I am a student at UBC, and if you're like me, some extra cash could definitely help with our day to day struggle in life.  So, where does all this cash come from?  You could get a job, but that is too time consuming.  What if i told you that you could get paid just to be on the net?  You don't even have to be actively surfing!  I know, it sounds too good to be true, but after some thorough investigation, it turns out that it's completely legal!

Skeptical?  Here is a cheque that was received from Alladvantage.

Still skeptical?  Think there's a catch?  Think again!  Companies pay big money for advertising space.  When you sign up with one of these programs, you have to use a "Viewbar" which displays advertisements of various companies.  These companies pay to have their name appear on your screen.

You can also make money by referring your friends, or doing what I did, by advertising around campus.  This is all totally legit.  It's great!  You get paid hourly while you surf, and so do your friends, PLUS you get bonuses from referrals.  Payouts are made in cheques, payable depending on your pending balance at the end of each month.
 

The companies pay you an hourly rate for surfing the web with your viewbar. When you refer friends and family (your "direct referrals"), you get paid an hourly rate when they surf with the viewbar. When they refer their friends and family (your "extended referrals"), you also get paid an hourly rate when extended referrals surf with the viewbar. There is no limit to the number of referrals you can accumulate.  Specific payout information about each company, including current hourly rates and number of levels of referral levels, is given under each section.

The chart below helps demonstrate the referral system, assuming 5 levels of referrals are allowed (as is the case with AllAdvantage).

You Direct Referrals Extended Referrals (1) Extended Referrals (2) Extended Referrals (3) Extended Referrals (4)
 

Where is the money coming from?

The money is coming from advertising revenues.  Each of these companies charges its advertisers a certain amount of money based on the number of ads displayed, the number of times an ad is clicked on, etc.  This revenue is then shared with the people who actually see the ads: the users! Up until now, advertisers have been able to flash their banners and commercials before the public without directly paying us a cent! Finally the customers are being rewarded financially for viewing advertisements.