Hum Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace have been among the most successful business ventures of recent years. Facebook alone has 50 million members worldwide and is now valued at ?7.5bn. Inevitably, imitators have sprung up with variations on the theme, eager to tap into this lucrative market. One such company is American networking site Yuwie.com, whose unique selling point is that it promises to "share wealth" with its members. In what could be the first example of social networking meeting e-commerce, Yuwie's founder Korry Rogers says he will give members more than half of the site's advertising revenue - just for logging on and inviting their friends. "The whole goal of Yuwie is for people to get paid for what they're doing already," he told the BBC News website. Mr Rogers, 33, says some of Yuwie's members are earning between ?200 and ?250 a month, although payments "fluctuate". "Yuwie users get paid every time they log on, send a message, upload a picture or invite someone to join." "If someone only refers three of their friends, who refer three of their friends through 10 levels, that one person will collect a percentage of advertising revenues from about 88,000 end-users, which could be about $8,800 [?4,427] per month for that person." Some say this is little more than a technological version of the reviled pyramid scheme. However, Mr Rogers, a web designer from Oklahoma, disputes this because he says he does not charge his members, unlike traditional pyramid schemes. He insists he does not want people to join Yuwie just to make money. "I want people to join because it's a good networking site not because I'm paying them. "I just think it's a cool idea to pay the users who are providing all the content," he says. The site is certainly proving popular for those who do not mind lots of pop-ups and flashy graphics. Yuwie users apparently love adverts, though, because "they know they will share in the revenue". Since launching in July, Yuwie already has 344,444 registered members, with nearly 50,000 joining in December alone. Yuwie is now ranked among one of the top 2,500 websites in the world, according to alexa.com, which tracks web traffic. So can we really make money from the details that we share so freely at the moment ? And is this a logical evolution for social networking sites, who have made enormous strides this year, but may struggle to keep the momentum next year? Analyst Steve Prentice, chief researcher at technology consultants Gartner's, thinks not. He cites the example of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who was recently criticised after introducing an unpopular advertising system, Beacon, which "shares'' details of users' purchases on partner websites. Mr Prentice says the majority of users of social networking sites are not motivated by a desire to make money but to connect with and make new friends. He says: "It seems to be counter to the philosophy of these social sites. They are about belonging and reflecting an individual's community. "The idea of making what is, essentially, a few fractions of a cent out of your friends would sit uncomfortably. "My guess is that people would react quite angrily because they value their privacy very highly. "There are a lot of individuals on social networking sites who have an antipathy towards commercial enterprise and it's possible to get it very badly wrong. "People can migrate very quickly to a site but can vote with their virtual feet very quickly, if a site is against their ethos." Mr Prentice also warns potential users to remember that, once money starts changing hands, they could attract the attention of Inland Revenue, FSA and other regulatory bodies. More importantly, he believes sites like Yuwie could quickly become "a non-reputable business model" because of the "potential" to abuse the system. "As soon as you have a situation where you are paying people to join, then you have potential abuse, with people manipulating search engines or paying someone to view their page. "Then problems might arise regarding spamming and it very quickly becomes a non- reputable business model," he says. Mr Rogers admits Yuwie has suffered in the past from people using scripts and programmes to falsely inflate the number of page views they got. He insists it now has strict measures in place to stop people abusing the page view system. Mr Prentice says it is also important to make a distinction from sites such as You Tube and Revver, which recently announced they would financially compensate users who produce and upload content. "Cases like You Tube are different as they are about creation. "You Tube is going to make money out of the video that person has created and uploaded, so it makes sense that they share in the profit. "In this case, it is a reward for effort and creativity - as long as it doesn't infringe copyright - and that is within their ethos. "I don't think the same thing would appeal to Facebook's core users." source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenser.d Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 I've been seeing tons of people write on group walls on facebook about yuwie. It's pretty much the exact same message every time, with a different referral url. It's starting to annoy. I don't know what the mentality is that you should get paid to be part of a social networking community. It's ridiculous. -Spenser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primexx Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 ewww it's myspace-ish. i wouldn't join even if they paid me to...oh wait. yea, it's pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raa Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 ZOMGS FREE CASH!?!?!!!111oneone I HAF TO SINE UP NOW!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Horizons Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Money for spam, eh? That's what this seems like to me. I already have enough people posting their stupid "OMGWTFBBQ" posts on my facebook wall, I wouldn't want to encourage them even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGS4-SS Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 $8,800 a month?! I won't have to work. Wherez da linkz?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerxes Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Sounds more like a scam to me :unsure: I didn't read it all but soon as I read "pyramid scheme" I stopped reading and immediately thought scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted December 22, 2007 Veteran Share Posted December 22, 2007 Sounds more like a scam to me :unsure: I didn't read it all but soon as I read "pyramid scheme" I stopped reading and immediately thought scam. now now wait a minute there... you get 10 of your friends and they get 10 of their friends and they get 10 of their friends and I'll pay you half a cent each... before you know if you'll have $500 in your pocket :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerxes Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 now now wait a minute there... you get 10 of your friends and they get 10 of their friends and they get 10 of their friends and I'll pay you half a cent each... before you know if you'll have $500 in your pocket :whistle: I still don't trust it, maybe it is that simple and I'm missing out but I have always believed that there is no such thing as "free money" you pay for it sooner or later. This has always been the case for me, which is why I'm always so wary of things like that, but that is just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycoolkim Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 it isnt free, time is money, and we need to spend time on there site, they are buying members so, they get members in return so its more of a trade, member for $ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted December 22, 2007 Author Share Posted December 22, 2007 If Yuwie.com really got a few million members, it would cRaSh. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted December 22, 2007 Veteran Share Posted December 22, 2007 I still don't trust it, maybe it is that simple and I'm missing out but I have always believed that there is no such thing as "free money" you pay for it sooner or later. This has always been the case for me, which is why I'm always so wary of things like that, but that is just me. hehe I was being sarcastic with my comment... I dont trust stuff like this either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 The design certainly isnt appealing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin-uk Veteran Posted December 22, 2007 Veteran Share Posted December 22, 2007 lolscam. Its quite funny that they're trying to put a legit spin on a pyramid scheme. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revvo Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 That definitely is a pyramide scheme, although you're not required to invest any money into the company so that makes it less evil than most pyramide schemed companies who go "Buy our Seller's KIT and start making money!" (ACN anyone?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappy Veteran Posted December 22, 2007 Veteran Share Posted December 22, 2007 I keep getting the emails, now I just ignore them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digitalx Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 making people get refferals in the wrong hands of idiots and noobs who have no idea are time bombs for spamming and annoyance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 This is not a typical Pyramid ... that would require US to pay to sign up. Legally, this is just a cheap way to get people to join and offer then 1/10th of a cent for every action they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajputwarrior Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 i don't agree with that at all. Facebook should not have to pay it's members everytome they log on because facebook is providing a free service to it's members and in return it puts ads on its site to keep it going or to make a profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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