National Lampoon has acquired a minority stake in the get paid to use if you give them money first social networking site Capazoo.
We first wrote about Capazoo December 10, when we explained the model which Capazoo claims in its media release is a “ground-breaking business model empowering its members and partners to generate real revenues based on their content and site participation.” To quote for the earlier post:
Where Capazoo differs is its offer to compensate its users for the time spent on the site and the activities they undertake. Members can tip other members using “Zoops,” Capzoo’s points program that can be redeemed for cash. Members also receive Zoops for inviting friends and posting content. It sounds good, but there is a catch: to redeem Zoops users must join one of Capazoo’s two premium membership programs which cost $24.95 or $34.95 per year. Users can also buy additional Zoops to give to others at the rate of $10 for 10,000 Zoops.
Under the deal National Lampoon will provide online video content and “branded marketing opportunities” to Capazoo.
There has to be some irony in a company known for comedy investing in a social networking site with a Web 1.0 multi-level marketing scheme as its business model. As I said in the previous post “a model that only pays out when you pay up won’t find millions of fans. With $25 million in the bank the site certainly won’t be heading to the Deadpool anytime soon but it will struggle to succeed;” given Capazoo has just taken on a new investor maybe it’s already struggling?