We knew it was coming, and now it’s official: pay-to-surf program AGLOCO is dead.
The same guys who owned and ran a similar program called AllAdvantage in early 2000 reinvented the business and launched AGLOCO.com late last year. They thought they already learned the makings of a successful “get-paid-to-surf-the-net,” but, from the looks of it, they did not.
It’s now the end of the road for AGLOCO, but unlike AllAdvantage where members were paid more than $160 million before going under, AGLOCO’s members did not see even a single cent.
Here’s the message sent by the AGLOCO team to their members explaining the demise of the program.
We would like to update you on the status of AGLOCO’s operations. We continue to believe in the AGLOCO concept, but our revenue is currently not sufficient to give Members a meaningful distribution. And though there are increases in membership, the resulting revenue is not enough to support operating costs. As a development team we are unable to continue to use our savings to fund the operations. If any Member would like to pursue continuing the operations of AGLOCO, you may contact us at agloco1@live.com.
We would like to thank every Member for supporting our effort to bring a piece of the Internet directly to the user. We hope that we can find a way to keep the operations going.
AGLOCO Development Team
In short, AGLOCO is saying bye-bye — unless someone out there can save it.
AGLOCO’s business model is idealistically simple: pay people for the hours they spent browsing the internet with their software. It’s a feasible model but whether it could be translated into profitability for the company which, in turn, gives them the ability to pay members is another question.
The only get-paid-to-surf programs which I remember lasted for some time include Spedia.net, which is now also dead and from which I never received any payment, and StudioTraffic, whose apparently-fake-admin-whom-no-one-got-to-know scammed members and ran away with everyone’s money.
AGLOCO probably would have survived if they started with the US market first before rolling out the program worldwide, just like what WidgetBucks decided to do. That way, they can convince US advertisers that the market is focused and targeted. After AGLOCO has grown and global advertisers are already willing to partner with them, then they can start offering the program to other countries.
Also, AGLOCO would have flourished if they offered companies something else aside from mere advertising space. Through the Viewbar, AGLOCO would be in a position to collect massive information about the online behavior of customers worldwide. What sites do the 18-35 year-old Canadian demographic frequent? How long do they stay in those sites? What type of online advertising clicks with them? These are just some of customers’ online behavior that companies would want to know.
But all this now is wishful thinking because it’s game over for AGLOCO.
When AGLOCO launched last year, I never bothered to sign up for an account because I expected them to head this way. Can’t say the same, though, for others who had their hopes held high for the program.
Discuss AGLOCO in the Get-Paid-To Programs: AGLOCO thread in the Forum.
