Speedyclick.com

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SpeedyClick.com was an entertainment-based website operating out of Glendale, CA circa 1998 – 2001. The site featured contests, original content, and free web-style games such as blackjack, bingo, and virtual slot machines. By spending time on the site, registered users accumulated virtual currency known as “SpeedyBucks” that they could then redeem for prizes such as clothing or mousepads, or trade with other users in an eBay-style bartering area. SpeedyClick had a banner ad-style revenue model and also developed custom product placement games for various corporate sponsors.

At its peak, SpeedyClick had more than 3 million monthly visitors, with a 7.3 percent reach of women on the Internet, and more than 1 million registered users [1]. In an attempt to employ additional revenue models, SpeedyClick also marketed various B2B services to startup wannabes, touting custom web design services incorporating SpeedyClick’s “StickyEngine”.

In November 1999, Seattle-based ShopNow (later Network Commerce Inc.) acquired SpeedyClick for $47 million in ShopNow stock and $3 million in cash [2].

SpeedyClick succumbed to the dot com bust in a fashion typical to many web-centric companies of their time. By late 2001, floundering Network Commerce Inc., delisted from NASDAQ and pursued by investors [3], closed the doors of its various offices, including SpeedyClick. Its former URL now routes to one of the ubiquitous type-in traffic harvest search pages.

[edit] Connections with Scientology

The founders of SpeedyClick, Farid Tabibzadeh and Shahab Emrani[4] are both OT VIIIs[5][6], the highest currently attainable level of the Church of Scientology. Doug Dohring, Scientologist and CEO of NeoPets, was a significant shareholder and personal acquaintance of Tabibzadeh and Emrani[7][8]. Donna Williams, co-founder of NeoPets, worked as an administrative assistant at SpeedyClick for a short period of time. Like NeoPets, SpeedyClick was run according to Scientology business management techniques.

[edit] Connection with Spam

Throughout its existence, SpeedyClick heavily promoted itself by way of spamvertising [9], and after its demise, the principals have gone on to other business ventures where they have further exploited lax spam regulations.

Through the same business address (111 N. Jackson, Glendale), Tabibzadeh and Emrani currently are involved in other businesses including Hi Speed Media, AdPro Solutions, and RxToday which Spamhaus has listed as current hard-core and unrepentant spammers[10]. Farshad Fardad, formerly the Vice President of Sales at SpeedyClick, is now the General Manager of Promotions and e-Commerce for ValueClick[11]. ValueClick acquired Hi Speed Media in December 2003[12] and is also now listed on ROKSO through its connections with Hi Speed[13].

In addition, Georgi Kara Yacoubian, another long-term ROKSO list member[14], worked at SpeedyClick from 1999 through 2000.