If you spend your days wrangling devices and your night times ruminating, here’s your chance to do both! Write a poem that shows us how you manage devices, data, and apps in your workplace, putting a fun spin on BYOD, and you could win an Xbox 360 with Kinect bundle.

Whether you’ve succeeded at networking every rogue device in your workforce or prevented wandering PCs from spilling sensitive company data—you have insights to express as only you can express them.

Impress us, or just make us smile, and you just might win!*

Requirements:

  • Write a poem for a chance to win an Xbox 360Poems can take any form and do not have to rhyme, but keep them under 300 words. That means haikus, limericks, sonnets, odes, etc. are all fair game. You can write any kind of poem your muse provides.
  • Your poem should relate to one or more of the following topics:
    • Bring your own device (BYOD)
    • Consumerization of IT
    • Device management
    • Information protection
    • System Center Configuration Manager
    • Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
    • Windows Intune
    • Active Directory
  • Credit will be given for the following qualities: creativity, entertainment value, and relevance to Microsoft products, including the topics listed above.
  • Poems will be judged by a group of Microsoft laureates employees.
  • All entries must be received by December 30, 2013, 12 A.M. Pacific Time.

To Enter:

Include your first and last name and your poem (together called your “entry”) in the body of an email message, with the subject line “BYO-Poetry Contest,” and submit to BYOPoetryContest@outlook.com.

Have fun!

*Oh, and did we mention that we’ll be giving away an Xbox 360 with Kinect bundle to the two poems with the highest scores?

Write a poem, and you could win an Xbox 360. Pretty simple.

We’ll also select five honorable mentions, whose poems will be featured on this blog and immortalized on our social channels (Facebook and Twitter) in the weeks following the contest.

So what are you waiting for? Start working on those algo-rhythms! You can find the complete contest rules below.

 

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MICROSOFT “BYO-Poetry” CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES

 

COMMON TERMS USED IN THESE RULES:

 

These are the official rules that govern how the Microsoft “BYO-Poetry” Contest promotion will operate (“Contest”). In these rules, “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Microsoft Corporation, the sponsor of this Contest. “You” refers to an eligible Contest entrant.

CONTEST DESCRIPTION:

There is no purchase or product ownership required to enter. This is a skill-based Contest. The object of this Contest is to create the best (as determined by Microsoft judges) poem relating to the following topics:

  • Bring your own device (BYOD)
  • Consumerization of IT
  • Device management
  • Information protection
  • System Center Configuration Manager
  • Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
  • Windows Intune
  • Active Directory

All eligible entries received will be judged using the criteria described below to determine the winners of the prizes described below.

WHAT ARE THE START AND END DATES?

This Contest starts at 12:01 A.M. Pacific Time (PT) on December 9, 2013, and ends at 12:00 A.M. on December 30, 2013 (“Entry Period”).

CAN I ENTER?

You are eligible to enter this Contest if you meet the following requirements at time entry:

  • You are a legal resident of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, and are 18 years of age or older.
  • If you are 18 of age or older, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, you should ask your parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry into this Contest; and
  • You are NOT an employee of Microsoft Corporation or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary; and
  • You areNOT involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest; and
  • You are NOT an immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest.

This Contest is void outside the geographic area described above and wherever else prohibited by law.

HOW DO I ENTER?

Write an original poem relating to one or more of the following topics (“Contest Themes”):

  • Bring your own device (BYOD)
  • Consumerization of IT
  • Device management
  • Information protection
  • System Center Configuration Manager
  • Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
  • Windows Intune
  • Active Directory

To submit your poem, include your first and last name and your poem (together called your “entry”) in the body of an email message, with the subject line “BYO-Poetry Contest,” and submit to BYOPoetryContest@outlook.com. Entries must be received within the Entry Period to be eligible.

All eligible entries received will be judged using the criteria described below to determine the winners of the prizes described below.

Limit one entry per person.

We are not responsible for entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.

We will automatically disqualify:

  • Any incomplete or illegible entry; and
  • Any entries in excess of the entry limit described above.

WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ELIGIBLE ENTRY?

To be eligible for judging an entry must meet the following content / technical requirements:

  • The poem must contain 300 words or less.
  • The poem must be relevant to a Contest Theme.
  • The poem must be submitted in English for English speaking judges.

In addition:

  • your entry must be your own original work; and
  • your entry cannot have been selected as a winner in any other contest; and
  • you must have obtained any and all consents, approvals or licenses required for you to submit your entry; and
  • your entry may not include any third party trademarks (logos, names) or copyrighted materials (music, images, video, recognizable people) unless you have obtained permission to use the materials. You may include Microsoft trademarks, logos, and designs, for which Microsoft grants you a limited license to use for the sole purposes of submitting an entry into this Contest.

