The Unappreciated

I spent the entire afternoon compiling the article that follows with the intention of sending it out as a press release using the press release submission tool provided in Market-It, which I recently was informed I have been grandfathered into. Market-It is quite the awesome online marketer's website. This was to have been the first time I was to make intelligent use of its attributes, and I was fairly psyched about taking the bad experience of CashBlasterPro and working it to my advantage. However, upon finally getting the article ready, revision after revision, double and triple-checking it, and even more than that, when I felt satisfied that it was ready for publication across "thousands of media outlets!", as is said inside the Market-It back office section where the press release submission section resides, I smacked face first into a titanium-alloy nano-carb brick wall with reinforced anti-mag generators in the guise of this ---

Notice - Monday May 26th, 8:30 a.m.
This tool has been depreciated.
This tool is being replaced by "social networking" submission tools.
Social Networking Marketing is now one of the leading methods of website promotion.
According to authority sites, over half of all web traffic is social networking
and video related. Virtually every guru marketer has adopted Social Networking Marketing.

Please visit this site next month to view the new exciting tools!
Thank you for your continued support in making Market-It
the most effective way to promote your website! --Market-It Support Dept.


Notice - Tuesday May 27th, 2:40 p.m.
Previously Google has put a lot of importance on articles and blogs.
Google still looooves blogs. But recently Google has shifted and is putting significant
importance on website video, social networking, social linking and social bookmarketing.
As part of Market-It's brand new Web 2.0 thrust,
you will be seeing some exciting new web marketing tools,
many related to video and social networking.
These tools which are very effective and we at Market-It are very excited
with what is coming. It's almost here, stay tuned! --Market-It Support Dept.

This tool has been depreciated? WTF does that mean? Well, apparently it means by ignoring that while little evil gremlins scratched their doubt-edged talons along the back of my brain and just setting up the keyword phrases and coming up with a "perfect headline" after carefully reading over all the pertinent info on how best to post the press release and finally hitting submit, nothing happens.

So here it is in all its non press release glory:

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In the beginning of April, many people in the world of Internet marketing began receiving an email advert promoting a program called CashBlasterPro. It claimed that anyone who helped to promote CBP’s new software would be eligible to share in a reward totaling US$1,000,000 some time after the July 1st online launch of this software. The website stated, “We are initiating a 3 stage launch of our technologies. The first stage is open right now and this is the stage where we are giving away ONE MILLION DOLLARS CASH to our supporters!”

The advert explained that the software itself had the capability of upgrading the entire World Wide Web into one vast social networking, or Web 2.0, platform, and with the “click of a button”, any online user would be able to connect with any other website on the Internet in the same manner as members of sites like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, et cetera, and interact with one another. It also claimed that what CBP was offering was not itself just another social networking membership website, but rather software that could be downloaded and installed to a computer desktop. Once installed, it would be able to allow the user to “upgrade” the Internet to Web 2.0 standards.

Here is another quote from the original CashBlasterPro webpage, which has since been taken down:

“Our ‘ground-breaking new technology’ is NOT just some product, software or website that will create another mySpace type of community. Our new TOP SECRET Technology WILL change THE ENTIRE INTERNET to Web 2.0 Standards!

“Because this is a TOP SECRET project and technology, we CANNOT release any further details on our technologies other than what we have just shared. Though, we can tell you that these technologies will certainly be THE NEXT BIG TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, similar to what Amazon, Yahoo, Google and mySpace have achieved, but with EVEN MORE IMPACT because it truly effects the ENTIRE INTERNET!”

Signing up for CashBlasterPro was free. But in order to benefit from the one million dollar reward, in order to get a “share” in the reward, it was required that you get at least two other Netizens to register under you. That is, one share in the eventual payout was given for every two sign-ups. Four sign-ups, two shares. However, the shares were to be paid out only after the official launch of the software on July 1st.

On the Blogspot blog Chaos Chasm II under the April 11th posting entitled “Barnum, Bailey, the 3-Ring Circus, the Kitchen Sink . . .” is this:

“This website goes on to make big claims concerning another ‘something new’ soon to happen that will totally shake up the Internet. Of course, it's free to join up. The initial incentive? Share in the one million dollars . . . that this project is going to give to all its members who get in before the official launch date scheduled for the First of July (that's July of 2008, for your information). I guess if they get two million people registered that I could use an extra fifty cents. But anyway, that's not actually the cool part of what CashBlasterPro sez it's up to. Apparently, doomed or fated or designed intelligently to become bigger than not only Microsoft and Google but even bigger than Jupiter and maybe Sol, CBP will be the responsible party involved in making the entire World Wide Web completely Web 2.0 compliant.

“One gigantic online social networking platform.

“Did I join up for free? Absolutely.”

The following month the same blogger wrote, “There are now 59,558 members as of 1:20 am on Saturday the 24th of May, 2008.”

And then on June 28th:

“A bit of a bummer. Kind of a letdown. Slightly depressing.

“The question begs itself --- is the entire Cash Blaster Pro phenomenon just another scam ala Our Power Forced Matrix (which was a real doozy)? Should know in a few more days whether all the work I put into this since the beginning of April is just time lost or a healthy investment.”

And back on May 30th, Member “remington” at the Scam.com forum posted the following:

“cashblasterpro.com New Scam

“I am receiving huge volumes of spam from cashblasterpro.com and from various other urls that forward to the above domain.

“The site is hosted by theplanet.com which is owned and operated by ev1.net.

