PR Strategies: Microsoft’s “Will Code for Green” Challenge



2009 June, 23rd
Liliana Dumitru-Steffens
Liliana Dumitru-Steffens

To attract more Bing users, Microsoft has launched the “Will Code for Green” challenge that rewards developers $10,000 USD for the best Bing API-based application that will “either help people deal with the worsening global economy or helping to improve the ecology of the planet Earth.”

To be eligible for entering the competition, developers should respect the following technical requirements and other rules displayed at http://willcodeforgreen.gnomedex.com/:

  • Consume Bing’s API as described at http://search.live.com/developers
  • Conform with Bing’s APIs Terms of Use. http://search.live.com/developers/tou.aspx
  • The content displayed by the application and content behaviors within the application must conform to prohibited content guidelines. In addition to a prohibition against collecting personally identifiable information, prohibited content includes but is not limited to images or text that in the sole opinion of Microsoft is found to be offensive or contain any sexually explicit, disparaging, defamatory, libelous, obscene, or other inappropriate content or any content that would present Sponsors in unflattering light.
  • If any other Microsoft online services are used, the Entry must comply with their terms of use as well

Will Code for Green challenge

This campaign follows the latest IE8 “Browser for the Better” campaign, which was clearly an attempt to regain some users who turned to Firefox or Safari. There is no data available at this point for knowing whether “Browser for the Better” was successful; however, “Will Code for Green” has all the earmarks of a popular competition: developers can only benefit from adding a Microsoft prize to their portfolios. But, how will this action determine search users to switch from Google and other search engines to Bing is beyond my grasp!

About the Author

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Liliana Dumitru-Steffens is public relations consultant for Pamil Visions PR. She writes for Everything PR since January 2009. Previously she worked for My-tronic GmbH and Unilever Romania. Email Liliana at lsteffens [at] pamil-visions [dot] net.

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There Are 2 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Costin on 24 June 2009:

    “To attract more Bing users, Microsoft has launched the “Will Code for Green” challenge that rewards developers $10,000 USD for the best Bing API-based application that will “either help people deal with the worsening global economy or helping to improve the ecology of the planet Earth.

    To be eligible for entering the competition, developers should respect the following technical requirements and other rules displayed at…”

    I’m confused…

    I read this:
    “…either help people deal with the worsening global economy or helping to improve the ecology of the planet Earth, ”

    and I wonder why they say “global economy” and “global ecology” when they only allow US citizens to sign in? I thought “global” means the whole world…

    Ah, wait! I forgot, only the americans can save the planet! Like now, for example: Microsoft offering free meals, GM dead, economy dead, more and more people die because of the hunger, or end up on the streets because they can’t afford to pay the mortgage(no surprise, they’re jobless) but only they’re allowed to enter the contest! I wonder how many of them would have the money to setup the website to promote their app?

    Actually I think this is a great idea, because american coders can code better while thinking about how many meals they can buy with $10.000 :)

    I just had a look at the apps submitted there and I can say I’m impressed. No, really (haha!!). You can actually see the hunger in action… :(

    oh my… good job, Microsoft! Keep up the good work!

    PS.
    Bill Gates is probably cursing the day he’s left MS. I would if I were him anyway… :(

  2. Comment by Matt Keegan on 24 June 2009:

    Yeah! Microsoft is giving money away! Like Costin said, the whole world should be allowed to participate in finding solutions. Otherwise it appears that we Americans can only fix what is broken — maybe because we had a hand in how things are today?!