International Commerce International Marketing Internet Advertising Internet Economy Internet Media Internet Prod. Commentary Online Advert. 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 slightly delusional about the value of web site membership. In June, Yahoo boasted some 65 million registered members.