> The only reason companies like Google make as much money as they do is because so many people use their search engine and continue to generate those ads I'm

> The only reason companies like Google make as much money as they do is because so many people use their search engine and continue to generate those ads I'm not very into this advertising mumbo jumbo, but you might be wrong here, since Google have AdWords/AdSense on couple more sites than the search pages. :) Long story short, there were these companies that either had a browser add-on or a stand alone app that filled 10-30% of your screen with ads, for which you were paid by hour. Some networks were so successful they even give free PCs :) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_to_surf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_to_surf - http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/17/free.pc.reut/ http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/17/free.pc.reut/ - http://www.angelfire.com/pe/home4u/cl204.html http://www.angelfire.com/pe/home4u/cl204.html