[ttol]

I was never paid by Napster, Inc (although probably should have been ;). Those were fun times. My career was just getting started so it was my pleasure to volunteer my time -- 8 to 10 hours a day. I was responsible for the Napster Ground Zero effort, which I started and managed. I was an administrator there -- not just only a chat moderator volunteer on the Napster service (although I did have the chat moderator access level as well). The Napster Ground Zero service was insanely popular and allowed napster users to have a persistent identity online, beyond just the chat service. I received a written recommendation from a Napster cofounder and created some great relationships, which was great at that early time in my career. I appreciate every moment of that experience. On a side note, it was great to connect with them again in person at the Napster 10-year reunion last year (can you believe it's already been over 10 years now?). Shawn Fanning throws amazing parties.

As for AllAdvantage, I was a security consultant there. This was a paid position. I was involved directly with the company (and have maintained contact with some of the people there over the years, including the CEO). The software I created, first of its kind called MyAdvantage, got their attention. I was asked to be a security consultant for them to hunt down other software and to help protect their Viewbar software. I agreed and helped with the onslaught of the waves of similar software to my original. Sadly, their business model was fundamentally flawed, but that's an entirely different story.

Great times back then. Heady days of the last dot-com boom.