IN THE NEWS

Rich Get Richer Surfing Web, Firm Finds
By Peter Loftus

11/09/1999 Dow Jones News Service

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The rich are getting richer by surfing the Internet, judging by one company's findings.

AllAdvantage.com, which pays cash to Web users who agree to view a constant stream of advertisements, says more of its members live in affluent Beverly Hills, Calif., than in any other town in the nation. And that old-money capital, zip code 10021 on Manhattan's Upper East Side, ranked No. 7 among the most-listed hometowns of AllAdvantage users.

"Now you know how they got so rich," joked Jim Jorgensen, chief executive of the closely held Hayward, Calif., firm.  Jorgensen had expected college students to be the heaviest users of AllAdvantage when it was launched in March. His hunch appears to be partially correct, despite Beverly Hills' No. 1 ranking, as college towns Ithaca, N.Y., and West Lafayette, Ind., were in the top five.

AllAdvantage has signed up about 1.7 million North American users who can download the company's Viewbar, a permanent strip across the bottom of a computer user's Web browser. Members see a steady flow of ads on the bar regardless of where they venture on the Web.

Customers receive 50 cents for each hour they spend actively using the Web, for up to 25 hours a month, or $12.50. They can receive significantly more money by persuading friends and family to sign up, pocketing 5 cents to 10 cents for each hour spent online by users referred to the site.

The nickels and dimes can add up to a tidy sum. AllAdvantage's top user for October is set to receive a check for $4,400, the company said. More than 30 people will receive at least $1,000. Statistics weren't immediately available to determine whether these high earners lived in Beverly Hills or other wealthy areas.

Jorgensen thinks it makes sense that AllAdvantage is popular in wealthy communities. The average Internet user tends to have a higher income than the general population, and is likely to live in an urban area. But the wealthy aren't totally hogging the service. AllAdvantage's membership has a cross-section of high-tech consumers, residents of small towns and cash-strapped college students, Jorgensen said.

AllAdvantage isn't disclosing how much it has paid its users so far, or, perhaps more importantly, how much advertising revenue it has taken in. Jorgensen would only say that revenues have exceeded his expectations.

In September, AllAdvantage closed a second round of venture-capital funding, securing $31 million in equity financing. The company hasn't yet filed for an initial public offering of shares.

Other top-10 hometowns of AllAdvantage's members are: Blacksburg, Va.; Sunnyvale, Calif.; Westwood, Calif.; Miami; Atlanta; and Cupertino, Calif.

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