IM Your Way to A Better World

Windows Live Spaces - The i'm Initiative and new secret emoticon

"The i'm Initiative is the most exciting piece of news I have had to share with Messenger users since I started working on Messenger over 3 years ago and there has been tons of exciting news over the last 3 years. Now if you are like me and are a Lost fan if you hear The <anything> Initiative your mind immediately jumps to the DHARMA Initiative and you assume it must be bad and very mysterious. The i'm Initiative is completely the opposite, it is very good and all the previous mystery around the secret emoticon in Messenger 8.1 will be revealed below.

...

Wonderful! How does it work?

1. Use Messenger 8.1
   
2. Add the i'm emoticon to your display name by entering the code of the cause you would like to support (hint: I suggest adding it at the end of your name so you still appear in the correct alphabetic order in your contacts list)
   
3. Send and receive IMs
   
4. A portion of the advertising revenue generated by your usage of Messenger will be donated to your cause. So the more IMs you send and receive the more money will be donated to your cause.

note: currently the donation only applies to Windows Live Messenger users in the United States. If you are in the US and you are IMing with a contact in another country your IM activity will be counted towards the donation.

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What are the i'm emoticon  codes and causes?

• American Red Cross --  ready to help, code = *red+u
  
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America --  providing a positive place for kids, code = *bgca
  
• National AIDS Fund --  fighting AIDS, code = *naf
  
• National MS Society --  joining the MS movement, code = *mssoc
  
• ninemillion.org --  helping 9 million refugee kids, code = *9mil
  
• Sierra Club --  exploring and protecting the planet, code = *sierra
  
• StopGlobalWarming.org --  stopping global warming, code = *help
  
• Susan G. Komen for the Cure --  finding the cure, code = *komen
  
• UNICEF --  helping kids survive, code = *unicef
  

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This sounds too good to be true - sort of like that e-mail I got about Bill Gates sending me a Million dollars if I forward the email onto 10 friends and they send it on to 10 friends, etc. How do I know this is really true?

You can check out the official i'm Initiative website -- http://im.live.com -- and the causes will have information on their websites as well.

..."

I know... I thought it was a hoax thing too, but it looks legit.

Now every IM I send, the American Red Cross gets a live money love from Microsoft... ;)

(via Scott Elkin - Donate To Charity Using MSN Messenger 8.1)