This morning I woke up to an article on NBC talking about the best jobs in the country right now. As always, I’m shocked not to see the reality television industry at the top, because it seems to be booming, but whatevs, we can’t all be Honey Boo Boo. (Disclaimer: I can’t watch that show because the mom is too heavy of a mouth breather, and that makes my neck hair stand up. Like nails on a chalkboard. It’s a hard limit.)
So, the interesting thing about that whole report was what was at the top of their list… Online Affiliates. Now, I’m not a scientist, but I think the basic rundown is that link is put there by a person, and that link has an ID in it specific to said person, and every time that specific link is clicked, that person earns money.
Sometimes you see affiliate links on blogs or websites that have gift guides or often talk about products allowing the site owner to earn a small percentage of what you buy by clicking that link. Many times you may not even notice the links exist, and I guess you can have mixed feelings about the whole thing, but that’s a debate for another day. I can tell you I don’t use them, but honestly, I still think the condescending Willy Wonka meme is still funny, so what do I know about being hip and savvy on the internet?
But, there is another form of affiliate link you might be super familiar with. You know, those annoying links you see embedded in websites and forums and comments sections?
This was a gr8t post, TRY THESE PENIS DRUGZ FOR YOUR SEX?
A person, or a person and his robot, puts that link there, and when you click it, they make money. I have no idea how much.
Sounds scammy? Like those infomercials for house flipping and tchotchke sales? Kinda, but that’s impossible, because it’s in a real life Careers on NBC News article, and the human lady they interviewed makes, like, $5,000 a month. So honestly, it makes sense this is a growing business, I guess I just didn’t realize it would top a jobs report. (Above Mathematician!? Sorry ’bout your luck, Little Man Tate.)
So, twice in the Top Jobs article, it links to a company called Online Business Systems, and you can get the whole entire trial for free (less shipping), by clicking the link, and this intrigued me, because being able to work from home is the new American Dream, and I say that without sarcasm. I have two parents out of work, and many friends job hunting right now, and I think my generation is one that somewhat demands and expects ownership and flexibility in their work, and the freedom of this whole affiliate thing, admittedly, sounds intriguing but also? Crazy suspicious. So before I called my dad all, OMG I SOLVED YOUR INSURANCE PROBLEM, I decided to check out the Online Business Systems website myself. It had a shocking amount of ZERO information on it, other than being super upbeat and colorful. Like a fun anime acid trip.
I was so confused, and then Jenny popped up.
So, I might as well ask her what’s up, right?
Jenny Says: Hey wait! We hate to see you go. So just this once we would like to offer you a FREE Home Business Tax Guide, along with a Prioritized Home Business Consultation! CLICK HEREto take advantage of this amazing offer!
Jenny Says:PLUS we won’t keep you waiting! We’ll ship your package immediately and schedule a consultation for you ASAP so you can get started immediately.Jenny Says: Learn how to save thousands of dollars in cash every year with a home based business — you’ll get our risk free information-packed guide 100% risk free. CLICK HEREJenny Says: I’ll be here if you have any more questions :)
You: Great, this whole thing sounds a little vague, but the pitch on NBC said no selling just posting links?
Jenny Says:Let me explain a little more. OBS is a cutting edge marketing system that allows you to build an internet-based business from the comfort of your own home.
Jenny Says:We are associated with a company that does over $3 billion in sales and is publically traded on the New York Stock exchange.Jenny Says: OBS will help you launch your business and give you all of the tools that you need and a personal business coach — the time is now! CLICK HERE
You: Wow, impressive, what company?
Jenny Says:We are so sure that this package will work for you that not only do we offer a 90-day money back guarantee, less shipping, but we will include the Home Business Tax Guide for FREE!
Jenny Says: Just CLICK HERE for the secret order page with this bonus offer.
You: Cool, awesome deal, thanks, what company is this for?
Jenny Says: You’re very welcome! :)
You: Yeah, so about my question, I like to go into business deals a bit informed, what company would I be posting links for? And is there really NO selling?
Jenny Says: We would like to offer you a FREE Home Business Tax Guide, along with a Prioritized Home Business Consultation! CLICK HERE to take advantage of this amazing offer!
You: Oh I know, I saw it was free in the NBC article, I am just weary of work from home scams, ya know?
