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April 20, 2005
What Is LGTWO?
By QBlog in Miscellaneous
What exactly is this Let's Get The Word Out website? That's a great question and one that I wasn't able to answer until recently. When I first learned about LGTWO, I thought it was some sort of online "Free Speech Network" that former Amway Emerald Eric Scheibeler was using to promote his whistleblower book, Merchants of Deception. Why I thought that, I'm not quite sure. Maybe it was the design? Maybe it was the Free Speechy name? I really have no idea but I later realized that LGTWO is a site specifically designed to promote Merchants of Deception and not some larger network open for similar book promotions.
What is MOD?
Merchants of Deception is an "insider's look at the worldwide, systematic conspiracy of lies that is Amway/Quixtar and their motivational organization." It was published online last year and is still circulated around the globe. If you haven't read it yet, grab a copy (for free) and get busy.
And So What is LGTWO?
A guy named Dan Hollings runs the LGTWO website. It's actually a pretty cool site, once you get past all the ads and multi-links. The way it works is that visitors can log into the site and "sponsor" a word for a couple of bucks. According to the site:
Most of the monies donated will be used to further the cause, help others who have suffered, or cover legal expenses in worthwhile lawsuits. To this end, LGTWO will work with Pyramid Scheme Alert (www.pyramidschemealert.org), a non profit consumer rights organization. We of course must feed the crew, pay for developers, licenses, techie stuff, hard costs and invest a bit in getting the word out, so we've estimated between 20% to 30% will be used in this manner.
So, when you sponsor a word LGTWO provides a personalized page that you edit and can use to tell your story. You may also add links and photos and a bunch of other stuff. It's really not a bad little tool and I believe Hollings built the whole thing himself (correct me if I'm wrong) so that's pretty impressive.
Sponsor A Word? Huh?
I didn't "get" the whole word sponsorship thing at first but I sort of understand it now. LGTWO is publishing Scheibeler's book as HTML (which can be indexed by search engines more easily than a PDF) and each word is up for sponsorship. For example, visit the first page of chapter one and notice that a few words are actually links. Click a link to read the story of whoever sponsored that word. There's some real potential there. Imagine MOD becoming the platform for literally thousands of others to tell whatever story they have to tell.
So, check out the site. It can be confusing but hang in there and it sort of makes sense. I'd personally rather just read the PDF version of the book than wander around LGTWO but to each his own I suppose.
Criticism?
I should also add that there's something about the entire LGTWO site that rubs me the wrong way. The design and all the links and... I just don't know but it doesn't excite me. Pages like the Expanded Site Map scream, "Search Engine Manipulation" and I'm not too keen on that practice. I understand why it's done but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I'm not sure it violates Google's Guidelines but it sure seems... well, a little spam-like.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that some questions have been raised about Dan Hollings' motives. I'm not really sure what to think. I've had a couple of email exchanges with Hollings and he seems like a decent fellow and I don't have any reason to suspect anything but I'd just really prefer a lot more disclosure on the LGTWO site. I think that's it actually — there's not a robust "About" page and I there really needs to be one. A page that just lays it all out in simple black and white.
Just Read
Anyway, the main point is that LGTWO is a nifty way to get people to read a book. That's about it and to that end, I think it works. The technology underneath LGTWO is pretty slick and I'm not sure I've seen anything exactly like it on any other site. So, I encourage you to at least check it out and see what's going on for yourself.
Comments
Eric,
I think you should offer to help them improve their site, with your expertise.
Let me tell you, that Eric Scheibeler is a saint in my eyes. He has little to no alterior motives in his endevors.
Eric S. offered to testify in my case. He had been traveling three weeks straight and wanted to get back to his family, but my case came up the week after all his travel.
When we checked available flights, the only thing available required 6 hours fly time with two connections, one way. Initially he waivered at that big of a sacrifice, but after seeing a picture of my baby Jonas, he agreed to come.
My attorney subpoened him.