“Essentially this scam is hooking people in with false claims that they are going to give away 1 million dollars to free members and that at the click of a button every website on the internet will become upgraded to Web 2.0 (try not to laugh too hard here but many people are apparently falling for the myriad of false claims and hype on this site).”

The cashblasterpro.com webpage began going to a 403 error page on the last weekend in May, by which time there were over 100,000 members registered, according to CBP’s landing page before it was gone from the Net. Access to the affiliate site back office along with any of the information on downlines signed up or anything else was completely blocked.

At scam.com/showthread.php?t=42168, information on the alleged founder of CashBlasterPro, Robert Kuntz, and the Web 2.0 Upgrade software, called BuzzBot, indicated that he had previously run into trouble for not shipping Yamaha 650cc motorcycle products that people had paid for via eBay or that there were defective parts received. In this Scam.com forum thread, the email address stilladreamr@yahoo.com is attached to Mr. Kuntz as the CashBlasterPro administrative contract as well as the contact email address on eBay.

But then on June 13th, a posting was made in this thread signed Robert Kuntz Web 2.0 Upgrade saying:

“It is only fair that I should be able to defend these accustations . . . as mentioned in other postings, that was my motorcycle shop. I funded a mechanic to help build these bikes as motorcycles are my hobby and I am an Entrepreneur. Without my knowing (or rather finding out too late), he goofed off the ebay account and failed to ship products . . . .”

This poster goes on to say, “And yes, the info people are posting about me and the SEC - that was me with a run-in with the SEC several years back. I had built a technology company and when the dot com crash hit, the SEC came down on me (and a lot of other companies) hard. Because I had an informal offering (live and learn), they did what’s called an ‘inquiree’ - not too kind. The ONLY thing that was found is lack of communications I had with a couple of companies to substantiate our claims.”

A flurry of responses from other Scam.com forum members followed in this thread, most of which express little confidence that Mr. Kuntz can be trusted. Some posters ask that Mr. Kuntz provide more technical details on how the BuzzBot platform works to prove that he is not “making completely false and ridiculous claims.” He responded a few more times defending himself and his CBP venture. He says for example in his second posting on Scam.com, “What really gets me is that no matter how hard someone works and how much they follow their heart and their passion, there is always someone there to try and tear it down, and pull them down.”

On June 16th at exactly 6pm, the poster identifying himself as Robert Kuntz states in his third posting that his new technology’s “features include, blogs, comments, site ratings, and interacting with others on that website. Remember, this is for any website you can type in your browser, now has these features.”

Then on June 26th at 11:48am the following was posted on page one of the same forum thread:

“The account holder Robert Kuntz has been removed from our clients. His server (66.240.204.32) has been taken off-line and we will not accept any business from Mr. Kuntz.

Thank-you,
Network Security Operations Center,
Cari.net”

However, although Robert Kuntz no longer posted anything on the thread by page two, other forum members began to speak out in support of CashBlasterPro and its founder’s integrity, with one forum member stating on June 28th, “The jury is still out on CashBlasterPro.”

At this point, the original CashBlasterPro website was landing on a 403 error page and there was no access to the affiliate member’s back office. But then on July 2nd, the day after the official launch, the Web 2.0 Upgrade program was back online at a different URL, www.web2server.info, and an entirely different back office was both available and accessible, within which, it now appears that CashBlasterPro was not a scam in the first place.

Or is it?

The forum thread controversy on CashBlasterPro at Scam.com continues to this day, with a posting on July 16th warning:

“Note to the people who are considering spending $29.95 a month for the ‘Pro’ version, take a look at how dead the web2upgrade forums are particularly when you consider that (conservative estimate) half the threads posted there are biz-op spam that will one day soon end up as fodder for dissection here on scam.com. I notice how Rob is hyping how the ‘direct to desktop’ advertising capability of the ‘Pro’ version will bypass e-mail spam filters and let you really get your message out to a wide audience but how many ‘desktops’ will really be using the buzzbot and how many will keep using it after they see the mountain of spam it deposits directly on their desktop.”

However, an email from Robert Kuntz to his affiliates on July 17th serves up five “VERY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENTS!”, including information on bonuses for the top 50 performers and a live online conference call scheduled for July 24th. Robert Kuntz signs off saying, “I still have a hard time believing we have actually pulled this off . . . We have launched the BuzzBot and IT WORKS! PEOPLE LOVE IT! We came through on our word AND we will CONTINUE to deliver!!!”

There is no mention in this email message of paying out any shares of the $1 million reward for helping to promote the BuzzBot software for the three months between April and July. Still, in the back office of the new website at web2server.info, after clicking through to the Affiliate Control Panel, one finds a final total of 44,314 shares to be awarded at $22.57 per share. This money will only go, if it is ever to be dispersed, to those with more than two downline members, but people are continuing to register for this program, with more than 350 new members in the last hour at the time of this writing.

Meanwhile, most of the rest of the Internet has no idea that the WWW is about to be “upgraded”. Somehow.
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So. What am I going to do to rectify this, all that afternoon work down the drain? Fear not, fellow fearless intrepid Netrepreneur. There is always Qassia. In fact, I have already posted the article there, and as well I just sent it to my now 600-member downline in WebBizInsider. This is the first time that I have sent INFORMATION to said WBI downline instead of just some flunky advertisement which no one seems to ever bother even opening the email of. Plus, before attempting fruitlessly to send it out to all the eager journalists of the Multiverse for their media manipulation, I had already posted it on The Lucky Ten. Hooray, hooray.

And then there is always Google base.