What happens to social media and even social travel when tweets, Facebook status updates and emails from your friends lose all their innocence?
Or, to phrase it another way, did a member of your social network just tweet you that travel deal or offer for a session with a certified trainer because they thought you'd like it, or instead because they would get a $5 or $8 kickback -- or payout, that is -- if you buy it?
That is the operational mode of PayMeOn, a unit of MMAX Media of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which, in its own words, "is pioneering the monetization of social networks."
PayMeOn made a bit of travel news today when it announced that Azumano Travel, an American Express agency with locations in Oregon, Washington and Alaska, will become the exclusive supplier of travel-related deals for PayMeOn in Portland, Oregon.
So PayMeOn, which offers everything from laser hair-removal treatments and cleaning services to comic club coupons and vouchers in US cities, is expanding into the travel vertical with Azumano Travel and presumably other travel partners to come.
PayMeOn encourages consumers to register with the service, invite friends from their social networks and then get paid "real money" via PayPal or check when friends buy the deals.
The company calls it "social income."
Soliciting your friends to join PayMeOn from the site's Invite Friends tab leads to "anchor" payouts, the company says.
When your friends join based on your invitation, they become anchored to you, meaning you will receive a percentage of voucher deals whenever they purchase a PayMeOn deal.
Similarly, you receive a "referral" payment when you send someone a deal via Twitter, Facebook or email and they buy it from your link, the company says.
"Thanks for joining PayMeOn...now start sharing and make some money!" the company says.
OK, a lot of stuff from Twitter and Facebook is marketing-oriented, but PayMeOn takes it all to a new level.
Meanwhile, for the six months ended June 30, 2011, the PayMeOn's parent company lost more than $5 million.