Save the world, one instant message at a time!

I don't know if any of y'all out there use Windows Live Messenger much. Timothy and I use it to talk online because it is set up well for video chats. I pretty much only use it to talk to him, but between the two of us there's a lot of talking going on, so I think it's safe to say that I am an avid user of Windows Live. And yesterday I made a really great discovery: I can save the world (or atleast help out here and there) just by talking to Tim online! And here's the even cooler part: You can too! And you don't even have to talk to Tim, although you'd be missing out. You just have to use Windows Live Messenger v8.1 (and up). A little under 2 years ago, Microsoft started something called the i'm initiative. Basically, they have 10 charities you can choose from. You get the code for whichever one you want to support and open the options menu in Windows Live, where you'll find a place to edit your display name. After your name you just type the code in. It changes into a little i'm icon and is displayed next to your name, and after that every time you use Windows Live or Hotmail to send an IM or email, Microsoft gives part of the program's ad revenue to the organization you entered the code for. There isn't any set value on how much they'll give, or at what point they'll stop giving. The more you talk, the more they give! Each organization is guaranteed atleast $100,000 their first year of participating. I think it's pretty cool.

On the website, you can look at profiles for each organization, but I was having trouble finding the actual codes, so I had to Google it and then I found a list elsewhere. So, for your convenience, here it is:

American Red Cross - *red+u
Boys and Girls Club of America - *bgca
National AIDS Fund - *naf
Humane Society of the United States - *hsus
ninemillion.org - *9mil
National Multiple Sclerosis Society - *mssoc
Sierra Club - *sierra
UNICEF - *unicef
StopGlobalWarming.org - *help
Susan G. Komen for the Cure - *komen

The asterisk and the part after is what you type into your display name box. I went with the Boys and Girls Club of America because I have seen up close in West Virginia what a difference a role model and an uplifting environment makes. So. There you have it, folks! You, too, can help save the world just by sitting at home talking online. And if you don't have anyone to talk to on Windows Live, just talk to me!