Can This Be Real?

Posted: October 25th, 2004 | Author: Ryan | Filed under: Randomness | 1 Comment »

ipod_img.jpg

I know. I know. I’m optomistic and young (though not as young as I used to be) so I’ll just use that as my excuse for falling for this and give it a try. After all, it’s not going to cost me a thing – just a few minutes of my time.

There’s a site out there that will help you get a free iPod if you throw their advertisers a bone. I was a major skeptic at first but I’ve found sufficient evidence on the web to convince me otherwise. Here’s how it works . . .

1. You sign up at freeipods.com. Signing up is free though I would suggest using an email address other than your primary one (just in case spam becomes a problem). You will need to verify your email address though so be sure you use an address that you can check.

2. You complete one of their free offers.

3. You convince 5 other people to complete steps 1 & 2.

4. Gratis Internet, the company behind freeipods.com, sends you a FREE ipod.

I have 3 referrals already and I will post my progress here. If you want to try it out too, use my link to make me one step closer.

http://www.freeiPods.com/default.aspx?referer=10016652

As I said, I was very skeptical but here’s some of the research I did that convinced me otherwise . . .

There’s nothing wrong with being skeptical.
The first thing everyone asks is "Is this for real?" The
founders of this website asked that exact question when they first
came across FreeiPods.com and they spent hours researching before
they spent any time completing the requirements for a free iPod
at FreeiPods.com. That same research is provided for you here. We
also give you some places to start researching on your own if you’re
not convinced after our research. Here goes . . .

  • FreeiPods.com has been featured in Wired
    News     where they say that it " . . . isn’t a dodgy pyramid
    scheme; it’s a new form of online marketing supported by companies
    like eBay, AOL and Columbia House."

  • The New
    York Sun     quotes Gratis Internet (the company behind FreeiPods.com)
    co-founder Rob Jewell saying, "We get a lot of e-mail from
    very happy customers." The article goes on to say that Jewell
    and his partner, Peter Martin, "have used a similar model
    for four years to give away everything from plants to condoms
    (6 million condoms since 2000)." [Their other sites include:
    freedesktoppcs.com, freehandbags.com, freeflatscreens.com, freecondoms.com,
    freedvds.com, freecds.com, freevideogames.com, freegiftplanet.com]

  • A report by BBC
    News’ Tom Carver     starts with the line, "Want a free iPod?
    Go to freeiPods.com and get one, honest." [video]

  • Geek site, lockergnome.com,
    decided to try out the offer and is currently in the "processing"
    stage. Jeremy Cohn, the article’s author, says, "They are
    . . . a valid company, and yes, you do get a free iPod in the
    end."

  • Gratis Internet, the company that owns and runs freeipods.com,
    is registered with the Better
    Business Bureau     and TrustE.

  • For many, the most convincing piece of research comes in the
    form of a video
    from G4TechTV’s The Screen Savers. In the video, the
    show’s hosts, Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht interview one of the
    founders of Gratis Internet. And, by the way, Kevin tried out
    FreeiPods.com before the interview and received his $250 gift
    certificate in the mail.

  • Finally, if you’re looking for a more technical explaination
    of how this thing can work (from an economics perspective) check
    out this
    site     from some cat at Boston University.

 

If you have any questions/comments feel free to post them as always. I will answer any questions regarding the topic above.

I’ve started using a BlackList to keep spammers off my comments. Please let me know if you see something on here that doesn’t look/work normal.