Starbucks Cheerpass

I just read about a promotion that Starbucks is running involving something called a "CheerPass." I didn't find much information on it because I didn't get a CheerPass given to me, but from what I can surmise, it's a card issued from Starbucks that you give to someone else as part of a favor you have done for them. Before passing the card on to someone else with a favor they do for them, the recipient can go to the website and write a short story about the experience. The concept is based on the Pay-It-Forward idea that was the storyline of a book and movie a few years ago. Tracking the pass adds a 6-degrees of separation aspect to it and allows you to see how far of a "reach" your favor had in encouraging others to do good deeds. It's similar to tracking your money as it changes hands as is now possible with the Internet. I like the idea because it encourages people to do nice things for others and gets them to write about it on a branded site so others can share in the joy. It's marketing without looking like marketing, and as such it is likely to get past our "filters."