PromoteWare
You've heard of shareware, freeware, postcardware and more. Now there is PromoteWare, a completely new concept tailored to the needs of the Internet.
In short, PromoteWare is a way of providing services over the Internet in exchange for visibility instead of money. This enables companies and organizations to address the widest possible audience for their services, yet to receive something in return for their hard work.
How does it work?
The concept behind PromoteWare is very simple: Free services are assigned a "promotion value". Different promotion activities accrue points towards this value. When the required value is reached, any remaining obligation is discharged.
The following table outlines the points for various promotional activities. Other promotional activities should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
| Activity | Points |
| One TARGETED message posted to a RELEVANT newsgroup *1 | 2 |
| A text link from another site | 1 |
| A text link from the main page of another site | 2 |
| A banner link | 3 |
| A banner link from the main page of another site | 5 |
| Nomination of the site for a major award *2 | 1 |
*1 Note that the concept of PromoteWare is in no way intended to promote spamming or other similar activities. Therefore, please consider the content and focus of any message carefully. A short 3-4 line message in a newsgroup relating to the subject of the site will probably be very welcome. When in doubt, err on the side of prudence.
*2 A list of some major awards can be found here.
PromoteWare relies on the basic belief that people are inherently honest, and that they will reward good service appropriately. It is difficult to police PromoteWare closely; indeed, such an effort is counter-productive.
Please adhere to the spirit of PromoteWare, and show your appreciation for the companies that provide the services. Be polite in your dealings on behalf of these companies; they are entrusting you to be their representative. Maintain any links to their site, rather than deleting them after a few days.
Companies
Please feel free to copy the information on this page for
your own site. However, please note that the information has a promotion value of 5.
This can be fulfilled by displaying the banner below prominently
on your site. The banner should be linked to http://www.igoldrush.com.
Please save a local copy of this banner. For more information,
send email to pware@igoldrush.com.
Please send email if you decide to use this concept on your own
site.]