Chris Masse at Midas Oracle links to “How Companies Are Using IT To Spot Innovative Ideas,” an article at Information Week. Among the examples cited:
…Starbucks uses the same voting platform, at MyStarbucksIdea.com, and took an online suggestion posted Oct. 7 by BillMac to offer a free cup of coffee Nov. 4 to anyone in the United States who voted.
As it turned out, at least in some jurisdictions it is illegal to offer inducements to vote and Starbucks decided to offer a free cup of coffee to anyone who asked for one on Election Day.
Here’s the Georgia state law:
“Any person who gives or receives, or offers to give or receive, or participates in the giving or receiving of money or gifts for the purpose of registering as a voter, voting, or voting for a particular candidate in any primary or election shall be guilty of a felony.” [Via the Christian Science Monitor.]