Some Notes From Update : June 27, 2007 at 4:56 am
- We are crossing 20% activation and hope to exceed 50% by the end of the summer. New verified Member signups are back near record levels and growing.
Now that we are more comfortable with the website stability, we will also begin updating the website more frequently again.
- As far as the ads go, I am pleased to announce that we have just reached an agreement to make major improvements toward increased Viewbar revenue.
As noted earlier, we launched the Viewbar and our ad volume swamped the ad server of our third party supplier. While it has improved, the current system is still not working up to the standards needed (weak rotation ability and unable to connect properly with several networks). Given that the current state of affairs makes it difficult to implement our search, profile and geographic targeting (which are necessary to make Viewbar ads effective), we sought a new arrangement which will give all that to AGLOCO. This will take 5 to 6 weeks to be activated. As a result, revenue for the months of June and July will be low, as the current system cannot be improved any faster.
- We will also have the ability for an AGLOCO online ad auction system like Google’s AdSense so advertisers will be able to buy Viewbar ads directly.
Our new ad system will have a country specific system for advertisers (we are told that this will be available at the end of the summer and not for all countries). At that point we will likely have to ask each Member for a language preference to make the advertisers aware. Keep in mind that it is very costly to support multiple languages, so additional supported languages will probably not be forthcoming before that.
- In order to reach profitability quickly (which is necessary to make cash distributions to Members - as I will detail below), we keep AGLOCO expenses to a minimum.
Members often ask when they will be paid by AGLOCO, and how much they will be paid. I must admit that I have a bit of hesitation to address this issue, only because I do not want Members to misunderstand anything I say and/or take it as a “promise or prediction” of what AGLOCO will exactly do in the future. So, I will write the following with the disclaimer that everything I say below, specifically regarding when Members will be paid or how much, is only an illustration and does not constitute a promise of any sort.
Here is some information about cash payments in “FAQ” form.
The simple answer is that it depends on “when AGLOCO makes enough money to both pay Members and be a sustainable business”. But, by using the Viewbar you are accumulating credit towards the cash payments right now (more on that below).
Also, as some Members have correctly pointed out, AGLOCO’s early revenue will not immediately translate into cash distributions to Members. While we do not know how large our the cash payouts will not begin until there is a comfortable balance between AGLOCO’s free cash flow and AGLOCO’s expenses. It is important to add that all Members will begin to accumulate hours from when they first start using the Viewbar (and referral hours will also be earned). Those hours will not be wasted. Both overall hours and monthly hours will be used in determining distributions to Members
-Cash Distributions: To be a sustainable entity in the long term, AGLOCO makes Member cash distributions from its positive cash flow (revenue minus costs).
-AGLOCO will be keeping Members informed of our financials (after a few months, when we start getting realistic numbers) so they can track our progress on this. At this point, if our new ad system is operational in August, we should be able to give meaningful numbers for September.
Before the cash payments begin we will verify your billing information and ask you to specify how you would like to be paid. We currently plan to have several forms of payment available, including check, direct deposit, and PayPal. Remember that only one account per Member is allowed.
Yes, a minimum will be required to keep transfer costs down. All sums not distributed are accumulated in the Member’s AGLOCO account until the minimum is reached.
So, here are three of the potential ways AGLOCO can pay Members. As you know, when you use the Viewbar you accumulate hours (currently up to 5 hours/month, and plus a credit of referral hours at a 25% rate). These hours, both your monthly totals and your overall accumulated hours, are the basis for cash distributions. 1-Monthy Viewbar hours: Based on the hours you and your referrals surf each month, you will get a share of the “distribution pie”. Your share is equal to your percentage of the total hours accumulated by all Members (including referral hours).
How would this work? Here is a hypothetical example. Suppose in a given month AGLOCO distributes $100,000 for that month’s hour accumulation. Also suppose that the total hours all Members have accumulated that month is 1,000,000 hours. This means that AGLOCO would pay $0.10 for each hour you are credited with that month. So in this example if you had accumulated (yourself plus referrals) 500 hours that month, you would be paid $50.
2-Total Viewbar hours: AGLOCO may also pay in the same manner as above based on total accumulated hours. This would “weight” the payment more towards those Members who joined and began accumulating hours earlier (including the time before the cash payouts have begun).
3-AGLOCO buying Hours for Cash: Here’s how it would work. AGLOCO would set a price per hour (say, $0.15), and we allow Members to sell their hours back to us at that rate. There would likely be a minimum number of hours you could sell. For instance, AGLOCO may only allow you to sell in 100-hour blocks. Hours that you sell would be deducted from your total accumulated hours for future distributions.
- AGLOCO is not a “get rich quick” scheme and never will be. By steadily using the Viewbar and building a sustainable business, we can make sure that Members will get distributions for years and years as we improve the usefulness of the Viewbar as a part of each Member’s desktop.
Brian Greenwald
AGLOCO Development Team
