Some Things Never Change…
It’s amazing to me that the same lead gen style setups that swept through the affiliate industry in 2003-2005 have now made their way to Facebook:
In short, these games try to get people to pay cash for in game currency so they can level up faster and have a better overall experience. Which is fine. But for users who won’t pay cash, a wide variety of “offers” are available where they can get in-game currency in exchange for lead gen-type offers. Most of these offers are bad for consumers because it confusingly gets them to pay far more for in-game currency than if they just paid cash (there are notable exceptions, but the scammy stuff tends to crowd out the legitimate offers). And it’s also bad for legitimate advertisers.
via Scamville: The Social Gaming Ecosystem Of Hell (TechCrunch)
If you’ll remember, for a $1.00 payout (but eventually up to $2.00 or $2.50 as the market became saturated), publishers could send an email address and zip code (or just email address) of a “consumer” hoping to win their free iPod (and eventually laptops or HD TV’s).
The quality was, of course, terrible. However, this was about getting a one time credit card charge through a miasma of a three step co-reg process.
Amazing that this trick still works, just with new clothes.
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