And post your reasoning, or it doesn't count.

I propose we are in "Freebies Phase 3"... allow me to argue why....

Freebies 1.0: (2000-2006) As the internet became more and more a household standard, the highest percentage of people affluent with the net began to experiment with earning things for free on the internet (what we now call The Freebie Scene). Seeing as how they were the most knowledgeable with the techy side of things, the 16-22 year olds were the mode of this new phenom. Mostly in it to get a free iPod or game system, it was very relaxed and focused mostly on Freepay/Gratis/Spam email diy sites. It is out of this phase that Anything4Free came into existance. Ref for Ref was the trading means of choice, and why not, there wasn't such a thing as "free greens" and "forever green" so when freebie'ers wanted to start a site they had to (GASP) sign up to the site under someone else and (double GASP!) do an offer! This may seem strange to the new people reading this, but yes, this step was in fact common practice and was considered "the norm".

Freebies 2.0: (2007-very early 2008) As the original 1.0'ers grew up and went to college or started earning their own money to pay for their tech gadgets, this created a void which needed some new blood. And at the same time PPD comes out with their TV advertisements telling their customers of the riches to be had on this thing called the "Internet". Now the age range of "Freebie'ers" opens drastically. And because of this new age group, iPods and Xboxes aren't the most popular gift anymore. This is the phase were paypal becomes king. All ages from 20-70 register on freebie sites and begin to pay very high amounts of paypal for greens. Their profit margin dips (as also the offers begin to payout less and therefore the sites pay less per ref) but as long as they are still making profit its considered "making money on the internet" which was the primary goal so this phase goes along very merrily. Especially because with the new "PPD Newbs" coming it was pretty easy to find a n00b willing to do your site for $25 which leaved you with a profit of $15-25.

Freebies 3.0: (2008-Present) After a long fought battle between the 1.0'ers and the 2.0'ers, sadly the 2.0 scene wins. Now, new sites are popping up like wildflowers and the majority of freebie'ers are only in it for the cash. Not even the entire amount of cash, but rather the small profit they make after paying all their refs to green, as this is the norm. The Referral for Referral forum is now a distant thought and the Beginner's Trading Post is where "it's" at. This troubles some, forcing them to leave freebies. But some dedicated 1.0'ers continue to fight for once was the greatest thing ever, Referral for Referral. Anythin4Free at the start of Freebies 3.0 was not the most alcoholic pint in the pub, but with the start of a new year (2K9) things have been on the rise. Now new people are flocking in in droves to take part of this Freebie 3.0 scene and get paid to do it. Sure, the 1.0'ers are still a bit bitter, but at least this way they can get some relatively cheap greens and of course enjoy the atmosphere of the greatest forum on the planet.

The End

Now children, time for bed.

I think you mean "it's" not "its" cause you were using the contraction.

The worst part is...I'm a 2.0 since I came around here in '06. Just end my soul why don't ya.

I voted 3 because I like your reasoning and because I got here in 2005 (just barely) so it makes me a 1.0'er.

Although, in all fairness, when did 2.0 actually start? If you're going to say 2006, I would say it would definitely be pretty late in '06. Of course, putting it earlier at '06 makes schizer a 2.0'er, so there is that benefit.

oops fixed

And the dates are loose, dang. Plus I wanna hear a long explanation for your 4.0!!!!

And I fixed the dates a bit, because you are right, it wasn't until early 2007 that 2.0 began.

4.0..hmm, when we convince 3.0'ers that ref 4 ref trades are not bad! I think we'll just get a bunch of .....so never mind...lol.

Now I guess I'm not quite as elite.

And I can guess who said 4, lol.

I don't know, I do see your point, but then again I think the people who registered way back in 04' don't look at the 06' users as 1.0's ( I wouldn't know since I'm from mid-late 07') to me it seems like every 2 years its a new set, but thats just my thoughts I see it as Wave 4, but since you brought all the 2.0, 3.0 thing I think you can call it whatever you want, lol.

Edited: Ex:

??-04
05-06
07-08
09-??

Pssh - I'd say 2.0 didn't get into full swing until shortly after I joined in early January '07, but I definitely like your layout.

Also, as your layout is now, I fit into no category :'( lol - I was 18 when I joined, not 20-70, so if you're gunna lump me in with the 'terrible 2.0s' crowd, at least let me fit in dang it -_- lol

I will agree with you about the 3 phase thing, though you seem to be missing the all-important GPT sites that have gone with the wayside in 2.0-3.0 with more than a few of the sites I made hundreds off of before I was even 18 (and before I joined here or even knew about the freebie sites) went out for lack of business. (RIP Wild4Cash)

You're in a league of your own.

lmao apparently - Though in my view, that's better than being 2.0

2004 represent, woooooo.

