Should Yuwie join?
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.
Source: BBC News [Should you get paid to Facebook?]
