Win a $1299 Printer, December 16-19, 2011
A few weeks ago, I received a gift of a very spiffy Dell 3335dn multifunction printer, which not only prints two-sided at high resolution from any computer on our network, but also scans, copies, e-mails, and stores documents in its memory. I have to tell you, even though I’ve gotten along just fine without in-house copying and faxing capabilities, I’m finding that I really enjoy having them.
Because the company is courting the green market for this printer (which not only can print both sides of the paper but also has some cool energy management features), Dell’s promotion team came to me and asked if I’d like to give one of these printers away. Of course, I agreed–but I put a condition on it. Rather than just give one away randomly, I’ll give it to the person who submits the best sustainability tip via my Twitter account during the giveaway days.
So you’ll be rewarded for your thinking processes, and probably not facing an enormous number of entries. In other words, if you give this your best shot, you’ll have a much better chance of winning than in most contests.
And five runners-up get a copy of my very useful e-book, Painless Green: 111 Tips to Help the Environment, Lower Your Carbon Footprint, Cut Your Budget, and Improve Your Quality of Life-With No Negative Impact on Your Lifestyle.
Disclosure: as is obvious from above, I got one of these printers as a gift and have been using it steadily ever since.
By entering, you agree to both my rules and Dell’s rules for the contest.
My Contest Rules:
Contest runs from 12:01 a.m. US Eastern Time December 16, 2011 through 6:00 a.m. US Eastern Time December 20, 2011.
Your Tweet(s) must contain both my screenname @shelhorowitz (with no space between the @ sign and my name) and the hashtag #printsecrets (Example: @shelhorowitz 2-sided printing saves 40% of your paper #printsecrets).
You may submit up to three tips, and you may also break up any single tip into as many as three Tweets–but each one must include those two elements. If breaking up a tip into multiple Tweets, make that clear by including pt2 pt3, etc. for Part 2, Part 3.
By submitting, you give both me and Dell the right to publish your answer, and to publicly list you as a winner including your likeness, in any medium. (And you should thank me, because Dell’s original rules took ownership of the material. I successfully argued that they really needed the right to use it without restriction, but they didn’t need to grab ownership rights.)
Judging criteria include originality, practicality, cost-efficiency, and sustainability.
You are responsible for any taxes on your prize.
Winners must be US residents (sorry!)
Dell’s Contest Rules:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ONLY LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES ARE ELIGIBLE TO ENTER.
Promotion may only be entered in or from the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and entries originating from any other jurisdiction are not eligible for entry. This Promotion is governed exclusively by the laws of the United States. You are not authorized to participate in the Promotion if you are not located within the United States.
1. How to Enter. During the Promotion Period, visit http://painlessgreenbook.com/win-a-1299-printer-december-16-19-2011 (“Administrator’s Website”) to receive instructions on how to enter the Promotion. Prior to doing so, you will be prompted to sign into your Twitter account. If you do not have an account, visit www.twitter.com to create one. Twitter accounts are free. Once logged into your Twitter account, follow the links and instructions to become a follower of @shelhorowitz. You automatically will receive one (1) entry into the Promotion for each message you post to @shelhorowitz that answers the question, “What’s your secret for improving environmental efficiency?” and includes the hashtag #printsecrets.
By entering, each entrant warrants and represents the following with respect to their Twitter message: (a) entrant is the sole and exclusive owner of the message; and (b) the message is entrant’s own creation and will not infringe on any rights of any third parties. Dell (“Sponsor”) and Administrator reserve the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any messages that are inappropriate for any reason, including without limitation, for depicting or mentioning sex, violence, drugs, alcohol and/or inappropriate language.
Limit: Each entrant may enter a total of 3 (three) times during the Promotion Period, and each entry may consist of between 1 (one) and 3 (three) tweets. If you post updates to or receive updates from twitter.com via SMS from your wireless phone, your wireless-service provider may charge you for each text message you send and receive. Please consult your wireless-service provider regarding its pricing plans. You must be an active holder of a non-private Twitter account and be a follower of the @shelhorowitz account to be eligible to enter this Promotion. All terms and conditions of twitter.com apply. Multiple entrants are not permitted to share the same Twitter account. Any attempt by any entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries by using multiple/different twitter accounts, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that entrant’s entries and that entrant may be disqualified. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. In the event of a dispute as to any Twitter account, the authorized account holder of the email address used to register at twitter.com will be deemed to be the entrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder.
Receipt of entries will not be acknowledged or returned. Providing an entry constitutes entrant’s consent to grant Sponsor and Administrator a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, create derivative works from and display such entry in whole or in part, on a worldwide basis, in any media now known or later developed, for any purpose whatsoever. Sponsor and Administrator are not responsible for lost, late, illegible, stolen, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, misdirected, technically corrupted or garbled entries, which will be disqualified, or for problems of any kind whether mechanical, human or electronic. Proof of submission will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor. By entering the Promotion, entrants fully and unconditionally agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of the judges, which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Promotion.
2. Start/End Dates. Promotion begins at 12:01AM EST on Friday, December 16, 2011 and ends 6:00AM EST on Tuesday, December 20, 2011 (“Promotion Period”).
