Seperating the hype from the facts with get paid to surf (AllAdvantage et al)

"You've heard the HYPE, now read the FACTS," goes their slogan. "Get paid to surf the web!"

INCOME 4 surfin', the website launched recently by a New Zealand entrepreneur, states its intentions as becoming a recognized authority on the new web companies such as AllAdvantage.com, Inc., who pay their users to view advertising banners on their computer while online. These companies, of which there are now about fifty, include CashSurfers.com, Spedia.net, GoToWorld.com, and others.

"They've sprung up all over," says INCOME 4 surfin' webmaster Craig Smith. "Last year AllAdvantage made its debut, and it didn't take long before a whole host of others came online, all basically copying AllAdvantage's idea - just variations on it. There's too many for the conventional web surfer to keep track of, so we do it for them. We're the Reuters of 'get paid to surf', essentially."

Indeed, if there are fifty companies which are willing to pay you to have open an advertising window, there are well over a hundred which are offering payment for other online activities, such as receiving 'junk' e-mail, visiting sponsors' websites, using portals, et cetera. Smith says that those schemes are not what INCOME 4 surfin' is about. "Those companies have been around as long as Internet advertising has. What we focus on is the advertising bar, like AllAdvantage or CashSurfers."

Of course, everyone who has anything at all to do with the web knows about AllAdvantage.com, the Californian start-up which now has over four million members, all using its trade-marked ViewBar and receiving checks. Users are paid US$0.50 per hour that they have the software active, and receive a commission for every person they refer to the system. "It's really the referral structure that makes these systems work," admits Smith. "Our research indicates that people won't bother opening the software just to earn their 50 US cents per hour. They spend some time getting referrals, and then it pays off."

As the numbers prove - GoToWorld.com's average payout check is in the order of US$40 per month. INCOME 4 surfin', with access to AllAdvantage.com's A-Plus area, reports that a few top AllAdvantage members are earning nearly $10,000 per month. Well, fine, that's the power of MLM (multi-level marketing), but where does that money actually come from? How can a company afford to pay that sort of amount?

Advertising, obviously. "There are only a few people earning that amount," says Smith. "So those few are essentially being credited simply for having gained AllAdvantage.com a hundred thousand members or whatever. The get paid to surf companies are nothing more than advertising agencies - and whatever they give you, they're making the same amount for themselves."

So what's INCOME 4 surfin', again? "No, we're not going to pay you to surf," laughs Smith. "What we do is report on the current status of the systems. If someone's going to join up with one of these companies, they should come to us first. We offer reviews, demonstrations, advice, Frequently Asked Questions, other third-party material, and more." It's all free, of course - supported by advertising. And maybe membership with AllAdvantage.com... if you click through to a get paid to surf company using a link on INCOME 4 surfin', you'll be referred by them. "Yeah, we use the advertising bars," nods Smith. "We'd be hypocrites not to, really."

The site also offers a free service to people looking to collect further referrals for whatever system they're a member of. Visitors can sign up, listing their 'referral IDs', then are given a personalized link to INCOME 4 surfin'. Web surfers using that link arrive at INCOME 4 surfin' normally, but if they click through to a system and join up, they'll be referred not by INCOME 4 surfin' but by the owner of the link. "This is proving really popular," enthuses Smith. "A few other websites are doing similar things, but several actually charge for the service, and the remaining have no real content available. If you join us, you'll have the entire website, with all its features and material, signing up referrals for you. A lot of visitors to sites like MaxRef just get confused and end up clicking away."

INCOME 4 surfin' is currently set up on a free hosting service, but is looking to move to a full domain within the next few months. They are also in the process of setting up several advertising deals with the companies themselves, which Smith simply describes as 'encouraging'.

So, if you don't trust the hype, maybe you should read the facts...

For more information, contact INCOME 4 surfin':

WWW: http://income4surfin.virtualave.net
E-Mail: webmaster@income4surfin.virtualave.net