Possibly the funniest experiences I’ve had talking about World Of Warcraft have been with people who asked me what it was, and reversing that by asking them what they think it is.  I recently asked an acquaintance what she thought World Of Warcraft was, and she said,

“Well, it’s an arts and crafts game, right?  So you, like fight battles with other artists in a virtual world, right?”

Let’s do a little experiment, have some fun and give away some keys to the WoW:Cataclysm beta.  Find someone to answer the question “What is World Of Warcraft?”.  The less the person is likely to know about WoW, the better.  The very old and very young are perfect targets.  Note their answer, and enter it as a comment on this post.  The funniest three comments entered before midnight PDT will win beta keys.

You can only enter once, so don’t try to just make something up.  Trust me – it’s obvious when you actually asked someone who is clueless, and when you just invented the answer yourself.

You have four hours.  Have fun!

Update: Congratulations to TiDoubleG3RR, Matt M, and Shodopandan!  Your beta keys are in your e-mail!  And thanks to everyone who participated.  Funniest post in a long time!!

Today’s contest is going to be very simple, and very late (for our Australian/Asian friends).  Or very early, if you’re hardcore.

How do you suggest we improve The Instance?

What would you like to see us do online, or out in the real world?  What would be an epic move we could make with the show?  Tell us what you think – only once – in the comments for this post or on our Facebook wall. Multiple suggestions from the same person will disqualify you entirely.

Here’s the twist: We’re going to give away four beta keys – two to the best two realistic suggestions, and two to the best two impossible/moronic/outrageous suggestions.  So you’re going to have to decide which of the two sorts you’re going for, and get it done quick.  We will award all four keys starting at 11PM PDT.  So you have just over 2 hours.

Have fun!!!

Update (9:45PM Hawaiian) — Just sent out four beta keys to tonight’s winners – Amanda S., Ty M., Xagar and Tadrith!  So many good suggestions!  Thank you, and congratulations!

It’s really that simple.  Today, I’m giving two beta keys to the writers of two haiku about WoW.  You may post your haiku in the comments here or on our Facebook wall.  Please only enter with one haiku, the best you can contrive.

My bare dwarf feet on

Cool dewy grass feel just right

A fine hunter’s day

I will be convening a panel of judges when this contest is closed for entries, which will be at 9PM PDT (midnight eastern) today.  So you have six hours to give it your best shot! Good luck!
Note: Please don’t post your haiku someplace other than the comments on this blog post or our Facebook wall, if you want it to be judged.  Also, please note that we will be checking to make sure the winning WoW haiku are original before awarding the keys.  Thank you!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to patronize The Instance fan page on Facebook.

On that page, I have just created a new photo album called “WoW In Real Life”.  Now it’s time for you to get creative.  Post one photo to the photos page that fits the description:

“…your WoW things juxtaposed with real-world things, or just real-world things that remind you of WoW.”

It could be a picture of your collector’s edition of WoW on a snow sled.  Perhaps your FigurePrint on vacation in the city.  Perhaps you have an actual pet pig named Hellboar.  We will select one photo at 8PM PDT today.  It will be a photo that is funny/weird/beautiful/catchy.  You have four hours.

Good luck!!

We’re happy to announce that every day for the next 25 days, The Instance will give away two keys to the World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta test, courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment! As we build up to our landmark 200th episode, we want to give you the chance to beta-test and be among the first to experience the coming cataclysm.

Every day, starting tomorrow – Friday, July 23rd – Scott and Randy will each give away one of two unique codes that unlock your access to Cataclysm. To win, you’ll want to follow Scott and Randy, as well as Instanceshow, on Twitter. They might give away a code on The Instance Facebook page any day of the week. You never know when Randy might announce a giveaway in The Instance forum, or Scott might give his daily code to a random person in the live chat room during a recording of one of the show. If you want to win, you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled, and your mournes frosty.

Start looking for Scott and Randy to each give away one WoW:Cataclysm beta code per day, and good luck! We’ll see you in the game.

On our top bar above, you’ll now find a new page called Music, where we are cataloging every song we feature in The Instance, so you don’t have to! We know how much you want to be able to listen to your favorite WoW-related parodies and assorted songs that are submitted to the show, and we want there to be a one-stop-shop for you.

There is a long way to go before the page is complete, but if you’d like to help, feel free to comment there, or join us in discussion on this topic here.

Enjoy!

In case you’ve missed the news: Blizzard has taken World of Warcraft: Cataclysm to beta, and lifted the requirement barring disclosure of its content.  This means that:

• You are free to take screenshots of awesome things you see in the beta.
• You are free to post those screenshots somewhere, like Flickr or ImageShack.
• You’re free to share them in threads in The Instance Forums.  Woo-hoo!  You know you want to!
• If you’re not yet beta testing, and you really want to and have properly signed up, it’s only a matter of time before you get your invite.
• Whether or not you’re testing, you’re free to browse the official beta forums.  They’re a lot nicer than most forums on worldofwarcraft.com.

We’re planning all manner of fun Cataclysm beta contests and community events.  Be on the lookout for prizes to be given away on The Instance along with a “Most Badass Beta Screenshot” contest, perhaps a few “Caption The Beta Screenshot” contests, and a contest wherein you, The Instance listener, can win a cool prize for submitting a photos comparing the real-world to the world of post-Cataclysm Azeroth.  Get your creative eye ready!

Blizzard announced today that they will be hosting a charity event on the eve of Blizzcon this year, on October 21 at the Hilton Anaheim hotel.  In addition to scoring you a pass to Blizzcon, the $500 per-person donation gets you a nice meal, the opportunity to rub elbows with Blizzard’s illuminati, a signed work of art, and a tax deduction, since the proceeds benefit the CHOC Children’s Foundation.  In response to this announcement, millions of people who want to go to Blizzcon have asked what CHOC is.

It’s short for Children’s Hospital of Orange County.  CHOC is the 18th busiest children’s hospital in the United States, and just a few miles up I-5 from Blizzard’s headquarters.  Founded in 1964, CHOC now serves the unique needs of over 200,000 children per year in their hospital, mission hospital, and numerous clinics and outreach programs.  Here are some facts about CHOC that we find very cool:

• CHOC enrolls the highest number of children in insurance programs in the state of California.
• CHOC surgeons were the first in the world to successfully complete a pulmonary resection in a child using a robotic system.
• CHOC has the nation’s first and only American Diabetes Association-certified pediatric diabetes program.
• CHOC conducted the nation’s first balloon dilation of a cardiac lesion, now a routine cardiac procedure.

Blizzard expects to sell out a limited number of tickets to this event, so if you want to participate, set a reminder for July 13.  That is the day that tickets go on sale on the Blizzcon website, and Blizzard intends to close the sale if they have not sold out within two days.