Do the Right Thing: Net Goodies and Net Profits

On my 25th birthday one of my best girlfriends held my hair back tenderly while I wretched into a toilet. Surprisingly this was not my worst moment of the night. An hour earlier I'd finished an entire bottle of wine, smoked two packages of Marlboro Reds and sung a horrible rendition of Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love" against the backdrop of a Karate Kid 2 video montage. This wasn't my worst moment either. My worst moment came at the end of the night when I hiccuped and sobbed violently while onlookers attempted to console me. Orson Welles had completed Citizen Kane at 25-years-old and in comparison, I was a loser. My friends laughed and continue to laugh about that moment to this day. The only difference is that now I laugh with them.

Whether the answers come from a childhood dream, from a Myers-Briggs test, or from a burning "Aha" moment, most of us have tried to steer towards what feels right. But in Silicon Valley, where millions are made and lost in a quarter, it's sometimes difficult to discern good decisions from what seems like fast money.

GETTING RICH QUICK: GOT BILK?
There's a reason Firefox is the second most popular browser in the world. It's a decent product. But in all honesty, there's a reason why an open source project under a free software license can turn a profit. CEO Mitchell Baker reports that up to 95% of all revenue comes from search engine referrals. It's genius. If you bundle a Google search toolbar extension with your product, you're going to make bank. If you've got the downloads that Firefox does, you're going to make something to the tune of about $60 million dollars. Then again, this is a completely transparent signed affiliate / referral deal between two very legitimate companies.

What happens when a company decides to cash in on the download without letting the user know? In my quest for commercial-free television programming I've come across a fair number of sites calling on users to download extensions for optimal viewing.

Why would a Google extension help viewing you ask? It wouldn't. Google would offer a small payment for referral downloads to the domain owner. Maybe this isn't the dirtiest trick in the book, but you can bet it's not going to warrant the site a Webby Award. I believe this tactic is commonly referred to as lying.

GETTING PAID IN SMILES: ECOSEARCH
Eco-consultancy Green Order just launched Green Your..., an environmental health database aimed at inspiring users to question the products they put in their homes and on their bodies.

Still in its infancy, the site has been released under a Creative Commons license in the hopes that the message of non-toxic, eco-friendly products like BPA-free baby bottles will spread far and wide.

Users can sign-in and contribute their own articles or share articles and tips with friends and family. According to the site's About Page,

To be listed on GreenYour, products must meet GreenYour’s environmental criteria. GreenYour does not accept money from manufacturers or retailers to list any products. The revenue streams ... include advertising, content syndication, and affiliate e-commerce.

It is unclear as to what the site's environmental criteria and ad partner criteria is; however, by making this bold statement, GreenYour is at least attempting to run an ethical and sustainable business.

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Do the Right Thing: Net Goodies and Net Profits

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