''The i’m Initiative from Microsoft makes helping social causes easy. Every time you use Windows Live Messenger or Windows Live Hotmail, our free webmail service, we’ll share a portion of our advertising revenue with some of the world’s most effective social cause organizations. Exactly how much will we share with our partner causes? Well, that’s up to you and the growing masses of registered i’m Initiative users. The more messages you send, the more we give. Now the small things you do every day, like emailing and IMing, can make a big difference,'' according to the initiative’s website.
Additionally, one can instantly invite friends from Facebook and other social networks to chat on Windows Live Messenger and join the initiative.
The causes that the program supports are the American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the National AIDS Fund, the Humane Society of the United States, NineMillion.org, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Sierra Club, UNICEF, StopGlobalWarming.org, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists.
The i’m Talkathon debuted on June 24 and is focused on drawing more attention to the initiative and expanding it to a larger audience. Microsoft produced a blog for the talkathon, whose slogan is ''30 days of emailing and instant messaging for the common good.''
''And the best part? It’s not your money. It’s Microsoft’s money. It’s like you’re reaching into the Man’s pockets and taking cash and handing it to a hungry person, every time you hit ‘enter.’ The i’m Initiative turns you into Robin Hood with a goofy screen name. If I send a lot of messages, I’ll kind of make a difference. But if you join, and everyone you know joins, then suddenly it’s going to add up to something big,'' writes ''Parker Whittle,'' the fictitious character Microsoft uses as the star of the talkathon’s blog.
The software giant’s philanthropic endeavor makes sense in light of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’s recently leaving the company to focus full-time on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is aimed at reducing poverty, improving education, and eradicating disease.
