Note: This column represents the opinions
of the writer and as such, is not purported as fact
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Does the title of today's column sound a little paradoxical to you?
Well let me quote from a full-page advertisement that appeared in NZ's largest
daily newspaper on Saturday:
"Join Foundation 1000 today and enjoy FREE lifetime*
dialup internet connection for a one time membership payment of $395"
Yes folks, you know that when the words "free" and "Internet" are used in the
same sentence it's very likely that things aren't as simple as they seem.
The interesting thing is that it was this advertisement which prompted me
to go out and buy a newspaper for the first time in two years.
The Aardvark PC-Based Digital
Entertainment Centre Project
Yes, at last -- the final update
in this feature series will be uploaded this evening, 31-March-2003, don't
miss it.
With so many excellent online news sites, I've found it unnecessary to fork
out hard cash to buy inky pulp for quite some time. When you stop and think
about it, it's kind of crazy that my motivation for buying a paper
was to read an advertisement -- yet while I'm online I do my best to avoid them.
But back to the "free" offer.
As you've probably worked out by now, my cynicism was piqued by this ad -- after
all, it's already been conclusively proven that free internet access is not
a viable business model. Anyone remember Net4Free and the other "free" ISPs
of a few years back?
Where are they now?
It's worth noting (if you haven't actually seen the ad) that half the page
consists of an image of the earth with a few lines of large, bold text;
quarter of a page of sales pitch and quarter of a page of "terms and conditions."
If all the text was all printed in the same size font then the "terms and conditions"
would take up two or three times as much space as the rest of the ad.
So how can AceGlobalPlus.com
afford to give away a "lifetime" of free Internet access?
Well the answer is obviously: they can't
First up there's that $395 "membership" payment.
Then there's the definition of "lifetime" which, according to the ad, reads:
"the period of time simultaneous membership is maintained in Accumulated Credit
Exchange and ACEglobalPLUS."
Eh?
So this isn't a simple ISP operation at all is it?
So what is "ACEglobalPLUS and the Accumulated Credit Exchange"?
Don't bother looking on the AceGlobalPlus website,
the information there is so vague as to be useless.
It would seem (but someone correct me if I'm wrong) that the cost of your
Internet access is offset by the purchases you make using some kind of
gold-backed
alternative currency.
This service appears to be marketed along the lines of a bank -- with low
fees, ATM cards, etc. I wonder if it meets all the requirements of the relevant
banking acts?
Or is it a buying group? this page
would seem to indicate that it is. Or maybe it's just another one of those
"make money on the Net" ventures -- after all, when you sign up with
"Cost Plus International" you get a virtual office and "You are immediately
eligible to participate in the Rewards programme by purchasing
Cost Plus products and services". But what products and services???
A search on Google for the term Accumulated Credit Exchange" returns
not a single match --
which must be a worry for something that purports to be
"the ultimate global currency and payment solution easily accepted and
used anywhere in the world".
Now I'm not about to suggest in any way that this isn't a straight-up venture
using an interesting and novel new business model -- but I would caution
that history proves their ain't no such thing as a free lunch -- and I question why the
website is so lacking in detail when it wants you to hand over $395 or even
$750 to join up?
Do you have an opinion on today's column or want to add something?
Have your say
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publication of Aardvark, the bills still exceed the income by a fairly
significant amount. It is with this in mind therefore that I'm once
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value from this daily column and news index. I've gone the PayPal
way of accepting donations because the time involved in processing a bunch
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