Image of The genesis of valME.io - what were you thinking?

Social networking is great. Well, it's great for people who like to be social. Come to think of it, it's great even for people who don't like to be social.

Social networks, from Google to Facebook to Reddit et al., are provided to you for free. Why? Because someone else pays - advertisers. We certainly have nothing against advertisers, nor do we have anything against making money. But if you've come here to learn about the genesis of valME, you need to first know a bit about Google.

When it comes to making money from advertising revenue, Google is hard to beat. They created the best search engine in the world, and you have access to it for free. Why? Like we said, because advertisers pay so you don't (directly) have to. Consider all of the value you've received from Google. The time saved looking up useful pieces of information. The time saved getting from point A to point B. The money saved from finding the product you want at a lower cost. The knowledge gained from learning something new with just a few keystrokes. The value to you is immeasurable, right? And all at your fingertips for free.

But here's a bit of Google's history you may not known: in 1998, Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page, the co-founders of Google, wrote a paper at Stanford University titled "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine." In it, they presented Google: "a prototype of a large-scale search engine which makes heavy use of the structure present in hypertext."

But in Appendix A, which is titled "Advertising and Mixed Motives," we find this interesting bit:



Reading that prompted some theoretical questions: what would happen if you reduced or removed the reliance on advertisers? Would the quality of content go up? (Come on. Admit it. There's a ton of crap out there.) How would the Web change - from search engine results to the news we see to where we decide to vacation to intellectual property laws to the balance of power to...? Would the world be a better place?

Everyone has different opinions on what quality means to them. It's a relative term. The differences are based on what brings value to that individual. For many decisions, we vote with our wallets. Like a particular kind of ice cream? You vote for it by buying it. Those shoes make you feel gorgeous? Ditto. You put your money where your mouth is - and where your values are. However, we don't much do that with social networks. And we don't need to, because someone else pays. Yes, we ultimately pay higher prices for the ice cream and shoes because merchants have to pay for the advertising. After all, nothing worth anything is free. But because we can't see those costs, we ignore them as if the costs don't exist. Out of sight, out of mind, as the adage goes.

Technologists rock! They have created this wonderful Internet where just about anyone can easily share content, ideas, and outright good times with others around the world. And make no mistake about it: content, ideas, and fun can be just as valuable, if not more valuable, than the ice cream or shoes. But not all those content creators have an easy time earning a living. Sure, they can put up a blog and get a bit of revenue from Google AdSense or the Yahoo Bing Network, but will it really be enough money to earn those shoes or that ice cream? And that's only if someone clicks on the ad.

Let's be honest: unless you're already famous, building a blog or forum that generates even a little income is extremely difficult and time-consuming for most. That led to a question: wouldn't it be great if people who already freely share their content, ideas, and enjoyment could actually make some money outside of advertising?

BAM! It hit stronger than a punch from Superman. Why not make an easy way for people to earn money from doing exactly what they already do while short-circuiting the advertisers? Such were the seeds of valME.io - put value in, get value out.

Value... for me.

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SO interesting! TIL that Google, who makes money from advertising, thought advertising lowers the quality of search results

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From Facebook Should Pay All of Us:


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