AGLOCO and the SpyWare Question Demystified

AGLOCO is something that I’ve been optimistically skeptical about. Though the lure of the good old days of AllAdvantage is something that draws me in, the web has become a much more complicated place since the days of the original pay to surf concept. Installing anyone’s software these days is a license to let them into your PC to collect information on you, even if they say “No Spyware”.

When I first heard about AGLOCO, being the first pay to surf company to resurface in over 5 years, I was surprised. How could a concept that died even among such popularity (AllAdvantage folded with over 10,000,000 members in 2001) be viable the second time around? Didn’t they learn enough to know it wouldn’t be sustainable the first time? AGLOCO seems to believe that they can do it. If it fails, the the Stanford School of Business will be shamed as well. Over half their management team are Stanford Graduates.

AGLOCO launched without a compensation structure or even the software; a toolbar much like what AllAdvantage used that allows people to surf a maximum of five hours per month and get compensated for it. The only people that have seen it are a small number of Beta Testers, none of which are getting compensated to surf during the trial. The other mystery was their member compensation calculator: It merely spat out a number that no one could explain. Was it a dollar value? No one really knew. Everything indicated a “paper launch”, but even so, a few people have taken it upon themselves to believe and cultivate followers.

John Chow, one of AGLOCO’s biggest evangelists is convinced that the program is a winner. With over 1000 sign ups so far, he is adamant that it will work if things play out the way he thinks it will. One of the key things that he says has to happen is the building of the network:

If they can build a big enough user base, the company will be worth money even if it makes nothing. Look at YouTube. A money losing video sharing site that was constantly under the threat of copyright lawsuits. Yet it gets sold for $1.65 billion because of the size of its user base.

Since AGLOCO issues shares to users as compensation, John is hoping that the same thing that happened to YouTube and MySpace happens to AGLOCO. The only difference is that not one member from MySpace or YouTube benefited from the sale of either company. AGLOCO members are shareholders and should get their cut.

Even then, with so many hypotheticals still, it is not surprising to see that where there is support, there is also heavy criticism for the program, leading to many people swearing off the program for its lack of a more solid foundation. In fact, AllAdvantage veterans that I know personally, that made money on the original program, are choosing to sit this one out. Some are optimistic about the program, but there are just too many questions left unanswered to make the leap on faith to sign up. It also doesn’t help that some parts of the world like Australia outlaw this sort of program due to the alleged “Multi-Level Marketing” or “Pyramid Scheme” appearance.

Earlier today, John Chow posted answers to the Spyware and Compensation questions. “Mavani has assured me that the AGLOCO Viewbar has absolutely no spyware”, according to John. As for the compensation structure,”1 hour of surfing time equals 1 share. Members will be able to accumulate 5 shares per month based on the current limits. Members will get 0.25 shares per hour for people in their network”, says John. The questions were answered by AGLOCO’s boss, Akshay Mavani, also known as A.K.

Even with assurances by Akshay Mavani himself, many may not be able to set aside these differences to make the first step. We still do not have a toolbar or viewbar to evaluate for ourselves. Also, the prospect of the IOU in shares versus the instant gratification of a monthly check is yet another turn off for those seeking reassurance that their investment in time building their networks is not in vain. But even if you look at it as a long term investment, no one can guarantee you a return, not even A.K. However, the big pushers like John Chow remain steadfast in their belief.

Though the outlook is still a bit fuzzy for me, I’m hoping that the small part of me that was willing to suspend my disbelief long enough to sign up wasn’t being stupid. Even if this becomes the biggest flop, or the biggest thing since Google, I can say I was there at the beginning, and I went through the motions. Let the adventure begin.