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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
10/06/09
Ppppffffff. Everyone knows the future of health care is... The Nozzle
10/06/09
Who's got the biggest melanoma of them all?"
10/06/09
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09/08/09
Thanks in particular to the following folks. Whether we saw eye to eye or whether they've poked both of mine out with sharp words, they've kept the discussion running and on the point of charity:
@Adhominem: @appletoad: @Brock Heller: @Chris: @jepzilla: @Jibba Jabba: @LindsayJoy's MBP is into S+M: @Mason Bushard: @NickelMD: @OG_Phenix: @rcast1986: @Scotland: @Shamoononon: @Star me or I'll peck your eye out: @taterpie:
Now, if those boys and gals or anyone else happens to have a moment after surviving this long bit of babbling, would you mind sharing how you think $30,000 could best be used for charity, outside of the Microsoft/CMN/Gameroom Giveaway scenario?
Straight donation to a cause? To set up a dunk tank fundraiser? How would you use the funds if given the choice?
09/08/09
That's a loaded question. Very few of us have $30,000 lying around waiting to be donated, so the best we can do is name a cause we believe in and invent some theoretical contribution on the spot.
Me? I'd contribute to no-kill animal shelters and neutering clinics in urban areas with problematic feral animal populations.
See? Random, academic, and irrelevant.
The question you're avoiding is, "Is Microsoft doing the wrong thing?"
Microsoft is donating $30,000, unevenly, to 170 childrens' hospitals. This figure, by itself, compares unfavorably to *any other aspect* of Microsoft's budget. The contribution is staged in a way that sensationalizes both the donation and the need for more, and encourages more donations from those generous enough to give.
You seem to take exception to CMN's method of publicizing the donation, which is your right, but I think you could be more honest about your objection.
"Point freakin' six percent"? That means you've got a figure indicating that MS blows five million on a typical ad campaign. From 1975 to 2006, Microsoft and its employees donated to charities FIFTY FREAKIN' THOUSAND PERCENT of a typical ad campaign, in cash and software.
[www.microsoft.com]
Obviously, software is of debatable cost to the company. Equally obvious is that Microsoft is still willing to draw just as much attention to its contribution to charity as it to the need for greater social responsibility among its corporate peers. That is Microsoft's prerogative.
I feel that Microsoft and its employees are giving back to the community to an adequate degree. Neither are they misers nor paragons.
09/08/09
The objection was simply the approach taken with this particular donation. As said above, Microsoft has done many incredible things (not even counting the employee contributions) and this appears to be a one-time hiccup in an otherwise good track record.
09/08/09
Personally were I to have $30,000, I would donate it to a singe cause in a small area, try to maximize the good with it in a limited number of locations. It's kinda hard to see how to really get a hospital excited about a $175 donation, even if it's known that you're doing it 170 times.
I think they should have either gone with a larger budget or a smaller target. That being said, I'm personally a fan of "matching donations" from large companies, which usually inspires people to give. So give away the kiosks free and start a fund that people can donate to, which Microsoft would match (up to a certain point).
That fund could be used to split evenly between all of the the hospitals, or could be used to build game rooms where CMN thinks it necessary. Either way, Microsoft should not be seen as the ones deciding who gets the prizes, they should simply be adding to the pot and providing kids with a 360 kiosk.
That's what I think I would have done.
09/08/09
You obviously feel very strongly about this. That's no bad thing. I happen to disagree with your article, for a number of reasons already stated by others in the comments. As such, I won't bother to enumerate them, except to say that notably, I don't think any hospital will be *worse* off because of this, and I would think that all of them, in fact, would be better, due to the increase in awareness, short lived as it may be. Is it the optimum configuration? I have no way to know, but it's a decent stab.
I would, however, like to say that while I disagree with your position, this article seems to have promoted discussion, which is a very good thing. I was glad to see that even though arguments, trolling, flaming, and even petty name-calling ensued, there was a decent thread of dialogue--something there is far too little of these days, especially on the internet. So, from that perspective, let me congratulate both you and the members you named, along with those who might've been omitted.