Entries may NOT contain, as determined by us, in our sole and absolute discretion, any content that:

  • is sexually explicit, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic;
  • promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing) or a particular political agenda;
  • is obscene or offensive;
  • defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies;
  • communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which we wish to associate; and/or violates any law;

We reserve the right to reject any entry, in our sole and absolute discretion, that we determine does not meet the above criteria.

HOW WILL MY ENTRY BE POTENTIALLY USED?

Other than what is set forth below, we are not claiming any ownership rights to your entry. However, by submitting your entry, you:

  • are granting us an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license to: (i) use, review, assess, test and otherwise analyze your entry and all its content in connection with this Contest; and (ii) feature your entry and all content in connection with the marketing, sale, or promotion of this Contest or Microsoft Products (including but not limited to internal and external sales meetings, conference presentations, tradeshows, advertising and screen shots of the Contest entry in press releases) in all media (now known or later developed)
  • agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights you granted above;
  • understand and acknowledge that the Sponsor(s) may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your submission and you waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your entry;
  • understand that we cannot control the incoming information you will disclose to our representatives in the course of entering, or what our representatives will remember about your entry. You also understand that we will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to your entry. By entering this Contest, you agree that use of information in our representatives’ unaided memories in the development or deployment of our products or services does not create liability for us under this agreement or copyright or trade secret law;
  • understand that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your entry, other than what is described in these Official Rules

Please note that following the end of this Contest your entry may be posted on a website selected by us for viewing by visitors to that website. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your entry by visitors to this website. While we reserve these rights, we are not obligated to use your entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning entry.

If you do not want to grant us these rights to your entry, please do not enter this Contest.

WINNER DETERMINATION AND PRIZES

On or around the close of the Entry Period, a panel of Microsoft judges will review all eligible entries received and select two Grand Prize winners based upon following judging criteria:

  • Creativity (20%)
  • Entertainment Value (20%)
  • Relevancy to one of the Contest Themes (60%)

In the event of a tie between any eligible entries, an additional judge will break the tie based on the judging criteria described above. The decisions of the judges are final and binding. If we do not receive a sufficient number of entries meeting the entry requirements, we may, at our discretion, select fewer winners than the number of Contest Prizes described below.

Contest Prizes

(2) Grand Prize: An Xbox 360 250GB Kinect Bundle including Carnival Games, Kinect Adventures, and a 3-month gold membership to Xbox Live. Approximate Retail Value each $349.99.

The ARV of electronic prizes is subject to price fluctuations in the consumer marketplace based on, among other things, any gap in time between the date the ARV is estimated for purposes of these Official Rules and the date the prize is awarded or redeemed. We will determine the value of the prize to be the fair market value at the time of prize award.

The total Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of all prizes: $700

If you are a potential winner, we will notify you by sending a message to the e-mail address, the phone number, or mailing address (if any) provided at time of entry within seven (7) days following completion of judging. If the notification that we send is returned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, we may award to a runner-up.

If there is a dispute as to who is the potential winner, we will consider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter the Contest. If you are a potential winner, we may require you to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and a W-9 tax form or W-8 BEN tax form within 10 days of notification. If you are a potential winner and you are 18 or older, but are considered a minor in your place of legal residence, we may require your parent or legal guardian to sign all required forms on your behalf. If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select a runner-up.

If you are confirmed as a winner of this Contest:

  • You may not exchange your prize for cash or any other merchandise or services. However, if for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value; and
  • You may not designate someone else as the winner. If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we may award it to a runner up; and
  • If you accept a prize, you will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting the prize; and
  • If you are otherwise eligible for this Contest, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, we may award the prize to your parent/legal guardian on your behalf; and
  • Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and / or terms and conditions.

We will only award one (1) prize per person.

WHAT OTHER CONDITIONS AM I AGREEING TO BY ENTERING?

By entering this Contest you agree:

  • To abide by these Official Rules; and
  • To release and hold harmless Microsoft and its respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and agents from any and all liability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest, or any prize won; and
  • That Microsoft’s decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to this Contest; and
  • That, by accepting a prize, Microsoft may use of your entry and your proper name and state of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with this Contest, without payment or compensation to you, except where prohibited by law. 

WHAT LAWS GOVERN THE WAY THIS CONTEST IS EXECUTED AND ADMINISTRATED?

This Contest will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of this Contest.

WHAT IF SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENS AND THE CONTEST CAN’T RUN AS PLANNED?

If someone cheats, or a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and / or integrity of this Contest, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Contest. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Contest, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Contest.

If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Contest by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Contest, so please play fairly.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHO WON?

We will post the names of winners who received a prize worth $25.00 or more online on http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/.  This list will remain posted one month after January 15, 2014.

WHO IS SPONSORING THIS CONTEST?

Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052