23. A web application server comprising: a promotion generation module coupled with a network interface through a communications module, the promotion generation module configured to: access and harvest profile information of users of a social media platform; receive interest in an online promotion from a participant through an entry point; harvest identification information from a social media profile of the participant; generate a personalized promotion for the participant containing at least some of the participant's identification information including securing the personalized promotion by providing a means for verifying integrity of the personalized promotion at a time for redemption wherein the means includes a verifiable portion of the participant's identification information obtained by the accessing; and distribute the personalized promotion to the participant, wherein the identification information on the personalized promotion provides a higher level of security and authenticity than promotions that do not contain such identification information; and a communications module configured to automatically send personalized invitations to enter the online promotion to a list of contacts provided by the participant.
23. A web application server comprising: a promotion generation module coupled with a network interface through a communications module, the promotion generation module configured to: access and harvest profile information of users of a social media platform; receive interest in an online promotion from a participant through an entry point; harvest identification information from a social media profile of the participant; generate a personalized promotion for the participant containing at least some of the participant's identification information including securing the personalized promotion by providing a means for verifying integrity of the personalized promotion at a time for redemption wherein the means includes a verifiable portion of the participant's identification information obtained by the accessing; and distribute the personalized promotion to the participant, wherein the identification information on the personalized promotion provides a higher level of security and authenticity than promotions that do not contain such identification information; and a communications module configured to automatically send personalized invitations to enter the online promotion to a list of contacts provided by the participant. 24. The web application server of claim 23 , wherein the promotion generation module is further configured to prompt the participant to provide a list of online social network contacts who can also interact with the online promotion, and the communications module is further configured to receive interest in the online promotion from a contact in the list of contacts.