Well, there goes my $30 or so in adBrite dividends that came in every few months.

The company, which bills itself as "the largest independent ad exchange, reaching 300 million global unique visitors every month, including more than 150 million in the U.S.," has notified its advertising and publishing partners that it will cease operations on Feb. 1. (I've been using adBrite for several years to run ads on a community website that I run on the side...I've found adBrite to be a fine partner, much more responsive than Google AdSense.)

[12 geekiest snow & ice sculptures]

According to AllThingsD, adBrite's efforts to sell itself fell through. The publication says AdBrite had raised some $40 million in funding over the years, led by Sequoia Capital, to support its targeted advertising system.

Here's the goodbye note that San Franciso-based adBrite sent to partners like myself. It's unclear whether our last few pennies worth of ads sold will result in any payback.

Dear adBrite Publisher,

we have decided to cease operations on Feb 1, 2013.

Over the last few weeks, adBrite and its management have been evaluating the go-forward plan for the business. Given market conditions and certain financial liabilities, in working with our lenders,

This is a difficult decision for all of us at adBrite. However, after much deliberation this seems to be the best course of action despite the impact it will have on all the employees, clients and partners who helped build this business. There will be a team in place as needed to assist with winding down.

Thank you for being part of the adBrite community.

The adBrite Team