New Company, "YawnOn," Launched to Let Consumers Profit From the Use of Their Personal Marketing Information

DALLAS, July 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A new company was launched today that gives consumers a way to make money from the use of their personal marketing information.

"The dark and dirty secret of Internet cloud commerce is that everyone's information is being grabbed right out from under their noses every day and sold to marketers. Consumers get absolutely nothing for it. That's not fair. YawnOn is going to dramatically change that," said John Rochon Jr., founder and chairman of YawnOn.

"I keep thinking of that great scene in the movie 'There Will Be Blood,' where the crazy oil tycoon takes a straw, sticks it in the other guy's glass and says, 'I drink your milkshake!' He's talking about taking oil from under another person's land. Companies take information like that from consumers all the time. We think consumers ought to get paid for it."

"The consumer cloud is based on one simple thing: consumer information. It's time someone gave the consumer a tangible benefit from using it," said Rochon.

The new company invites consumers to share their marketing information by filling out online questionnaires, which will be marketed by YawnOn to companies looking for consumer data. "The big difference is that, unlike companies who just take your data without even asking permission, YawnOn will pay you a percentage of what we make from marketing the data to other companies," said Rochon.

"The most contagious thing in the world is a yawn. We named our company YawnOn because we're spreading the word that you can make money while you sleep, just for selling something that you already own – your information and your opinions."

Rochon said the company anticipates starting with access to approximately 5 million potential members.

Consumers who join YawnOn will have a choice of levels and compensation. At the most basic level, they simply provide a name, address and email. At higher levels, they provide information about their buying habits and opinions about specific kind of products and services. The company will pay its members on a sliding scale, so that the more information a member is willing to give, the more he or she will earn. YawnOn is using proprietary software to collect the consumer information.

Rochon said the company has plans for a public offering and will announce details at a later date.

Rochon said the company will reach agreements with companies who have active social networks to offer the YawnOn service to millions of consumers.

The initial phase of company's web site (www.yawnon.com) went live today. Features will be added over the coming weeks and months.

SOURCE YawnOn