The key problem point systems are meant to address is how little attention surfers are paying to banner ads, the main revenue source for many Web sites. On average, surfers click on fewer than 1 in 100 ads they are shown, prompting Web marketers to seek new ways to attract and retain their attention. The trouble is, there are so many systems for earning and spending points online that it's as if green stamps came in a rainbow of colors, none of them interchangeable. Oodles of creativity and high-risk capital are pouring into these companies creating electronic loyalty systems. Most are used to lure users back to one site, because people like seeing their balances increase as they make purchases or do other activities.
None is anywhere near profitable.
MyPoints rewards people for accepting e-mail ads, while Cybergold redeems points for hard cash. Netcentives allows consumers to trade Web points for airline miles. One of the newest players is trying to make its points so valuable that people might actually use them as digital currency. Loyalty systems have simply been a way to offer discounts, not payment. Previous attempts at creating electronic cash systems online have failed miserably, and there are still barely 200 Web sites issuing beenz.