RIP Gator – What Goes Around Comes Around
If you have been in the affiliate marketing industry for any period of time you remember Gator, one of the most notorious spyware/parasites. For newbies that may not be aware, parasites are affiliates that steal commission from other affiliates.
Gator launched in 1999 and morphed into Claria, I believe it was in 2003. The name change did nothing to help the company’s reputation.
In 2005 it was rumored that Microsoft wanted to buy Claria. I took credit for stopping the deal with my little cartoon on the left. 
Recently Gator quietly re-morphed from Claria to Jellycloud with an $11.5 million cash infusion cash. This week VALLYWAG reports Jellycloud went belly up.
I hate to see anyone go bankrupt, in this economy I’m afraid many companies in the ad space may. However, this is one company where I have to say – “what goes around comes around and you get what you deserve in the end!”
Sneaky ad startup Jellycloud deflates, taking $50 million-plus with it
“The online-ad network market is clogged with startups; most are bound to fail. But no death may be greeted with more joy than Jellycloud, the latest incarnation of Gator, a startup whose software was caught spying on users. A tipster tells us Jellycloud, with 36 employees, went under this weekend, with liquidators repossessing their furniture. A hard death, after a questionable birth.“
Techdirt has more in a recent story about Gator’s history and ultimate demise.
Is The Original Spyware Company Finally Dead?
New here? Subscribe to RSS feed or follow me on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!
#1 Encouragement As A Business Practice | Dr. Jim Collier's Insights & Strategies wrote on Friday, October 3rd, 2008:
[...] and there is nothing that discourages more than people trying to take advantage of you. I saw an article recently about a company in affiliate marketing that folded due to bad business practices which included cheating others out of their [...]