Ask.com is not the first to give out prizes or money for searching, Microsoft has done it (and see here), as have others like Blingo and recently, Zotspot. Phil Bradley spotted an ad in the London Metro today, asking you to take the Ask.com...
Blingo also shows that lightning does not strike twice. In my post-Christmas mailbox was a message from A9 reminding me of its A9 Instant Rewards program that effectively pays me a bit to search with them.
Blingo is trying the same thing, promising prizes for search. Several years ago, iWon gained an audience quickly by giving away prizes (see my iWon Wins Users article). That didn't help retain the audience in the long-run.
