Agloco Viewbar Finally Released - Where Have All the Guinea Pigs Gone?

Having signed up for Agloco pay to surf in December 2006, my referrals are well over 2000. Yet, months are a lifespan on the Internet and Agloco has repeatedly delayed release of their pay to surf viewbar (search toolbar), until now. Retaining 50 percent of referrals at this point would be optimistic.

Further, Agloco has made it clear that realizing revenue may take months, if and until the startup company earns a profit. It is a gutsy strategy, if you can pull it off, but patience with such a business model is limited.

Now, June 4, 2007, the Agloco viewbar is released and new problems have followed.

Agloco servers are ill equipped to efficiently handle the burden for tens of thousands of viewbar downloads. The company blog contains requests for members to stay off the site, to allow for more bandwidth for referrals to download the viewbar. Not the pinnacle of efficiency or professionalism.

Yet, Agloco's egregious errors began prior to this technological debacle.

The first involves trust and dependability. Unless you are Microsoft perhaps, it is unwise to publicly declare a deadline that you cannot deliver, worse if it is done repeatedly.

The pay to surf viewbar was initially scheduled for release between the end of March to sometime through mid-April, with a April 19 target date. The release was moved again to the end of April and continued on until recently, with ample excuses along the way.

Do consumers really want to download a search toolbar following months of excuses about how difficult it is to integrate the advertising with the Agloco program? Will the viewbar be secure and reliable? These are just some reservations about Agloco that, if they were not asked before, are quite obvious now.

Secondly, though Agloco made it clear that members would share in the revenue of the company, it wasn't until months into the referral generating process that Agloco announced it may be months before earning money with the program, if ever.

While I am not anti-Agloco, in fact I wrote a fair, somewhat encouraging article about the company, I share the concerns of my referrals.

Though my expectations were subdued from the start, viewing income from Agloco as gravy, many believe Agloco is the main course and have gone to considerable efforts to promote the program.

Further, while I am comfortable with educated risk assessments as it relates to technology, the typical Internet user does not secure their computer as avidly as those with a tech background, nor can fix computer glitches as readily. Nor should they be expected to.

So questions of dependability and safety of the Agloco viewbar are paramount and not helped by Agloco's performance thus far.

Have I downloaded the Agloco viewbar? Yes, and it operated well for the hour I tried it, until the complimentary tools button was used. That is when a Windows error occurred, though minor, the Agloco program simply closed.

Today wasn't the day for complimentary software evaluation, I had work to do, so further evaluation is postponed.

Note that software bugs are simple to fix. Either put up with faulty programming if the software is important enough (e.g. Windows), or uninstall it and move on (e.g. Windows). Without compensation though, the Agloco viewbar has not made the top ten essential computer programs for this PC.

Volunteering as an uncompensated guinea pig is about as appealing as a visit to the dentist. Though it is a compulsory evil (for up to five hours a month) if one wants to get paid. Of course, if we all wait no one gets paid, a catch-22 at its finest.

If I can locate a few hours a month whereas I both have patience and expendable time, say evaluating Second Life or celebrity gossip, I will use the Agloco viewbar but on a very trial basis.

It is hoped that Agloco has learned from their mistakes and is keen to respond to consumer concerns, with action, not excuses.

The idea of members earning capital from the fruits of developing a company is a noble and refreshing one. Had this been the situation for early members of MySpace or YouTube, for example, several small fortunes would be claimed. This is the fundamental basis for enlisting in the Agloco program, and I did not want to pass up a potential opportunity.

Now the opportunity lies in Agloco's hands and the clock is ticking. The best odds I can give that the company will be viable in a year is 2:1, any takers?

Editors Note: This Op/Ed is submitted as a freebie, by choice, due to potential conflicts of interest, real or perceived. The opinions expressed are alone that of the writer and not endorsed by AC.