AdOn Network - A Deadbeat Online Advertising Company

Being in the venture industry, I get alot of news about the online advertising industry. The sad story is that while the industry is growing, there are a large number of deadbeat online advertising companies that rip off publishers. I've used many advertising companies and I've come across a few in my experience as a blogger.

What is a deadbeat online ad company? It's a company that doesn't pay or that fraudulently reports impression counts.

Let me tell you the story of AdOn Network.

AdOn Network was previously known as MyGeek.com. It is run by Chad Little. They are one of the worst deadbeats. I have heard from readers that the company reports 1/10 to 1/8 of the impressions that it actually serves on a publishers website. Put that into perspective, that means if your site ran 10,000 impressions for AdOn Network, they would report to the publisher that you actually ran 1,000 impressions while they report to the advertiser that they ran 10,000 impressions. Got what I mean? Advertisers are charged 10,000 impressions and publishers are paid 1,000 impressions. They're ripping publishers off big time, by pocketing the revenues on those 9,000 missing impressions.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are many companies in the online ad space doing this, but this one certainly ranks as one of the more egregious frauds out there. Maybe that explains why they had to change their name :-) If you have an experience with an online ad company, I'm curious to hear. Write to me or comment. I can't wait to hear from you.

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Yahoo Mail Goes Unlimited! Thank you Yahoo! For Answering My Prayers!

Yahoo! just announced that they'll be offering unlimited storage for Yahoo! Mail. I'm pysched. A few months ago, I wrote how I was running into storage limits on Yahoo! Mail. I had to delete a ton of messages just to continue using the service and it was a big pain in the neck. Not anymore! Yahoo!! Thank you! Today is a day for celebration!

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35 Billion Yen Question - Should Fuji TV Be Sueing Livedoor or the Company Directors?

The Japanese market is full of drama these days. It's like the market of 2002 in the US when Enron and Andersen were getting their pants sued off, for financial fraud. Fuji TV is suing LiveDoor for 34 billion yen to reclaim the loss it incurred from buying shares of LiveDoor. LiveDoor was close to taking over Fuji TV and in a successful attempt at greenmail, LiveDoor got Fuji to buy several hundred million (USD) of LiveDoor stock. Of course, LiveDoor was faking it all the way to the bank - the numbers, particularly its profits, were nowhere as rosy as it advertised. Ooops.

Fast forward 2 years later, LiveDoor is delisted. Fuji TV lost 35 billion yen on its investment and its pissed. Who wouldn't be? But the big question is this: Who should really be getting sued? LiveDoor the company and its shareholders, or the directors of LiveDoor? In my opinion, the directors of LiveDoor are the ones liable, not the shareholders. The directors perpetuated the fraud and actually gained financially from the fraud. The shareholders didn't. In fact, by suing LiveDoor (the company and the shareholders), Fuji is basically dividing the shareholder base - and sticking it to the poor shareholders of LiveDoor who have already lost several billion dollars combined.

I think Fuji should really rethink its case. After all, as a former LiveDoor shareholder, Fuji lost money just like the other shareholders because of the actions of the dishonest management team. The former managers and the directors of LiveDoor are the ones who perpetuated the fraud, not the shareholders. I would much rather see the directors getting sued, since it would actually do something for shareholders. These guys made millions from it. In fact, one of the those lucky LiveDoor crooks is even planning to use his fortune to become an astronaut! That is why I think Fuji is suing the wrong team. Fuji should sue the criminals and show other companies with rotten management that financial fraud can land directors and managers with personal liability.

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