A shocking phase of events show that Microsoft's uncanny increase in share of US searches from 8.46% to 9.85% is not because of the reliability of Live Search but because of Microsoft launched Live Search Club reports AP News.
Confused? The article goes on to say that "It was Chicktionary" that indirectly shot up the percentage of Live users.
"The chicken-themed letter scramble puzzle is one of several addictive Live Search Club games designed to introduce Web users to features of Microsoft's Live Search engine.
When a player enters a word formed from three or more letters displayed by a clucky group of hens, the game automatically triggers a related Web search. A single game of Chicktionary can add 35 or more queries to Microsoft's monthly total, even if the player isn't paying attention to the results.
The Live Search Club also offers crossword puzzles that can't be completed without executing one search per clue, and a matching game where every answer must be verified by a search.Microsoft awards points for successfully completed games (20 points for a round of Chicktionary), and players can use them to buy prizes (20,000 points for a copy of Windows Vista Home Premium, normally $239). Prize-crazy hackers have already devised "bots," or automated programs that rack up Live Search Club points. Microsoft said it monitors the games and cancels ill-gotten points or prizes, and comScore said bots don't factor into market share calculations."
It is pretty pathetic that one of the biggest companies worldwide, has to actually pay for its users to play chicktionary, scrabble etc.
Recommend this story
Navneet Kaushal, CEO PageTraffic is a trusted authority in the search engine marketing industry. He is a featured author at Web Pro News, Search Newz, Promotionworld, Website Notes, DevWebPro, SEO Article and Web Help Now among many others.
Follow Navneet Kaushal on Google +.
@pagetraffic
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, I’ve decided to comment to warn against participation in this scam since it’s now highly unlikely that I’m going to get the prize I ordered back on June 21st. I played the Live Search Club games mid-June and got enough points (6,000) to order Vista Ultimate (no longer offered on the site) over the course of about a week. The projected shipping date came and went with no word from Live Search Club so I’ve attempted contacting them twice, to no avail. I’ve never received a response. However, another person in the house who ordered a couple of days before me has received notification that her order has been canceled due to “unfair activities.” The problem with this is that neither of us cheated at any point in accruing our points. From what I’ve read on forums devoted to Live Search Club, botters have their accounts zeroed (points removed and they are no longer able to accrue points); neither of us has had this happen. We are both still able to play and accrue points, and more importantly, searches for Live Search Club.
The reality is that this is a fly-by-night operation. Microsoft has farmed administration of this scam to a company called Incentive Logic. If you play their games you should not expect to receive any prizes. It’s a scam on both ends – to drum up searches for Windows Live and to con users into doing it for them without recompense.
I agree with CMLPRD. This is a scam. They have some wonderful prizes that require 35,000 tickets. The problem is, you can’t get that high. I’ve been playing since around May. I’ve completed all the puzzles and keep getting the message that new puzzles are added regularly. Some of them even say they add new puzzles daily. It’s been months since I saw new puzzles and I do check daily. If you look at their leaderboard, it shows people who have gotten several thousand more tickets in all the games and it’s not even possible to get that many. This is a total scam. You will not get your prizes or even enough tickets to get the prizes you want. Microsoft has stooped to a new low!
If you read the user agreement, there is a Limit of 1 user per household, or address. By having more than one user at an address you violated the terms of playing and therefore are disqualified from participation. Don’t blame Microsoft for not reading the full rules before you started to play…it’s not their fault.
If you read the user agreement, there is a Limit of 1 user per household, or address. By having more than one user at an address you violated the terms of playing and therefore are disqualified from participation. Don’t blame Microsoft for not reading the full rules before you started to play…it’s not their fault.
I have gotten every prize I have ordered including, the Lifecam, Life chat headset, wireless keyboard and mouse, several games, music downloads, and windows Vista Ultimate that you say they won’t send. They send the prizes if you play by the rules…break the rules and you cna forget your prizes.
PlasmaStorm, I did read the rules before playing (and after playing, more than once). At the time, that stipulation was not part of the user agreement and was only added a month or two AFTER both I and the other person had already won our copies of Vista (a fact YOU should be aware of if you really won a copy of Vista Ultimate, meaning that you had begun playing before the ex post facto alteration of the user agreement). The fact remains that neither of us broke the rules and still have not received our prizes. Yes, it is Microsoft’s fault that they’re running a scam.
I agree this is a scam. I aquired 34,000 points toward the XBOX which requirs 35,000. Just to see it is no longer offered as a prize. Should have known Microsoft would do something like that. I am done with MSN period. I cancelled my a email and switched to yahoo and will no longer use explorer as a browser.
i am getting very nervous from reading about these nightmares…i was supposed to get my zune shipped to me on 11-28-07 which has came and went already…i have no way to contact them and my two emails has gone unanswered….can you say fraud???
Well, its pretty bad of Microsoft/Incentive Logic not to be paying out before closing down the promotion due to the spam.
Still, having a search box handy for a crossword site gives me an idea…
Dodgy… remember the days when the big companies didn’t care about search and google was a small fry. It’s amazing that Microsoft is going to these lengths to gain market share in search.