A little explanation, since y'all can benefit from this if you want: AGLOCO is a company that pays you for being online, basically.
How it works: Basically, you install a "ViewBar" [above] which sits on the bottom of your screen. It's the same idea as the Google or Yahoo! toolbars as the top (they actually based theirs off AGLOCO's predecessor, AllAdvantage), except on the bottom, and much neater-looking. The Viewbar runs ads, including doing things like "you can get that book cheaper on Amazon" when you're looking at a book on Barnes&Noble, etc. You can turn it off at any time, which would probably be after 5 hours each month, the current max they will pay you for. You get paid based on what you do, what the people you refer do, and the people who they refer do, up to 5 levels. You get paid in shares of AGLOCO, which would turn into money once a price is set.Safety/Privacy:
They promise to never give any of your information out, and were the first company (as AllAdvantage, see below) who had a CPO - Chief Privacy Officer. I haven't found any claims that they didn't properly protect people's privacy anywhere.Who they are:
They are a newer, smarter version of AllAdvantage.com, which gave out $120 million to its subscribers before the dotcom bust a few years back. Last time, they got venture capital, gave out money to people, and ran out before they could have their IPO (initial public offering) on the stock market. This time, they're working it differently - they're taking 10% from advertisers, and only paying people after they get the money. This way, they should never be forced to close down.The criticism:
That it's a pyramid scheme, that they're tracking what you're doing/have your basic info, and that it won't pay out in the end. I'm not sure why these few (but not many) people are ripping it: They're not making anybody join, they are straightforward that they put ads on your Viewbar based on what you do, and they don't give out any information. The pyramid claim makes no sense: It's completely free to join - they just recognize the ability to niche market far more effectively than can be done on a TV. It works as a pyramid, that you make more with more referrals, but that's not what a "pyramid scheme" is. And if it doesn't or barely pays out in the end, so what? You didn't pay any money to be a part of it. If it pays just $10, you're up $10.Anyways, it's an interesting concept, and it seems to be a no-lose venture to me. Mailing lists have more info about me than AGLOCO does. I did my own research - don't trust me, do your own. VentureBeat has two pieces on it (the second a very good update), and they're giving it a shot. If you feel like checking it out, click here or on the Agloco ad in the sidebar of this blog.
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but have you made any money off it?
ReplyDeleteIt hasn't started yet. The Viewbar won't be available for a little while - they're trying to build a base first, so they can get advertisers.
ReplyDelete