Skyrider, developer of a new peer-to-peer networking platform, today will unveil plans to monetize file-sharing networks. The company is looking to turn the decentralized mass of P2P file-sharers into
an audience that marketers can target. "We're going to be allowing media companies to engage the P2P audience as a channel, essentially, as a market," said Skyrider CEO Ed Kozel. "This is a very large
and global market. It exists today and it has really enticing demographics, but it hasn't been able to be viewed as a market or as a channel." To monetize P2P traffic, Kozel said, Skyrider aims to
serve keyword-based, contextually relevant ads alongside searches on P2P networks, rather than more content. The company is planning to launch a P2P-based product in the fall, with its initial system
funded by venture capital firms Charles River Ventures and Sequoia Capital.