Now, to answer your latest question, I agree with CaseyG in that the question is somewhat academic. However, I don't mind throwing my $0.02 in.
Me? I tend to think that the most far-reaching and ultimately consequential issue is one of education. The problem with it is that there are significantly fewer short term, obvious consequences of investing in education. When $30,000 can either improve education to a perhaps imperceptible degree or, on the other hand, feed an obvious, definite number of people TODAY, the choice, in some ways, seems obvious. However, investing in education can potentially not only help ultimately reduce the number of people who will eventually be hungry, but have other huge impacts on our society and our world, as well.
It's no easy thing to decide the worthiest cause, and many people have very passionate views.
09/07/09
09/07/09
Don't worry, appletoad, you've made it abundantly clear you're a MS basher and apple troll. Pathetic.
As to your previous post about Apple generally giving to higher education - that move is a TOTAL marketing scheme. If you wanna give a prize for charity with a hidden agenda, Apple takes the cake.
09/07/09
Then after refuting his point, he changed his tactic to not agreeing with how the contest is being handled.
Appletoad: "They are doing something demeaning to the children though. They are putting them through a popularity contest to see who wins."
Appletoad: "We don't even necessarily have an issue that they all can't have game rooms. I personally just feel that the very public way of picking the winners is wrong"
09/07/09
And btw, I do agree to your point to some extent, such as why is it that Microsoft didn't give something to ALL of the hospitals? However, it is just like a previous comment, that if Microsoft is donating to one charity, why not ALL charities? It's just not possible.
09/07/09
09/07/09
I do not agree with your point at all.
09/07/09
09/07/09
Its as if the Super 7 decided to change their advertising to: "Super 7: Creating millions of losers each week" or "The RAV-4 now comes with 6 airbags which are useless in an oncoming collision".
There are still many children benefiting from this campaign. Its not like they are doing anything demeaning to the children. There is just a vote to decide who gets the big prize.
I would say a vote for an ultimate game room to a few hospitals is infinitely better than no prize given out at all. Why isn't there an article showcasing all the companies that have NOT given to the CHN in some way? I guess that doesn't lead to an opportunity to attack Microsoft in some way. I guess they can never do anything right.
"Microsoft invents cure for cancer, but you have to make a hole in your arm and stab yourself with metal to take it. Booooo!"
09/07/09
09/07/09
The Powerball lottery is discriminatory to all the people who buy tickets and don't win.
The FAFSA discriminates against children whose parents make too much money even though they had little to do with it.
See what I did there? You can make anything sound bad if you want.
An Xbox 360 game room giveaway is hardly demeaning. Do you get up in arms every time your town doesn't get voted Best Place to Raise a Family? Is it demeaning to all the other cities in the nation?
It's a fallacy to say that by rewarding or recognizing a person or institution, you're demeaning the others.
09/07/09
My point is that the lottery is a game.
This shouldn't be.
09/07/09
There's absolutely nothing wrong with the hospitals that receive the most votes win the game rooms. Perhaps these hospitals do work that is recognized in their field as outstanding? Perhaps these are some of the bigger hospitals that have more patients, thus more people voting in their favor? This is a better alternative than just giving it to a select number of hospitals, that's how you get scandals.
Yes, they are all worthy of it but that's not being debated. The game rooms are a nice perk to those who win but I'm doubting that hospitals who don't get it are going to be all that saddened they didn't get a couple of HDTVs and Xbox 360's.
If the few of you that feel bad a smaller hospital is being neglected, organize and vote for a smaller hospital. The link is posted.
09/07/09
09/07/09
But even you should agree that this article is complete horseshit and hardly makes Microsoft an evil villain or as Rosa puts it:
"This vile competition is on the level of tearing a teddy bear out of a child's arms and then ripping it apart into a pile of fuzzy remains on the spot."
09/07/09
This one particular approach is the mistake. Donating and charity in themselves are not.
09/07/09
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09/07/09