offerpal

Alternative payment methods enable developers to monetize significantly larger portions of their user base, according to a study released Wednesday.

Fifty-three percent of social gamers surveyed for the study, overseen by ComScore and Offerpal Media, said they are enthusiastic about alternative, or indirect, payment methods as a way to earn virtual currency for free, rather than having to pay for it directly.

These alternative forms of payment take many forms, including filling out a survey, watching a video, shopping at online retailers, or signing up for a subscription in order to get points for the games they play on leading … Read more

Offerpal Media, one of the companies at the center of a bitter dispute over misleading advertisements on social networks, on Thursday launched a revised policy designed to "forbid any offers that are misleading, deceptive or otherwise objectionable."

Companies like Offerpal are enlisted by many of the big gaming companies built on social networks like Facebook; they help those companies make money by letting game players earn points and virtual goods by completing offers and surveys rather than paying real money.

They make a lot of money doing so. So do the game companies, like Zynga and Playfish (recently acquired by Electronic Arts), … Read more

It looks like the brouhaha surrounding social-app moneymaker Offerpal Media is bigger than founder Anu Shukla's "sh*t, double sh*t, and bullsh*t" response to the accusation that its business is built on scamming consumers. It's got upcoming developments in two lawsuits, one in which it's the plaintiff and one in which Shukla is a defendant.

VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi reported Thursday that a lawsuit was filed in an Alameda County, Calif., superior court against Shukla and co-founder Michael Liu on behalf of Kevin Halpern, who alleges that he helped found the company and … Read more

Offerpal Media, a company that helps social-network app creators make money from offers and surveys, on Tuesday announced that it had replaced its CEO in the wake of a high-profile onstage argument at a conference and subsequent press over whether it's scamming consumers who fill out offers in order to earn virtual goods in social games.

Anu Shukla, who founded the company and had been serving as CEO since its 2007 launch, will be replaced by George Garrick, who has served as the CEO of Flycast Communications, Wine.com, Jingle Networks, and Mochi Media. Shukla "will still be … Read more

Message Systems, a company that offers message management platforms for carriers and ISPs, announced the launch of its first message management service that "combats the transmission of illegal and inappropriate images sent via email and wireless messaging." According to the company, the tool will use image recognition software developed by Image Analyzer to provide ISPs and mobile carriers with better knowledge about what's being transmitted over their networks.

Detecting illegal and illicit images has been difficult for ISPs and mobile carriers, Message Systems said in a statement. But with the help of Image Analyzer's technology, ISPs … Read more