Here’s the deal: The site looks to be something like PayPal, where members can send money to each other for free. Also, once the money is sent, it’s in your Revolution account until you elect to send it to your bank account, send it to someone else, or maybe spend it at a participating merchant’s site.

The only “catch” I see is that this offer ends in less than a month (May 15th – extended from April 15), and you have to provide your social security number; however, since you eventually have to provide your bank account info, this is relatively harmless. The site uses most of the same security features found on the major banks’ websites, and accounts are issued by First Bank & Trust, SD, Member FDIC (which I do not believe PayPal is, so there’s added protection there too).

To read more about the bank, start here, then check out the website fully.

Here’s a screenshot of what the “inside” of the site looks like, as well as verification of the $25. it was in the account as soon as I logged in the first time, and whenever I actually click the “Accept” button, it will be deposited into my account:

Click picture for larger image

However, instead of earning links the old-fashioned way (producing good content and getting people to visit because of value), some people want to take the easy way out and simply pay to play on the internet. This isn’t unheard of, and sometimes it may make sense, but let me give you the skinny on this site and it’s business model, because I was included in the beta testing last year:

Basically, to get a link, a website has to have a link to your website located somewhere on theirs. If you operate a blog, this will come through as an incoming link, pingback or trackback. These are good because it says that not only are people coming to your website, other people are actually writing about it!

Well 20 links is (was) a collection of blogs that can offer links back to your site. However, there’s one big problem: YOU have to register for the site, upload one of your articles (or short description of an article you wrote), include your own link, then publish it. So it’s basically like you are operating two sites (your own and this one), only you didn’t pay to set it up or register it. Furthermore, you have to do this on EVERY SITE in the 20 links network.

You can see that after a while, this can get REALLY time consuming.

Da Hustler did this for a while and got decent results, but I only want to operate the blogs I own, not explicitly help someone else build up their network. Now these guys are back with basically the same business model, only they want you to pay a MONTHLY FEE to get links to your site! You do ALL the work, and pay them for the privilege! Can’t believe it? Check out this snippet from their FAQ:

Question: Won’t I risk a duplicate content penalty if my article gets published all across the network on umpteen sites?
Answer: No, because it won’t be. Every submitted article is published only once within our network. So, to get 600 links a month you’ll submit 600 unique articles. No duplicate content allowed!

And following that question, here’s the next:

Question: Where will the articles come from?
Answer:You are responsible for creating your own articles. If you don’t have the time, the resources or the inclination to attend to this part of the link building process yourself, we suggest you outsource the task.

WTF?! If this isn’t the biggest load of crap that I’ve seen in a long time, I don’t know what is. Who writes 20 articles a day? I don’t know ANY website – including MSN, Yahoo! and whatever else – that has 20 updates or additions on their page throughout the day at best, maybe 5 or 6, but they are NEWS sites, not blogs). Trust me, writing that much per day will drive away readers, not pull them in. It will seem like a desperate attempt at gaining attention. Oh, and the pricing? Please, if you are drinking or eating something, please remove it from being near your computer, and finish chewing or swallowing before you take a look at this:

20 Links A Day™ Standard Account Subscription • $157 per month (avg. $5.2/day)
20 Links A Day™ Premium Account Subscription • $197 per month (avg. $6.5/day)

So basically for a little less than the price of AN ACTUAL DOMAIN on 1&1 ($6.99), you can get a link to your site. Oh, excuse me, you can get up to 20 links, that is, if you publish 20 articles in a single day. On another website. AND your own website. Copy and paste from yours to theirs 20 times. then do the hokey pokey, and turn yourself around, cause that’s what it’s all about. I’m telling you, they should take this comedy act on the road! Please, for the love of God, do not give away your money to this company. If you must, give to the less fortunate, give to Da Hustler, heck, give some to a Nigerian Prince. But don’t say you haven’t been warned.

**UPDATE: Looks like the owner or someone who works for the site felt compelled to defend themselves below in the comments. Be sure to check out what they said, and then Da Hustler’s rebuttal.

Two weeks ago I wrote about my dislike for web contests, and as on Monday, August 20th (two days ago), it was apparent why. Ashwin of AshwinKhanna.com recently held a CONtest supposedly worth $2,500 to the winner, and news of it spread through the web like wildfire. It elevated his Technorati ratings from near obscurity to the top 5,000. Only being in existence for a little over a month, this is a feat that very few blogs can accomplish, contest or not.

However, it appears that no congratulations is in order.

The contest ran through August 20th, and at that time the winner was announced: BloggerSlogger. Who is BloggerSlogger? Beats the heck out of me, and a lot of other people as well! The site looks like it was just put together, and…coincidence? The only post is one that talks about the CONtest over at AshwinKhanna.com, posted on AUGUST 19th! It’s a Wordpress blog, so we can’t see the WHOIS information, but nine times out of ten it belongs to none other than Ashwin himself.

Watch this video review that captures both websites in their essence as of Tuesday, August 21 (check back if video does not appear immediately, YouTube is running slow today):

Website: www.ashwinkhanna.com
Online Since: July 7, 2007
Google PageRank: 0
Alexa Rating: 339,133
Technorati Ranking: 7,745 (and dropping fast)
Technorati Authority: 468 (and dropping fast)
RSS Subscribers: 39 Monday; 27 Tuesday and dropping fast (removed as of Tuesday afternoon)
Top Commentator Plugin: Yes
Do-Follow Enabled: No
Best Feature: No sorry half-ass explanation
Worst Feature: Absolutely no explanation
Why you should visit this site: There is absolutely no reason to

Hustler’s Rating: 0 hustle men (out of 5)

AshwinKhanna.com is a disgrace to the hustle. Please remove all links to his site if you have any in your blogroll or posts, and spread the news so he cannot start another one.

