I wouldn't say it's innovative, given the existence of companies like AllAdvantage [1] or ePIPO [2] well over a decade ago.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AllAdvantage
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zango_%28company%29#1999.E2.80...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AllAdvantage
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zango_%28company%29#1999.E2.80...
The down-side was the overhead, it was a noticeable strain on my computer, which is what prompted me to set it up on a dedicated machine. Pretty sure I was on dial-up then too, which just made things worse.
There was a large group of us on IRC all doing the same thing. Little jerks like us ruined it for everyone.