Online sweepstakes and incentives company AllAdvantage.com, Hayward, CA, closed its Web site yesterday and shut down its programs that paid people to surf the Web and view advertisements.
The company, which was founded nearly two years ago, attributed its decision to changes in the advertising and capital markets, according to a statement on its Web site. The company will no longer support its Viewbar, the software that members download to help the company keep track of which Web sites and ads they view. Instructions on how to uninstall the software are included on the Web site.
Any credits accrued for surfing the Web will become payable upon reaching the payment threshold.
“Pursuant to the Viewbar agreement, however,” the company added, “no payments are due for credits beneath the payment threshold.”
AllAdvantage assured customers that it would not sell, lease or distribute their personal information to third parties. Company officials could not be reached for comment.
The company went through several rounds of layoffs last year. It cut 150 employees, or 35 percent of its work force, in November. Last summer, AllAdvantage laid off 160 employees.