*These figures may have risen or fallen since the video and post were originally produced.

Promises of riches, big houses, nice cars, exotic vacations and more time with your family are all apart of the MLM dream scheme. The marketers who promote their programs know how to tap into the emotions of people in order to get them to sign on to whatever they are selling — and it works.

I should know. I was also a victim.

Although I didn’t lose as much as others, I did buy into the possibility of what might happen if I gave it a try anyway. When I look back, sometimes I hate myself for going through that experience, but not only has it made me stronger, but it has given me the tools necessary to help all of you out there avoid the same mistake, and possibly help to open the eyes or may be involved in those programs right now.

It doesn’t matter what program you are in, because the fundamental practices of each one are very similar. For this hustle supplement, I’ve found a couple of videos done by Dateline NBC that highlight the highs and lows of these programs, and expose the dirty secrets behind their marketing practices. Some of what you see will be shocking — stuff that I didn’t even realize when I was involved. Armed with this knowledge, I hope it helps those of you out there to make an educated decision about your economic future.

Dateline Investigation, Part I

Dateline Investigation, Part II

Also, for a more detailed and in-depth look at MLM ‘opportunities’, go over to this forum where you can get first-hand accounts from people who were members, and people who are or who used to be distributors.

Anything that people do to try to convince themselves (and you) that there is legitimate money to be made in their activity or line of work. Basically, if there is a high sales pitch involved because the average person would see this fake hustle a mile away, it’s more than likely a fake hustle.

Run. Away. Quickly.

One of the biggest forms of the fake hustle is any type of Multi-Level Marketing program. Also called Network Marketing, Access Marketing, etc., these schemes basically necessitate that you get other people to sign up for something, then get them to do the same thing that you are doing — a fake hustle. You may have heard of some of these FH’s before:

• Tahitian Noni
• Melaleuca
• Xango
• YTB
• Amway
• Quixtar
• Mary Kay
• and on and on

A good way to tell if an hustle is really a MLM job in disguise is to closely listen to the people who present it to you. Often, they will be all geeked up to tell you about the “next big thing” or an awesome “opportunity.” These are keywords you should recognize so that you can start planning your exit from the conversation. Here are some traits and actions that you will also notice:

• Your friends — the ones you haven’t talk to in years or do not talk to on a regular basis — will call and ask about what you are doing in your life, and if you want to make more money. (this is always a trap because who doesn’t want to make more money? Except for maybe Bill Gates)
• People you know will be overly eager to get in contact with you so they could show you an “opportunity.”
• You will be invited to see a “demonstration” of something at your friends house, but they won’t tell you what it is
• You will be invited to a “briefing” and are asked to dress business casual, and again, you will not know why you are doing this
• You will be asked to leave your kids at home
• Almost always, the product or opportunity in question will have something to do with your health
• Someone will want “only 5 minutes of your time” for you to listen to a speech that is done on the spot or pre-recorded in a telephone message.
• People will try to preempt your questions or concerns by answering whatever questions they think you might have, or the ones that are most common
• You will be shown a book with check stubs of the person who is presenting the opportunity to you, or of some well-known person in that industry
• You will be shown news reports, magazine articles, and any other publication that makes the “opportunity” seem real and legit
• Virtually any question you ask will have an answer, and if it doesn’t, they will wonder why you are asking that question anyway
• You will be drawn into a room full of people who are abnormally excited and happy about whatever it is that they are selling, almost to the point where it is just plain sickening and you will desperately be looking for the exit
• You will find the representatives adorned with magnets, stickers, pins, hats, shirts, bumper stickers, car magnets, license plate frames and covers, pens, pencils, and even jewelry advertising the product they are promoting
• Basically people will treat their product as an idol, to the point where Jesus himself will be extremely jealous
• The “information sessions” are poorly disguised pep rallies where the audience is in agreement with everything the presenter says and does. Also, there will be “bona fide leaders” strategically placed within the audience to try to add to the realism of the opportunity, and sometimes they will get up and speak to the crowd

To be fair, there have been a lot of people who have made a decent living doing this kind of thing. They followed the system to a ‘T’, and it has worked wonders for their lives. I do applaud their efforts, because they have beat the odds and found something that works for them. Also, the companies that offer these opportunities these days are mostly legitimate entities, they fully comply with all laws and ordinances, and they are usually staffed and operated just like a regular brick-and-mortar business.

However, the major problem with these programs is that most times, only the people at the very top of the compensation plan make any real money worth writing home to momma. Everyone else is doing most of the hustling, and all for the same group of customers. Imagine going to the store on Black Friday, seeing virtually everyone fight over the same items. This is basically what MLM people do — they fight each other for new recruits. It tends to be a never ending cycle that can leave many very fatigued and angry at both the companies involved and themselves. You have to really ask yourself is this the type of thing that you want to do for the long-term?

Well, this serves as just a basic overview of the problem I see with MLM programs. Also, be on the lookout for a follow-up to this post, where I will have video evidence of the behind-the-scenes scheme that the marketers DON’T tell you. It promises to be very juicy.

But in general, a Multi-Level Marketing opportunity is NOT the business.

Please, no MLM’s. Get you a new hustle.