A somewhat odd notification push has been circulating among Facebook players. During the second week of December, users playing ad-based social games in Facebook are being offered points and virtual cash in return for sending an email. The email is about losing employer-based health insurance if ever a government-based insurance option is passed as part of the health system reformation. This email will be sent to Congress.
The notification push was said to be coming from Get Health Reform Right. This is an alliance of health companies which includes America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to name a few.
A lot of advertisements have been using the offers-marketing strategy to introduce their products or service to the public. Social games in Facebook are ad-based. Many players do not have enough points to purchase virtual items. So, their option is either to purchase virtual items or points with real cash or click on “offers” by advertisements, like surveys or free trials.
However, the virtual cash offered in exchange for a letter has been denied by Get Health Reform Right. In fact, Blues spokesperson Jeff Smokler stated that they temporarily suspended the GetHealthReformRight.org web site after finding out about these ads that offer virtual money in Facebook games.
With 100 million visitors each month for Zynga games alone, it is quite difficult to determine where these kinds of offers are coming from. Nevertheless, the coalition is currently investigating about this matter and will implement any legal action needed to correct the issue.
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