Nerdy Life

There is one website that allows you to own a piece of the internet simply by registering. Dan Harrison, founder of ownMySite.com, unveiled his site in August. Since then, oMS has grown to over “500 registered users” or shareholders.

The idea behind oMS is simple - reward users for doing what they already do online everyday. Use the site for searches and shopping and you are rewarded with a proportionate share of 50% of the sites total revenue for that month. I was intrigued by the idea and I wanted to see if the site would really payout. At the end of August, I am pleased to announce that I received a payment for doing nothing more than using ownMySite.com for Google searches.

What is even more exciting, Dan Harrison agreed to an interview with Nerdy Life. Here’s what Harrison had to say…

Nerdy Life: What prompted you to launch ownMySite.com? Where you inspired by a particular website or company?

Dan Harrison: The reason I launched ownMySite.com was because I saw an opening for a site that would reward users for doing the everyday things they already do on the web i.e. shopping and searching. I knew how much revenue these activities generate for search engines and comparison sites and wanted to give some of this back to users. I also wanted to create an opportunity for people to earn money from home.

How many people have registered on the site?

The site currently has over 500 registered users and is growing by the day. (As of August 25th)

If a person registers but never uses the site for web searching or shopping, do they still stand gain financially?

They will initially have a small stake simply by visiting the site and registering but their stake will diminish the longer they go without returning to use the site. But users do not need to buy anything to build up their share.

How does ownMySite.com differ from other paid-to-surf companies?

The unique selling point of my site is that members will own a permanent interest in the site, so the bigger it gets, the more valuable the brand becomes and should the site ever be acquired, all members will receive a share in 50% of the proceeds.

Members also know that they will share in exactly half the profits of the site so there can be no ambiguity. I am not paying people in some worthless online currency or token scheme that can only be used with certain retailers. I am paying people in cash via their email address so they can do what they want from the proceeds. No bank details are required on ownMySite.com.

Is ownMySite.com your first online venture?

ownMySite.com is my first personal online venture but my day job is working as a full time Java developer for a large online property listing company.

Is your ultimate goal for the site to be acquired by another company?

Not necessarily but I want to make it clear to members that they will share in this, should it happen.

Did you develop the tracking code for ownMySite.com?

No, it’s a combination of different freely available analytical tools.

Are there any exciting updates in the pipeline for the site that you would like to mention?

The main thing I am working on at the moment is product feeds and price comparison tools from the retailers. The hope is that for each retailers page you will then get a comprehensive search and comparison tool specific to the retailer. And one central sitewide search so you can find the product you want rather than just the retailer.

Thank you for your time Mr. Harrison!