You might have gleaned from the internet that Bitcoin is by far the hottest investment of 2013.  Where you went wrong is in thinking that it is still being given away for free.  That applied 3 or four years ago, but since then Bitcoin has hit the bigtime.

What you need to do is sign up with Coinbase if you are in the US, or Bitstamp or BTC-E if you are in Europe or elsewhere, and send them some money.  Then you can participate.