, Microsoft says that the sky is the limit because there is no cap to the amount that an organization can receive.
It really is a great initiative because it takes no effort on the part of the millions of messenger users, other than simply entering in the code next to their display name. With 10 different deserving causes, and millions of people who use messenger on a daily basis, I think a lot of people will reap the benefits from this.
I think they should have a more ‘global’ mix of charities.
That’s a good point- I really don’t know how many of the charities to choose from have global operations. I’m sure at least a few do, but they probably could have selected a few more.
They probably didn’t want to give so many charities that it was hard for people to pick one of them, so I think having a shorter list like this is probably a good idea. Of course, picking any of them would be better than picking none because it doesn’t require any extra work on your part.
I’m with the folks above. Yes, I’ve done it and I’m glad someone’s benefiting, but it does seem a little weak that all the charities are US ones. After all, the advertising targeting seems to be regional (based on what, I’m not sure – I’m in France but getting UK adverts!) so surely they could base the charity donation or choice on the same system?
Ian,
The one reason it’s probably US based charities is because you can only sign up for the program if you live in the United States. I imagine they’ll expand the program eventually so that it’s a global initiative involving more countries, and more charities.