...and Blingo was its name-O

So I just got an invite from a friend for this "new" search engine called Blingo. Here's the form-letter email:

I've been using Blingo to search the web. It's just like
searching at Google or Yahoo except Blingo gives away prizes,
like iPods and PlayStation Portables. Check it out and sign up
as my Blingo Friend.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tallasiandude has invited you to visit Blingo and join Blingo
Friends. Blingo gives away prizes every day just for searching
the web: 60 prizes yesterday and 1,327 prizes in the past 30
days.
To visit Blingo and see your invitation, click here (or
paste the link into your browser):

http://www.blingo.com/friends?ref=g2LslU7aTlLQ-O7MZKpg4k0miWY


Thanks,
The Blingo Team

I find it amusing that they state that it's "just like searching at Google." I mean, yes, it is... but in a literal sense: it's not some other search engine, they really are using the Google search engine, only you have to go through their front end. I find it somewhat disingenuous, but I guess it's really the opposite: it's freakish transparency. "Hi! We're a search engine, but we're not really a search engine, we're just using someone else's search engine and tacking on a gimmick to make some dough!" It feels like some kind of underhanded scheme, even though I'm sure it's all kosher and they've got all the legal I's and T's dotted and crossed. But if they're serving their own ads, I'm curious as to what Google is getting out of the deal, since I thought that was their revenue model. A fixed license fee? A percentage?

It kind of reminds me of the web portal iWon.com, which gave away free money to use their services, and which I'm surprised still exists. (Looks like they got bought out by askJeeves, which apparently is itself getting subsumed by InterActiveCorp) I figured that kind of thing went the way of the dinosaurs, the internet bubble and soaring NASDAQ stocks, but I guess there will always be yet another way to exploit a person's desire to get something for (almost) nothing.

Speaking of which, feel free to be my Blingo friend, although I admit that even suggesting it makes me feel a little dirty. I certainly don't expect to remember to use them. And honestly, I don't want to encourage people to spread what is effectively yet-another-chain-letter in order to get more free stuff like all those free iPod deals. (although at least you don't have to sign up for an actual service that will cost you money after you forget to cancel when the trial membership period expires.)