Simple answer: to be determined.
For a little background, see What is the BlastOff Network and it’s relationship with Pre Paid Legal Services.
Is the network legal? Sure, on paper. It only becomes illegal in a true Pyramid Scheme. Assuming we can trust this company (hence the “to be determined”), then yes, you can make money, especially if you are lucky enough to be at the top of the pyramid.
What’s the catch? Well, for starters, as with any multi-level marketing (MLM) network, you have to annoy everyone you know and insist they get involved before you make any significant income. Is this a big deal? Depends on your situation. For someone with a popular blog, for example, it may take only a blog post to entice thousands of people to join their network. For others, it might involve secretly changing their grandmother’s home page in the hopes she won’t know the difference.
Another problem with MLM networks is that even though the company behind the structure might be on the straight and narrow, it’s quite possible some shady sales tactics are used by less-than-reputable members of the network. They might, for example, declare that you have to pay for pre paid legal services to join the BlastOff Network. This is not true, but is a great way to increase their income. Does that make the whole network a scam? No.
Will this network take off? Only time will tell. However, they sure are trying to get traction. In fact, thousands of people are being told about the network on a daily basis across the country in seminars sponsored by Pre Paid Legal.
In addition, the Internet marketers are jumping all over it. If you do a google search for “BlastOff Network”, you will see that people have already reserved many related domain names and are purchasing Google AdWords ads to try to get you into their networks. If this many people believe in it before it has even launched (scheduled for today, Oct 22, 2009), there is a reasonable chance that many grandmas will have the BlastOff Network as their home page without their knowledge.
Watch this space for ongoing developments in the “BlastOff Network scam”, if that is indeed what it turns out to be. We will be analyzing the relationship with Pre Paid Legal Services, and keeping a close eye on their profit numbers and investors.