Jenny Says: Available through this chat only I am authorized to offer you the Home Business Tax Guide Risk FREE for 14 days when you order today. Just CLICK HERE
At this point, I started to get frustrated that Jenny was not hearing my words.
You: My vagina is on fire.
Jenny Says: That is inappropriate.
You: Just making sure you are reading what I am typing because I’ve asked you a question like 5 times and you are avoiding it, which worries me, since I have to invest money in your product
Jenny Says: I am sorry, I only have limited information.
You: So wait, you have no idea what you are actually selling?
Jenny Says:Just remember, the ONLINE BUSINESS SYSTEMS Decision Package comes with our 90-day money back guarantee (less shipping & handling fees) and now for a limited time we’ll give you the Home Business Tax Guide for FREE and get a Prioritized Home Business Consultation.
Jenny Says: Your satisfaction is GUARANTEED CLICK HERE for this last-minute offer.
You: This has been crazy informative, ordering now, and I LOVE your hair in your avatar, you look really pretty, thanks for everything!
Jenny Says: Well thank you very much! That was nice :)
So obviously, I ordered ten. Thanks for the tip, NBC!
(Psst. I am totally aware there are legit work from home businesses, feel free to share them and your experiences here, but for reals, don’t link me to erection drugs, they, like, never work for me.)
That is hilarious! I almost spit out my coffee with the “My vagina is on fire” thing (in order to save my keyboard I stopped myself from spraying coffee all over and instead just dribbled it down my chin and shirt; I don’t even like this shirt, though, so it’s cool).
I work from home, but not through a work-at-home business. It’s a (really) good gig but it took a lot of networking and ladder-climbing to get here. I know people who work for work-at-home companies and they do okay, but I think tend to be just as limiting and siloed as a traditional job. My suspicion is that the most successful people, whether they’re traditionally employed or work for themselves, are the ones who think outside the silos.
hahahahahaha OMG I busted out laughing at “My vagina is on fire”. hahaha Thanks for that! And Jenny’s responses too are hilarious. And that you told her you love her Avatar’s hair. hahahahaha
A friend of mine sells Herbalife and holy hell that woman NEVER LETS UP!! She always finds a way to squeak it into conversations (even with strangers), ceaslessley hassels everyone she knows to either buy her products or “join her team” and has a product recommendation for every ailment you can come up with. I know you have to be on your A game to be successful with these type of businesses but I want some freakin’ nachos not your stupid Meal Replacment Shake! She’s a dear friend, but I am beginning to hate her a little bit. She knows I want to be able to stay at home so she CONSTANTLY bugs me about becoming an Herbalife Rep. The funny part is, she always talks about how awesome it is and how much money you can make, but she’s always broke. Also, their tagline is “Lose Weight Now! Ask Me How!” Don’t get me wrong, I’m a plus-sized gal myself, but I’d be a bit skeptical getting any weight-loss advice from someone who wears a size 24….. :/
The funny thing is………. if you do some research, you’ll find that this “Online Business Systems IS Herbalife!!” My sister and brother-n-law are all into this crap and yes, they make money, lots of it actually. They are also a**holes. I couldn’t stand them PRE Herbalife and cut them off a while ago, apparently that feeling is beginning to spread throughout the family
Yes, several years ago I actually got this “information package” from this company, and it is setting you up to sell Herbalife…. which you don’t find out until you call the “sponsor” they automatically connect you with. Anything legitimate doesn’t need to hide information.
You had me at Vagina is on Fire…seriously you wouldn’t want to walk around all day with an erect clitoris you would have to learn how to walk funny like us guys do to hide our inappropriate/inconvenient pop-ups
Nice. Me and ten friends are signing up right away.
Ahhhh one of my friends has signed up for a “health” company selling shakes, supplements, and exercise programs. Within a week she’d spammed my Facebook and twitter so much I had to remove her from the feed.
OH MY GOSH I’M COUGHING because I was laughing so hard. Now I’m done coughing, but I’m still laughing.
“That is inappropriate.” I’m snorting!
THIS following a friend’s status update sharing a caller ID that read TELEMARKETER and the phone number. She plans to call back at 4a.m. HA!
