Confused by "Old School" versus "New School" network marketing? Here are the FACTS.

Amongst all the buzz words, hype and spin that people so easily get caught up with in network marketing — like “attraction marketing”, “conversation marketing”, “Web 2.0 Netmarketing” and “Internetwork Marketing” — I've noticed a growing trend of referring to “Old School” and “New School” network marketing in a different way to its more authentic, original use.

What they're really referring to, in most cases, is the old, traditional way of building a network marketing downline organisation, versus the new, technology-driven way of building that downline organisation online, using the latest Internet technologies and trends.

Sellers are nothing if not opportunists. They have to be in order to survive, as I explain in my FREE Insight Report titled “Is it Marketing? Or is it Selling? (And can YOU tell the difference?)”

And just as opportunists hijacked the word “marketing” and gave it their own meaning in the 1960s (a less-offensive word for “selling”, made necessary by their deceptive, manipulative, pushy behaviour), then did the same with the term “Network Marketing” in the 1980s (to replace “Multi-Level Marketing”, made necessary by their deceptive, manipulative, pushy behaviour), they've done exactly the same thing with the terms “Old School” and “New School” network marketing in 2009.

The Origins of “Old School” and “New School” network marketing

Kim Klaver first coined the phrases in either 2001 or 2002, and began blogging about them. But it wasn't about recruiting using technology and social networking, “funded proposals” and Twitter. It was about principles, values and standards of conduct. Rejecting the "Old School" opportunism, pushiness, deception, manipulation, lying, etc in favour of honesty, transparency, common sense, truthfulness, ethics and integrity.

As the technology behind the Web 2.0 phenomenon first began to appear, Kim was an early adopter. Then people like Mike Dillard and others arrived on the scene with “Attraction Marketing”, funded proposals, social networking and all the other stuff that makes up Web 2.0 and the current trends in MLM prospecting. So two overlapping trends — “Old School” versus “New School” network marketing and the natural extension of Richard Poe’s concept of “Wave Three” network marketing (the adoption and adaptation of new technology to recruiting) — appeared on the scene within a couple of years of each other.

It didn’t take the opportunists long to hijack the catchy-sounding terms “New School” and “Old School” and apply them to their thoroughly OLD School use of the new technologies to push their deceptive, hype-riddled, manipulative OLD School messages to an entire generation of fresh victims too inexperienced, desperate, ignorant and gullible to understand what was happening.

Of course, they HAD to find a way of hijacking the concept first articulated by Kim Klaver. It focused too much attention on their OLD School motives, attitudes and behaviour... the pushy, deceptive, manipulative, abusive, win-lose methods and tactics that had given Old School MLM such a rotten reputation. So here was the answer to their self-serving prayers: an opportunity to hijack these catchy, “buzz” terms and apply them instead to the methodologies used to prey on the desperate, the ignorant, the greedy, lazy and gullible.

They could happily distract the concept away from exposing their Old School motives, attitudes and behaviour — their lack of ethics, transparency and integrity — and focus on getting fresh fields of followers doing the same things as before, but using these exciting new ways of doing the same old rip-offs, lies and sucker-baiting.

And that’s exactly the problem ALL network marketers are facing right now... those victims are now spouting the opportunists message: that “New School” MLM is about using Internet technology and social networking, funded proposals and social bookmarking to spread the same old hype, spin, buzz and lies.

Yep... same old same old same old horsefeathers. Just dressed up in new technology for new suckers.

The Bottom Line: Are YOU making the same mistake?