El_Caz: I don't get it. I mean, I think it's great that they do this, what I don't get is why they do it. Why can't they just donate the rice and not go through having people play this game?. The only way I see them making any money is through the banner under the game but even that seems to be advertising a 'help fight against hunger' sort of foundation.
Maybe the whole point is the publicity these organizations get from it. I mean, I'd never heard about this before this link and now I do. This is a clever way of getting people interested in the subject and maybe even some sponsors along the way, but I really wonder if they go through the bother of counting how many grains of rice a random player managed to rack up in their game. Seems more productive to just send a whole bunch of rice and keep people playing and knowing about the organization.
I'm sure they wait for a certain rice total reached by a combination of players before they ship it off. Also, to make the money they need to buy and send the rice, they have sponsors like the Yum! Corporation on the page.
cioran: It's probably nonsense. I'm sure the people doing it legitimately think it's real - like the soda can tabs and yogurt lids and the forwarded e-mails for some dying girl that doesn't exist and all the other urban legends.
I think it's a little more honest than urban legends like that. Since I've seen legit, real-world sponsors on their ad banner more than once, I think it has a little more credibility. Plus, they have a video of it being delivered, and it even has a link so you can donate more, with cash, to the World Food Program.
They're not trying to sell you something. They're not trying to collect your personal contact information, then sell it off to companies who will spam your inbox. They're just trying to help third-world countries, while raising awareness about other things you can do to help at the same time.