You know, I saw that flow chart last month posted to Pinterest. When I clicked on the article, it looked like an msnbc article but the web address was slightly different. Your link looks legit but there is no date on it and I really think it’s bogus. The only link in the article is for OBS and it’s there several times. There is no way working for OBS will get you more money than a professor or a PA.
Scammers are getting pretty savvy these days. Thanks for the laugh.
IT IS DEFINITELY A FAKE ARTICLE.
Look at the web address: http://www.msnbc.msn.com-best-jobs.us/ See all the hyphens, not periods? The “com-best-jobs.us” is the dead giveaway. This page is hosted at that address, NOT msnbc(DOT)com. If you go to http://www.com-best-jobs.us, you will find the exact same article. These OBS people have stolen MSNBC’s website design, and even some of their links (although not all; if you hover over the “links” to other MSNBC pages at the bottom, they don’t work at all), to scam you. They are committing blatant copyright infringement.
IF this were a page hosted by MSNBC, the page url would look like http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/articletitle.
Even legit home businesses, like Avon, Mary Kay, Lia Sophia, etc are so hard. Like, I can’t just cold-call people until they want to punch me in the face, trying to get them to either work for me or buy from me. There’s this lady I know who sells Arbonne, and my entire family hasn’t been able to get her to stop contacting us for over two months. No matter how much we tell her we don’t want to buy, don’t have the time/energy/desire to sell Arbonne, she keeps pushing stuff on us. Ugh…no thanks. I’ll write for a couple bucks and do the boring old “real job” route. I just can’t BE that annoying bitch.
I totally agree with you. I sell jewelry from a direct sales company and I went into knowing that I could never be the obnoxious person who harasses everyone I know until I alienate myself completely. Fortunately I haven’t had to, because I just couldn’t stoop that low.
I had a brief stint as an Avon lady in high school. *Yes, high school* I was convinced that it would be the answer for paying for college. In the end I was too nervous to really ask anyone if they would buy from me. Instead i strategically left catalogs around, hoping people would get back to me with their gazillion dollar order. It was a preview of my future confrontation-avoidant behavior (I am the queen of leaving to-do lists out on the counter…for *anyone* to see) and made me exactly $0 dollars. You have to have the guts for this stuff
I worked from home for a few years and initially it was awesome, but after a while it kinda sucked. I was doing graphic design for a local magazine which sounds much sexier than it actually is. I loved being able to work in my PJs and listen to any type of music as loud as I wanted and watching TV during my lunch break, but I was most definitely WORKING from home. So I constantly worked during “off” hours because I would feel guilty if I didn’t and especially if there was a deadline coming up or if I had a pissy client wanting something. The only good thing to come of it, and it was a very good thing, was being intruduced and falling in love with my blog friends, my internet co-workers, if you would, because working from home means you hardly EVER interact with humans other than the people you live with and maybe a nice cashier at Pulix. I’m a teacher now and I love leaving my home for work and my co-workers. I applaud those who can do it, but working from home is not for me!!
Omg. You really should run for president or something. This is one of the best things I’ve ever read.
But yes, like everyone else already said, that “article” was hacked, and made to look legit, but isn’t. The poor author of the original article apparently was ridiculed for this piece, even though what she had originally written didn’t include anything about that company. Those scammers/robots suck.
Here is what she wrote in response to the BS article:
http://www.evetahmincioglu.com/web/blog/
I seriously can’t get over the the vagina on fire comment. Omg. You made my night!!!
You are hilarious! I promise, no penis enhancement sites in this comment! I have been working from home for the past 12 years in a huge variety of legit, free, no scam types of work from data entry to article writing.
The bottom line when working from home is that in order to avoid scams, you just need to follow two simple rules. First, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Unfortunately, there are not jobs out there paying $5000 a month for 5 hours worth of work.
Next, if you are ever asked for a dime, run away fast. It is either a scam or mlm which is very close to being a scam.
Contrary to popular belief, there really are legitimate online work from home telecommuting jobs out there with respectable companies like Dell and American Express. To see these legitimate jobs, visit my free website at the Legitimate Online Job Directory at http://www.LegitimateOnlineJobDirectory.com.
I hope this help!
Anne Anderson
Owner
Legitimate Online Job Directory