3. Eligibility. Participation open only to legal residents of the fifty United States, the District of Columbia, who are 18 or older as of date of entry. Void outside of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and its parent company, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, manufacturers or distributors of promotion materials and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouse) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees, officers and directors are not eligible to enter. You are not authorized to participate in the Promotion if you are not located within the United States or the District of Columbia. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.
4. Judging and Selection of Winners. Entries will be judged by Administrator based on the following judging criteria:
(i) Relevance, i.e., contains relevant advice for small business professionals
(ii) Usability, i.e., provides actionable advice that small businesses can potentially implement.
(iii) Sustainability, i.e., reduces environmental impact by saving paper, ink, etc.
(iv) Originality, i.e., is unique and innovative
Any tweets containing offensive, inappropriate or defamatory language or content will not be eligible for the contest and will be reported as spam.
Administrator will select one (1) potential Prize winner from among all eligible entries received that meet the above criteria. Giveaway will take place on or about December 20, 2011. Judging of entries will be conducted by the Administrator, whose decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to the Giveaway. In the event there are not enough eligible entries, no Prize will be awarded. If a winner is unable for whatever reason to accept his or her Prize, then Administrator reserves the right to award the Prize to another eligible Entrant. The odds of winning Prize will depend on the total number of eligible entries received during the Giveaway period.
5. Prizes. One winner will receive a Dell™ 3335dn printer. Approximate retail value (“ARV”) of prize: $1,299,99. Prize is non-transferable. No substitutions or cash redemptions. In the case of unavailability of Prize, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value. All expenses not specifically listed herein are the responsibility of winners.
6. Notification. Potential winner will receive a direct message from Administrator through the Twitter account used to enter the Promotion on or about December 20, 2011. Potential Winner will be required to respond to the direct message, provide a valid email address, and complete the Prize Disclosure Agreement and W-9 form within 3 (three) days of receipt. If a potential winner does not respond to direct message or complete the Prize Disclosure Agreement and W-9 within the required timeframe, prize may be forfeited and awarded to the next runner-up. Potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. Potential winner will be required to sign and return, where legal, an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and/or rights transfer document within 3 (three) calendar days of prize notification. If any potential winner is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, Affidavit of Eligibility and/or Liability/Publicity must be signed by his/her parent or legal guardian. If a potential winner cannot be contacted, or fails to complete and respond to the direct message within the required time period, if any prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if any potential winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Promotion rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and may be awarded to the entrant with the next highest score. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.
7. Conditions. BY PARTICIPATING, ENTRANTS AND WINNERS AGREE TO RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS SPONSOR, ADMINISTRATOR TWITTER, AND THEIR ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION AGENCIES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE PARENT COMPANIES, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, PARTNERS, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS, EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY, FOR LOSS, HARM, DAMAGE, INJURY, COST OR EXPENSE WHATSOEVER INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, PROPERTY DAMAGE, PERSONAL INJURY AND/OR DEATH WHICH MAY OCCUR IN CONNECTION WITH, PREPARATION FOR, TRAVEL TO, OR PARTICIPATION IN PROMOTION, OR POSSESSION, ACCEPTANCE AND/OR USE OR MISUSE OF PRIZE OR PARTICIPATION IN ANY PROMOTION-RELATED ACTIVITY AND FOR ANY CLAIMS BASED ON PUBLICITY RIGHTS, DEFAMATION, INVASION OF PRIVACY, COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT OR ANY OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY-RELATED CAUSE OF ACTION. Any and all federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners. Participation in Promotion and acceptance of prize constitutes each winner’s permission for Sponsor to use his/her name, address (city and state), likeness, photograph, picture, portrait, voice, biographical information, and/or any statements made by each winner regarding the Promotion or Sponsor for advertising and promotional purposes without notice or additional compensation, except where prohibited by law. Entrants who do not comply with these Official Rules, or attempt to interfere with this Promotion in any way shall be disqualified. Sponsor and Administrator are not responsible if Promotion cannot take place or if any prize cannot be awarded due to travel cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism.
8. Additional Terms. Any attempted form of entry other than as set forth above is prohibited; no automatic, programmed; robotic or similar means of entry are permitted. Sponsor, Administrator, their affiliates, partners and promotion and advertising agencies are not responsible for technical, hardware, software, telephone or other communications malfunctions, errors or failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, web site, Internet, or ISP availability, unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Promotion, including any injury or damage to participant’s or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participating in this Promotion or downloading any materials in this Promotion. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, extend or suspend this Promotion should (in its sole discretion) virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the Promotion. In such case, Sponsor may select the winners from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds, in its sole discretion, to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Promotion or web site. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Promotion or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that said entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Promotion by cheating, hacking, deception, or other unfair playing practices (including the use of automated quick entry programs) or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrants or Sponsor representatives.
CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROMOTION MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
9. Use of Data. Sponsor and Administrator will be collecting personal data about entrants online, in accordance with Sponsor’s privacy policy. Please review Dell’s privacy policy at http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/policy/en/policy?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~section=000. By participating in the Promotion, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor’s collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor’s privacy policy.
10. List of Winners. To obtain a list of winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by January 6, 2012 to: Shel Horowitz Dell Printer Contest Winners, c/o Zócalo Group, 200 E. Randolph Street, 42nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60601.
11. Sponsor. The Sponsor of the Promotion is Dell US SMB Marketing, One Dell Way, Round Rock, TX 78682.