In the never-ending quest for stickiness , Web sites have implemented a variety of means over the years to attract and retain visitors. None of these means are more ubiquitous than Web site membership.
Membership is a key enabler for personalized services such as custom Web pages and free e-mail.
Of the critical mass of sites offering free content and services, more are experimenting with e-commerce for revenue generation. However, their only guaranteed revenue is typically a few dollars for every thousand advertisements their visitors ignore. Membership thus provides a sort of personal information toll that savvy sites can leverage to increase their revenues per visitor. However, there's something a slightly delusional about the value of Web site membership. In June, Yahoo boasted some 65 million registered members.