Still Hope for iHype?

Is there hope for iHype after all?  At one time I would have said no, but it seems that iHype’s owner Ben Behrouzi isn’t giving up on this venture though measurable gains are still not all that apparent.

The last time I visited iHype there was no visible way to test the system.  In fact, I only managed to find my way to the beta sign up form because iHype was running advertising through Google’s AdSense network that made it appear that iHype was already a fully functional marketplace for paid advertising. At the time it was not.  As far as I can tell, it is not now.

iHype is finally allowing people to sign up for the public beta, though last I checked there isn’t much in the way of opportunities to test whether the system is working. I’m not sure if this is true of all blog rankings and types and as a test I just signed up my PR5 cooking blog to see if iHype has opportunities available for a mid-ranked blog.  As far as the PR3 health related blog I signed up there in July, there were no opportunities at all the last time I checked.  I will update here if it turns out that there are opportunities for the higher ranked blog.

But the hype rolls on

The thing is, Both Mr. Behrouzi and the about page at iHype have much to say about the service that the service itself isn’t living up to.  For starters, the iHype About page has a lot to say about the way the company would like to see itself, beginning it’s introduction with the following:

Welcome to the web’s largest socialsphere marketing platform. iHype delivers a powerful socialsphere marketing platform that empowers online marketers with the ability to market their products & services in a deep, organic, grass-roots online social approach through an exponentialy growing web of individual and institutional web publishers. This innovatively fluid exchange of advertisers and publishers allows marketers to leverage the online socialsphere, while providing all publishers with an avenue to generate substantial new revenue.

This is an impressive statement and I for one wish it were true.  Unfortunately it just reads as so much more spin, considering the lack of any tangible evidence, at least from my perspective, that iHype has managed to garner any significant numbers of advertisers offering opportunities on this platform.

This lack of tangible motion at iHype doesn’t seem to deter Mr. Behrouzi from having a wonderful outlook, or starting more new ventures, however.  His personal blog, Ben Behrouzi’s MaxStartup recently posted a very happy second birthday notice in regards to his company DotNext, inc.  This notice only very briefly mentions iHype, but does speak pretty highly of DotNext’s latest venture, LeapFish, an aggregate search provider which is something along the lines of DogPile on steroids. Mr. Behrouzi also goes on to thank his team for a great year, which is a very nice touch.

In defense of the team at DotNext.  Unlike iHype, which still feels unfinished and the yet-to-be unveiled Ziddler, LeapFish not only works, but it works well.  In a brief test of seaches I performed using LeapFish and DogPile, leapFish gave far more relevant results every single time in a much broader spectrum.  I’ll probably use it in the future.

Not all buzz is good buzz

Unfortunately, most of the buzz surrounding Mr. Behrouzi and his ventures is negative. Much of the news concentrates on Mr. Behrouzi himself, but quite a bit of it focuses on the tactics of his sales staff.  If any of this is true it may very well be a factor in iHype’s lack of blog posting opportunities.  Since I am not a business analyst or trade reporter, nor have I worked with either Mr. Behrouzi or had conversation with anyone in his employ, I cannot offer an opinion on this subject.

If you are interested in reading what others have to say on the subject, simply Google Ben Behrouzi and form your own opinion.  I am not interested in turning this blog into a forum for discussing the man or his tactics. It is my wish to stick to his internet properties as they relate to monetization.

Why I want iHype to suceed

So why am I revisiting iHype if it seems that very little has happened since the last time I reported on it?  Becaue I want it to suceed.  While the concept behind iHype isn’t very different from established networks like PayPerPost, SocialSpark, LoudLaunch and Smorty, the payment structure is revolutionary in the world of Paid Posting companies.

While most paid posting companies rely on a Net 30 or Net 14 payout schedule, iHype promises a 24 hour turnaround on payments.  For bloggers just starting out or for those days when what you really need to do is boost your short-term income, this payment model is ideal.  Not only does it serve to get you paid quickly, it gives bloggers a heavy motivation to post more, because the results are nearly instantaneous.  it’s the kind of payment that the Internet has long promised, but seldom realized. To put it in short form, it’s what a lot of us have been waiting for.

iHype needs to get the ball rolling and get advertisers in the marketplace.

The determining factor as to whether iHype will thrive or fail is advertisers.  Even with a million bloggers signed up, not having opportunities for them will very quickly garner them a reputation they may not be able to recover from.  Hopefully with the new year and the economic crunch they will be able to attract some advertisers who have traditionally shied away from Internet ads with the promise of a lower advertising cost and more exposure.

Unfortunately, they will have to look outside the Silicone Valley for these companies, as nearly the entire internet industry sprung out of the area and it’s unlikely that most have not been involved in online advertising for quite some time.

For the moment, iHype is a tantalizing promise, but one with very little time to start delivering.  The company needs to get a working model in place and attract a lot of bloggers so that they can convince advertisers that their marketplace isworth the expense of advertising with.  On the other hand, to attract bloggers, they will have to offer something for us to do.

At the very least, iHype needs to offer a series of house-paid ads for bloggers to accept.  If they are interested in attracting bloggers with higher PageRank, they’ll have to offer a few higher-paying opportunities as well.  I know that I for one rarely accept any offer that pays less than $15.00 and I prefer to take those that pay considerably more.  I already have the potential for income, so to get me to accept an opportunity I have to feel it’s worth the time it will take to write it, otherwise I will go elsewhere. I’m sure that other bloggers who are already making a decent income from paid posts will feel the same, regardless of how fast the payment turnaround is.

Time will tell

iHype is a good concept.  It’s based on a business model that works, but it’s one that only works if the pieces are all in place and your sales staff is nothing short of a group of miracle workers.  It also requires a customer support staff that rarely, if ever, drops the ball.  The reason that PayPerPost and Izea work as well as they do is due in large part to Customer Love and Founder Ted Murphy‘s vision and tenacity in business and his absolute genious in promotion.

If nothing else, iHype should be looking to Ted as a role model for this type of business. Ted has not only made it work, he’s excelled at it.  If you’re going to play in the paid post market, he’s the man to model your business after.

If all the pieces get put in place before iHype manages to fall under it’s own weight, I’ll be first in line to add each and every blog I own to their roster.  I’m a capitalist, as I’m sure you are, or you wouldn’t be reading this.  For now however, iHype is still bordering on vaporware and until there’s some work for me to do there, I’ll stick with what works for me now.

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