A Monetization Model That Requires No Funding or Advertising...

Prestige. Yep, the monetization model of choice these days seems to be based on prestige and achievement. Basically, sites create an opportunity for users to move upward through a game or exercise and then broadcast their upward movement to their social network. But how does prestige turn into real money?

• Purchase of "virtual" goods or services - game players are granted free virtual currency at the start of games. But when this currency runs out (and games are hooked to the game), gamers are asked to replenish their coffers by purchasing more "virtual" currency with real currency (most likely from a credit card or PayPal account). Some sites will also give out virtual currency for taking a survey, or a lead-generation offer (trial subscription to Netflix).
• Product discounts - the person at the top of a leaderboard may be offered discounts at real-world establishments.

Of course, there are companies that do not really need to monetize presitge; instead, they offer prestige services to fulfill their other business goals, such as time spent on site (which will ultimately lead to higher advertising revenue for the site).

The prestige model is still new and has several limitations. What if a specific game goes out of style or people get irritated with having to continually purchase virtual currency? That being said, I have a feeling this model will evolve and be around for quite a while. After all, it taps into people's desire to be the best (and have other people know about it).