Jordan Zakarin

Health Insurers Caught Paying Facebook Gamers Virtual Currency To Oppose Reform Bill God damn I knew this game was evil. That lonely white cow you’ve found so innocent seeming on your pasture is literally trying to kill you and 50 million other Americans. Facebook users play a social game, like “FarmVille” or “Friends For Sale.” They get addicted to it. Eager to accelerate their progress inside the game, the gamers buy “virtual goods” such as a machine gun for “Mafia Wars.” But these gamers don’t buy these virtual goods with real money. They use virtual currency. The gamers get virtual currency three ways: Winning it playing the games Paying for it with real money By accepting offers from third-parties — usually companies like online movie rentals service Netflix — who agree to give the gamer virtual currency so long as that gamer agrees to try a product or service. This is done through an “offers” provider — a middleman that brings the companies like Netflix, the Facebook gamemakers, and the Facebook gamemaker’s users together. It’s this third method that an anti-reform group called “Get Health Reform Right” is using to pay gamers virtual currency for their support. Instead of asking the gamers to try a product the way Netflix would, “Get Health Reform Right” requires gamers to take a survey, which, upon completion, automatically sends the following email to their Congressional Rep: “I am concerned a new government plan could cause me to lose the employer coverage I have today. More government bureaucracy will only create more problems, not solve the ones we have.” (via soupsoup)

Health Insurers Caught Paying Facebook Gamers Virtual Currency To Oppose Reform Bill

God damn I knew this game was evil. That lonely white cow you’ve found so innocent seeming on your pasture is literally trying to kill you and 50 million other Americans.

Facebook users play a social game, like “FarmVille” or “Friends For Sale.” They get addicted to it. Eager to accelerate their progress inside the game, the gamers buy “virtual goods” such as a machine gun for “Mafia Wars.” But these gamers don’t buy these virtual goods with real money. They use virtual currency.

The gamers get virtual currency three ways:

  • Winning it playing the games
  • Paying for it with real money
  • By accepting offers from third-parties — usually companies like online movie rentals service Netflix — who agree to give the gamer virtual currency so long as that gamer agrees to try a product or service. This is done through an “offers” provider — a middleman that brings the companies like Netflix, the Facebook gamemakers, and the Facebook gamemaker’s users together.

It’s this third method that an anti-reform group called “Get Health Reform Right” is using to pay gamers virtual currency for their support.

Instead of asking the gamers to try a product the way Netflix would, “Get Health Reform Right” requires gamers to take a survey, which, upon completion, automatically sends the following email to their Congressional Rep:

“I am concerned a new government plan could cause me to lose the employer coverage I have today. More government bureaucracy will only create more problems, not solve the ones we have.”

(via soupsoup)

Notes

  1. bulletinaweave reblogged this from think4yourself
  2. rong-bips reblogged this from think4yourself
  3. bombhead reblogged this from soupsoup
  4. jasencomstock reblogged this from abcsoupdot and added:
    I wondered when this would get some press. the Picken’s plan started this idea, but since they use their own social...
  5. abcsoupdot reblogged this from think4yourself
  6. think4yourself reblogged this from soupsoup and added:
    This is one of the more interesting tactics I have ever seen
  7. appetiteforlust reblogged this from jordansheartsucks
  8. idbebetteroffdead reblogged this from jordansheartsucks and added:
    I am proud to say that I do not play farmville!
  9. jordansheartsucks reblogged this from soupsoup and added:
    God damn I knew this game was evil. That lonely white cow you’ve found so innocent seeming on your pasture is literally...
  10. shinypenny reblogged this from rillawafers
  11. saintexquisite reblogged this from soupsoup
  12. rillawafers reblogged this from soupsoup
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  14. soupsoup posted this
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