My distaste for these corporate-sponsored philanthropy contests has just reached a new high. Similar to the dramas that sometimes go on in the backroom of beauty pageants (so I here), nonprofits trying to win their piece of the PepsiRefresh contest are claiming that there is cheating by some groups.
From the New York Times article, I gather that there is some mysterious data service that is able to generate votes in a way that doesn't represent the hard work of getting people who care about a specific charity to vote. The result: winners who paid to win.
I've said it before and I'll say it now: these contests are ridiculous and even more so now with the added drama. Come-on folks: lets get down to the business of identifying people who can care about our work.
And Pepsi: do you want to win in the soda game because you can rally enough people to vote for you or because your product tastes better? Nonprofits value the cash but in the end, being nonprofit is about making life better. This voting thing -- it doesn't reinforce mission as the new drama illustrates.