Monetisation, or spam?

Seriously, CSW would be keen to hear what business users in particular think of the new search service recently launched by London-based Directly.me.

This targets a specific approach – a raison d’etre, if you like – for searching anything. Fundamentally, it is that searches for people or specific information has a value to the recipient. This is almost certainly true, but taking the step from value (in some form) to specifically monetising the information is an interesting extension in to the real world.

It also highlights that there does need to be new ways to define a `value’ for information held across the internet, much of which is currently under-valued or, more commonly generates no monetisable value of any sort for the person or business putting up the information.

This could, for example, prove to be the ideal tool through which individuals can monetise their efforts in journalism, blogging, publishing and other creative areas in general. By the same token it could become the generator of enough `targeted’ spam as to make one yearn for the days of snail mail.

It could also, if successful, do some serious damage to that semi-clandestine world of the business introduction, where individuals broker their knowledge and connections to bring parties with a perceived common interest together.

With Directly.me, people and businesses can both protect their contacts and knowledge, and put a bounty price others must pay to get their hands on it. The concept allows users to monetise before they create, by establishing a virtual market-rate environment in which a value is placed against knowledge and contacts. 

The company claims that it offers built-in rewards for early adopters who, once signed up as users, are asked to ‘protect their network.’ This means that users can start to monetise their network of contacts etc by making referrals for the bounties offered on the Directly.me website. Similarly, any user can set bounties for their own knowledge, information or contacts.

“There’s a thin line between spam and success when you are contacting people you don’t know, people have gatekeepers and spam filters,” said Rocky Mirza, Co-Founder and CEO of Directly.me, who indicated that the company’s service could get round those front line defences by using known as accepted contacts.

“One of the best ways to meet someone is through a personal introduction. Directly.me helps get messages through by creating incentives for those making introductions and for the recipients of messages. “We believe that Directly.me will turn people into virtual bounty hunters. With many people seeking new income opportunities, the potentially massive rewards for referring someone on Directly.me means that people can use it as an additional revenue stream. We have intentionally left the site open, to provide enough breathing space for the market to naturally set its own rates for knowledge.”

This is obviously something of a two-edged sword. On the one hand it can become the essential precursor complement to CRM systems, where possible future customers are `introduced’ to a new vendor or supplier by one of their known contacts. According to the company, it is well-position to be used for a wide range of reasons: recruitment, to reaching the C-level, to finding a supplier in a new area.

On the other hand, however, would seem to come the certain knowledge that the contact had effectively `sold’ you for the archetypal mess of potage. Looked at pragmatically, this latter option can be seen as at least monetising what successful phishers get for nothing.

The company claims to have attracted more than 1.6 million life experiences and 2.4 million direct connections during its pre-launch semi-stealth phase.

The typical current approach to creating content is to produce information, then try to sell it. With Directly.me, businesses or individuals can list their experience and capabilities in headlines and can get paid for content before it is even produced. The site even has a star ranking system, encouraging everyone on the platform to deliver quality knowledge or contacts in return for payment.