Cash Giveaway: SwapSmarts encouraging micropayments for answers

Ask-The-Expert site giving away thier online currency in order to promote micropayments

Newcastle, WA, June 1, 2001 - SwapSmarts, an online community where knowledge is traded for expert advice, cash, gifts or charity announced today that it is giving away free SmartBucks, its online currency, to join and recommend SwapSmarts.

The micropayment concept, which had come under fire when it was first introduced, is now seeing a resurgence as internet content companies are looking for a way to monetize their services as the internet advertising model has fallen into disfavor.

In order to promote micropayments, for a limited time, SwapSmarts will be giving away one (1) free SmartBuck (valued at one (1) US dollar), to everyone who joins SwapSmarts as either an expert (who can ask and answer questions) or a member (who can ask questions). SwapSmarts will also give away one free SmartBuck to everyone who recommends them to a friend, who then signs up as a member or expert.

"One of the most powerful benefits of SwapSmarts is the micropayment feature. Using a pre-pay model, members buy SmartBucks, which they can then use to ask questions, which can be as little as 10 cents or less per answer" says our COO, Steve Brown. "These SmartBucks will be deposited into the users "Can Spend" account, where they can purchase answers from other experts. We firmly believe that micropayments for content is the future viable internet business model, and we will continue to provide and expand these services in the future.

About SwapSmarts
SwapSmarts offers an online community where knowledge is traded for expert advice, cash, gifts or charity. Transactions are fully secure and private and answers can be sold for micropayments as little as 10 cents each or less. SwapSmarts features expert subscriptions and article publishing. SwapSmarts is ideal for moonlighters, knowledge workers, consultants, and any other profession whose service is a transfer of knowledge for free or a fee.