I tried in everyway I could think to get him to accept money from me for his time. He refused. He said so many people had helped him and his family when they got in trouble with Quixtar, that it was his honor to help someone in need.
I was worried he would seem "put out" for what he had to do. On the contrary, he was very upbeat and extremely kind to me and my family here, he was one of the kindest people I've met.
I think we should all support him and his sight in whatever way we can. He is trying to get the word out to help others avoid this nightmare, called Quixtar and Amway.
Anon,
Your credentials to make such determinations (such as what constitutes a violation of Google's Guidelines) would be...?
PW
Anon: Regarding the whole Wikipedia fiasco, I agree with you. I did not like Alticor's edits but I hated Dan Hollings edits more. That triggers me to write a post about him too.
Wikipedia is NPOV. Neither -ve or +ve. If you don't respect that, it won't be secret. Same thing apply to both Dan and Quixtar: Be honest or get busted. And YOU DON'T OWN WIKIPEDIA.
>If so thats some rather sour grapes. Also while Quixtar gets berated for editing Wikipedia to make it more their perspective nobody questions the fact that Hollings too is manipulating Wikipedia to line his own pockets too.
You didn't follow the links did you? I posted it in my blog.
Here's my observation of the site.
I might the first 100 ppl who finished reading the MOD. I am mirroring it on imranaziz.net/MOD as well. But I can't stand LGTWO site. It's the dump fest. If any body can, God bless them!!
It needs much simpler, easier design. Like MOD site or this blog.
BTW Dan is one person and Quixtar is a billion dollar company. Dan owns a company as well but of course, there are more eyes on Quixtar than Dan. So Quixtar need to be more professional than a bitter contractor, no?
Imran, I would suggest that all people regardless of status should be held to the same level of professional, or personal, responsibility. Perhaps penalties should be in line with size - for example a $1000 fine would hurt you or I but would be nothing to an established company. Penalties aside if two different teams are competing on the same field, in this case the Internet, shouldn't they be subject to the same rules?
Anon,
I don't believe Imran is suggesting that one party should be held to a higher standard than another, but that in the realm of public perception one would probably expect such behavior from a lone contractor, not from a billion dollar corporation.
Manipulating search engine results hurts us all but we aren't surprised when SpamKing, Inc. and Cut Rate Mortgage, LTD do it. Do we tolerate it and excuse it? Absolutely not. But it's the sort of thing those seedy businesses practice.
But if IBM, Microsoft or Amazon.com started manipulating search engine results in the same manner that's seen with SpamKing and Cut Rate Mortgage (both fictional companies I believe) then we'd be surprised. Or most of us would be.
Same thing with Quixtar. Make sense?
When I click on how to sponsor a word, this is what I get.
http://www.letsgetthewordout.com/step-by-step.html.
It is just blank!!. Even dan emailed me and didn't know what the problem was. Can anyone help?
Lisa,
What OS are you using?
I'm running WinXP SP2 and I have no problems seeing that page...
Doug
Hi Doug
Windows xp pro.
I had no problem donating to the pyramid alert scheme I don't know why this won't work.
When I click on "show me in pictures" how to sponsor a word It says site map and the top, under it has 2 blue lines and the rest is blank!
Try this:
http://www.letsgetthewordout.com/sponsor/word.html
PW
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I have read through the merchants of deception site and like you have some very big motivational questions about Dan Hollings. Is this a case of someone that used to work for IBOs building web sites angry that he lost his contract. If so thats some rather sour grapes. Also while Quixtar gets berated for editing Wikipedia to make it more their perspective nobody questions the fact that Hollings too is manipulating Wikipedia to line his own pockets too. He has even turned his Wikipedia page into an ad for his services.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Dhollings
Also the Expanded site map is blatantly in violation of Google's Guidelines - "Don't load pages with irrelevant words." As Monty Python so deftly put it - Spam Spam Spam
Posted by: Anon | April 20, 2005 3:47 PM