AllAdvantage

AllAdvantage was an Internet advertising company that positioned itself as the world’s first "infomediary" by paying its users/members a portion of the advertising revenue generated by their online viewing habits. It became most well known for its slogan "Get Paid to Surf the Web," a phrase that has since become synonymous with a wide array of online ad revenue sharing systems (see, e.g., paid to surf).

AllAdvantage was launched on March 31, 1999, by Jim Jorgensen, Johannes Pohle, Carl Anderson, and Oliver Brock. During its nearly 2 years of operation, it raised nearly $200 Million in venture capital and grew to more than 10 million members in its first 18 months of operation. The company's practice of compensating existing members for referring new members led it to become one of the most heavily promoted websites of its time. That popularity was reflected in the ranking of AllAdvantage.com among the top 20 of many website traffic indices during most of the company's existence, including Nielsen/NetRatings. That method of promotion also led the company to be heavily criticized for its early inability to prevent its members from spamming for referrals in order to collect additional income. It eventually overcame many of those problems and company executives were deeply involved in anti-spam legislative proposals, including the first anti-spam bill to pass the US House of Representatives.

AllAdvantage ultimately fell victim to the sharp decline in advertising spending as the dot-com bubble burst and the U.S. economy entered a recessionary period in mid-2000. AllAdvantage planned an initial public offering of stock in early 2000, underwritten by investment banker Frank Quattrone of the firm Credit Suisse First Boston. As the IPO market continued to sour through mid-2000, the offering plans were cancelled. The company continued to seek new sources of revenue and expanded its offerings to include sweepstakes. The company finally halted consumer-facing operations in February 2001. By the time it closed its doors, the company had paid out over $160 million to its members.

AllAdvantage contributed several enduring concepts to the online marketplace. For example, AllAdvantage was one of the first implementations of the infomediary concept to reach a mass market. The concept of the infomediary was first suggested by McKinsey consultants and professors John Hagel, III, and Marc Singer in their book NetWorth. (Hagel and Singer eventually became informal advisers to the company.)

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