Voting for the popular 3rd option.

I'm 3.0 I suppose... meh.

But in my defense, I g4g. So good for me.

Even though the 'only being after money' is quite true. Still... mehhh.

Ha, you're like a hybrid 3.0'er. A 3.5'er if you will. One that does g4g trades...woo.

My vote is 3 because of emoneys reasoning. Do I get to be 1.0 even though I didn't sign up here until January 07? I think signing up for a free site in August of 05 and receiving a Xbox360 and Doom 3 for the PC qualifies me.

Woah '07....it seems like you've been here forever.

Just the fact, that you gave out a free green for the best story pushes you to 1.0 status. That had to be the greatest ref 4 cash thread ever.

EDIT: and that's on top of the free one you gave me on youripods4free.

MAN... YOU ROCK!

I'd actually split it up into about 6. I'm not sure on dates so I'll leave these as best guesses (also I wasn't around in the early days...)

2004-2006: The FreePay era

Freebies weren't well known, basically everyone had "heard of a friend of a friend" who got a free iPod, but most people didn't believe it.

2006-2007: The Ref-4-Ref era

Forums start getting established and people start doing multiple freebie sites, rather than just trying to get an iPod. Most trading is ref-4-ref, most sites only require one offer. Everyone seems to manage to figure out freebies without the aid of extensive guides or mentors (it's not a complicated process, folks). Forums like A4F offer free advice to anyone who has questions.

early to middle 2007: The PPD boom

A4F, FLR, and other forums are flooded with newbies attracted to the "get rich quick" opportunity of doing offers for cash. These members were usually introduced to freebies through Project PayDay, an eBook which discussed freebies. Newbies were preyed on my veterans, and were often convinced that freebies required complicated instructions, mentorship, or referrals in exchange for advice. Referrals-4-cash becomes the big thing, and due to the influx of new people who aren't yet working on sites, referrals are cheap. I remember $15/ref being common.

middle 2007-end of 2007: The freebie "crash"

The increase of people wanting to do offers for cash leads to an increase in offer fraud. Several affiliate networks withdraw from the freebie scene, greatly reducing the number of available offers. New sites start cropping up all over the place. Concurrently, the PPD generation starts wanting to GET referrals, rather than just BE a referral. Huge demand for referrals and a limited number of offers causes the price of referrals to skyrocket. New sites have to offer "free greens" and other promos/incentives. Referral-4-referral trading loses popularity.

2008: The recovery

The freebie industry starts to recover, despite many fears of its demise. Some of the new sites thrive, while others die off. More offers start to become available and while it's not back to the glory days, things start to look up.

2009: The downfall of FLR?

We'll see where this goes. My hope is that the PPD generation will learn that freebies are about fun, friendship, and free stuff, not complicated directions, "work at home businesses", fake "mentorship", and dictatorships.

What she said.

Well, then you signed up for a freebie site in August 05. Just because you weren't in this particular forum doesn't mean you weren't doing freebies, so you're 1.0.




Best paragraph in this thread.

I'm a 1.0. I feel like a rockstar.

I totally agree.

Good points jen, especially what kyle quoted.

I added the option for 6 phases, if anyone needs me to change their vote, post eh.

Yeah sure, change my vote to JWren's thought out logic. I agree with her, yours is right too but its mostly based around the occurrences on A4F.

My vote was a 5 but should be a 6, not a big deal tho.

I agree with most people on here, including those who see it as 3 phases. It just depends on how fine a granularity you use to split phases.

I bet I could split it to 10 phases. But then my explanation would turn out to be longer than a freebie tutorial/guide, and we don't want that....

changed 2 votes for ya!

I still think emoney's 3 is the best option. Jenny had good points, but I think some of those would be more like 1.5 or whatever. I think another major factor contributing to the downfall in decent trades is offer weights. Who wants to do a ref 4 ref trade when you have to do 4 offers just to get a $40-$50 referral?

According to emoney's breakdown I am definitely a phase 3'er. But I feel that with carious changes that have already gone on this year we are already in a 4th phase. But like others have stated, I guess we could break it down into many many phases if we really try.

No kidding. This is one of the reasons I pretty much quit trading.