Cybergold started under the name Cyber-Bucks, which explains the whole idea. Instead of hoping people would notice an ad, advertisers paid Cybergold only when a member did something specific, like reading an offer or signing up for a trial, and Cybergold passed real cash to the member. By the middle of 1999 the Bay Area company had about 2.6 million members. That September it went public as one of the web's attention merchants.

Earn and Spend

Nathaniel Goldhaber, a venture investor, became chief executive when the company was formed in California in October 1994. Meaningful revenue only began in March 1997. Cybergold called its system Earn and Spend: members earned cash for responding to offers, and could spend it on digital goods through Cybergold's own micropayment system. The bet was that advertisers would rather pay for actions than for eyeballs, and that consumers would trade a little attention for a little money.

Folded Into MyPoints

Cybergold sold 5 million shares at $9 in September 1999 and listed on Nasdaq as CGLD. Its rivals, like MyPoints, paid members in points instead of cash. In 2000 MyPoints agreed to buy Cybergold, giving 0.48 of a MyPoints share for each Cybergold share, and the merger closed that summer. A year later United Airlines' venture arm bought MyPoints itself.

Cover: Danae and the Shower of Gold, Johann Carl Loth. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a shower of gold (paid attention).