Show Me The Money!!

Microsoft will pay you to use their Live Search!

Not really...

Microsoft will pay you cash back from purchases you make after searching for the products on their search engine.  So… if you want a new laptop, search for laptops at Live Search, click through to a product you find in the listings, and make a purchase… then you’ll get cash back. The service name is: Microsoft Live Search Cash Back.

The new service  includes over 10 million product offers and all of them provide a cash amount which is added to the users' free cashback account once the purchase is made. Once the account reaches $5, users can claim their money and go spend it however they want.

Microsoft will be using technology that it gained through the 2007 acquisition of Jellyfish and will allow users to see relevant products and services when performing an online search in one of its 18 new vertical search segments.

I read more about it and found that it’s the advertiser paying the cash back, not Microsoft.  And looks like the amount you get back will vary from product to product and advertiser to advertiser. But it's still an interesting idea. It seems that this is win win situation: Microsoft don’t lose any money out of pocket for the rebates, and the system will theoretically bring them more search traffic.

I cannot see why I should abandon Google for being my search engine, while at the same time I can use Live Search to check out...

When I have to find something, I look for a good search engine that can help me to find what I want quickly and conveniently. I don't think the idea that the search engine with the best results can be replaced for this service. That's why Google is still my favorite search engine!

By the way, there is even cash back for Vista...