Freeride Update!

[jjhmom]

I went to the Freeride site (just to see what was going on) and this is what I found:


We're sorry we're not accepting any new FreeRide members during this startup phase. We're running the site on limited hardware, and that necessarily limits our membership. But as soon as we reach Phase II of the relaunch of FreeRide, our doors will be wide open to new members. Please check back after the holidays! Meanwhile, here's our story...

Back in January 1995, a few of us working at an ad agency in NY took a long look at the emerging Internet and saw that the rules of the road were about to change. Big time.

What it meant for our clients was a chance to interact with a consumer audience like never before. What it meant for consumers was a whole new kind of power, because unlike TV's couch potatoes, Web surfers would be nobody's "captive audience". To get their time and attention would take more than "new media". It would take a whole new media model. We called it FreeRide.

The idea was simple: give marketers a cool place and a common currency to reward consumer interaction, and they'd give consumers a reason to visit and keep coming back. The idea worked. Before the collapse of the Internet, FreeRide was facilitating over 3,000,000 daily interactions between our members and our sponsors, with over $2 million in rewards handed out every month. Unfortunately, the tumble happened so quickly that millions of dollars that we had already redeemed in points became uncollectable.

So where do we go from here? We believe that in the long run, the FreeRide model is too correct to fail. But we have to survive the short run to get there. We can't do it without you - which is why the Phase I relaunch of FreeRide begins with a community of FreeRiders.

The Magic Grape Vine is a chance for FreeRiders to talk to each other, and to us. In the beginning the rewards will be modest, but most of all, they'll be fun. From the way you get them (check out the Vinesters on The Magic Grape Vine), to the way you spend them (check out Magic Bus - The Game).

In the coming months, we plan to bring you more ways to earn points and more ways to spend them. All along the way we'll be asking for your input. Because where we go from here isn't up to us. It's up to all of us.

So what do you guys think?

[buckeyemomma]