You're such a nice friend -- the best! Wait, that means i have to give the prize back to you...

Last week, my friend "Don" and I were discussing a web contest held by an ex-Googler startup. The top prizes are Kindles.

Me: "I'm going to lose. The contest page actually features my profile, but I'll lose."

Don: [visiting the page] "What's the judging criteria? Number of reviews written? Seems that would encourage spamming."

Me: "Yeah. I actually spent time writing witty content, but I was quickly overtaken by people who wrote over a thousand one-sentence reviews."

Don: "It's okay. I'll buy you a Kindle."

Me: "No."

Don: "The Kindle will be for winning my contest."

Me: "What's your contest?"

Don: "Most Awesome Friend in the World."

Me: "Oh. [momentarily happy] But... due to extrinsic motivation, that'll make me want to be your friend less."