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T-Squared: Meet Paige, our new Facebook Messenger bot

Paige subscribers are invited to participate in the Come and Take It Challenge to learn more about how Texas government really works.

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This legislative session, our staff has been thinking hard about how to make sure important Texas policy news finds a home well beyond the Pink Dome.

Starting today, readers can visit m.me/texastribune to sign up for Paige, The Texas Tribune’s new Facebook Messenger app. Each week, Paige will help subscribers keep track of the most important issues coming up in the 85th Legislature via Facebook Messenger.

Paige’s goal is to make Texas politics easier to follow, but she’s not just another mobile notification service (we know you have plenty of things chirping and buzzing on your phone every day). Paige will limit her updates to every Monday and Friday, with occasional alerts for live hearings or breaking news. With Paige’s help, Facebook subscribers will also be able to send us tips or submit questions for our Texplainer series.  

Finally, we’re challenging our readers to take their place in Texas politics by learning more about how our state government really works. From now through Sine Die (when the regular session adjourns in May), Paige subscribers will be invited to complete our “Come and Take It Challenge,” a series of tasks that demonstrate their knowledge of Texas government. For instance, we may ask subscribers to learn more about their elected representatives and how to contact them. Subscribers who participate in Come and Take It will be entered into a random drawing for free tickets to Texas Tribune Festival in Austin this September (see full rules below). The more challenges you tackle, the more chances you have to win.   

Ready? Set? Sign up now.

Sign Up Texas Tribune Facebook Messenger

Message “hello” to m.me/texastribune.  

Come and Take It Contest Rules

Eligibility

Individuals eligible for the Come and Take It prize drawing are those who subscribe to The Texas Tribune’s Paige updates on Facebook Messenger and participate in one or more Come and Take It Challenges between March 20 at 8:00 a.m. CDST and May 31 at 6:00 p.m. CDST. Eligible individuals subscribe by:

  1. messaging keyword HELLO to The Texas Tribune via m.me/texastribune

  2. maintaining their m.me/texastribune Paige subscription for the duration of the contest ending May 31 at 6:00 p.m. CDST

Board members and employees of the Texas Tribune, and their immediate families, are not eligible for the drawing.

By participating during the eligibility time period, subscribers are agreeing to these rules and to the decisions of the Texas Tribune, which are final and binding in all respects.

How to Enter Drawing

Enter by:

  1. Submitting a response with valid phone number to one or more Come and Take It Challenge tasks as instructed via m.me/texastribune.

  2. Submitting a response with valid email address to one or more Come and Take It Challenge tasks as instructed via texastribune.org

  3. Each valid response to a unique challenge is an additional chance in the random drawing.

Prizes

A total of 5 pairs of Texas Tribune Festival tickets will be awarded through the Come and Take It drawing.

Prize: Two general admission tickets to The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas, Sept. 22-24, 2017

Restrictions: Two tickets per prize. Accommodations and travel not included.

Winner Notification

Winners will be notified by phone or email using the contact information provided when they enter a response to a Come and Take It Challenge. The Texas Tribune shall have no liability for any winner notification that is lost, intercepted or not received by the potential winner for any reason. The winners will be notified by email by 10:00 a.m. Monday, June 5.

General Conditions

Prize winners shall be solely responsible for all federal, state, provincial and/or local taxes, and the reporting consequences thereof, and for any other fees or costs associated with the applicable prize.  The Texas Tribune will not withhold federal or state taxes.  Acceptance of the prize constitutes the winner’s permission to use the winner’s name, photograph and likeness for advertising and/or publicity purposes in all forms of media in perpetuity without further compensation.  The Texas Tribune shall have no liability for any damage, loss or liability arising from the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize.

Come and Take It participants release Facebook from any liability and acknowledge that this contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Facebook.

Winner List

For the name of the winner(s) send a #10 self-addressed stamped envelope for receipt by June 30, 2017 to Come and Take It Challenge, 823 Congress, Suite 1400, Austin TX 78701.

Sponsor

The sponsor of the Texas Tribune Festival Come and Take It Challenge is Texas Tribune, Inc., 823 Congress, Suite 1400, Austin TX 78701. 

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