Every few months or so we see another social network pop up and entice new users with promises of payouts to users that simply join and use the site. It’s an incentive method that site owners have used for years, playing both sides by joining marketers and eyeballs. When you can’t gain immediate traction, such incentives are quite necessary, though oftentimes the end result is the same–you need a great deal of users in order to maintain site operations.

Nevertheless the public beta of Spiffbox has debuted the latest social network that has taken a familiar tactic to an age-old problem. Spiffbox will pay you to join the site, invite friends and send messages to each other. Plain and simple. Once you’ve racked up $20 worth of points, you can request your check. Cha-ching!

So will Spiffbox work? There are a few aspects of Spiffbox that caught my eye, particularly since the need to monetize one’s user base has become a growing problem for several social sites out there. Spiffbox doesn’t have display ads on its site, and has already incorporated Twitter and Facbook into its grand scheme to make money which is passed down to its users.

One of the methods for encouraging activity on the Spiffbox site may also be another way in which Spiffbox plans to make money. You can earn points quite easily on the site by requesting and offering advice from and to other users. Combine this with the Facebook and Twitter integration, and it appears that Spiffbox may b looking to create a database of user profiles that aggregate real time status updates and potential market research in the form of recommendations amongst its users.

Spiffbox also has a Facebook application, which appears to be a mini version of its actual website. I found this particularly interesting, as there are several paralells between Spiffbox and the way in which brands look to monetize (or at least create a decent return on investment for) their applications on social networks such as Facebook. To a large extent, Spiffbox could benefit moreso from its Facebook app than its standalone website.

The other reason I thought Spiffbox’s launch was noteworthy is because it speaks to the ongoing desire to more efficiently monetize a user base. Other sites such as Referralville have taken to Twitter and Facebook, along with personal recommendations of sorts, in order to provide more value to users than just a check in the mail, while gathering important consumer data and generating leads all the while. As much as we may laugh or shudder at the thought of a site promoting such an incentive method, the need to monetize a user base has not disappeared.