New work-at-home jobs site mixes truth with fiction

Recently, the announcement of WhyDoWork.com, caught my eye. The release proclaimed, “The online work-at-home industry is polluted with get-rich-quick schemes and affiliate sites…flooded with questionable content…”

Of course, WhyDoWork offers an alternative, a free site with legitimate job postings. But the name’s a bit of an oxymoron. Why go to WhyDoWork to find work to do?

Visiting the site, more questions arise. Slick and pretty, the site’s logo is a sandy beach and palm trees; there are photos of folks with their feet up on the couch, lounging in a hammock, even reading a book. Why do work, indeed?

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Recently, the announcement of WhyDoWork.com, caught my eye. The release proclaimed, “The online work-at-home industry is polluted with get-rich-quick schemes and affiliate sites…flooded with questionable content…”

Of course, WhyDoWork offers an alternative, a free site with legitimate job postings. But the name’s a bit of an oxymoron. Why go to WhyDoWork to find work to do?

Visiting the site, more questions arise. Slick and pretty, the site’s logo is a sandy beach and palm trees; there are photos of folks with their feet up on the couch, lounging in a hammock, even reading a book. Why do work, indeed?

After speaking with the site’s founder, Matthew Rivard, a senior at the University of Western Ontario majoring in software development and business, I realize Rivard means well (I think), but he’s got some funny ideas about ethics.

Helping run the site are other college kids paid hourly who cull the Internet job postings and call up the contacts to find if they’re legitimate. If jobs require money up front, Rivard rejects them. In fact, many of the postings look fine. Nothing that’ll buy you a spot of beachfront property, mostly part-time, short-term online gigs, things like Web site “content indexers,” data entry and online homework tutors.

There are also forums, articles and some Web site tools with a decidedly home-based entrepreneur bent. Nothing that’s not been kicking around for years. Turns out "free" doesn’t get you much.

The trouble is, the site’s “featured opportunity,” a prime banner ad in the left-hand column, says I can earn $250 an hour taking surveys online. Heck, goodbye Network World, hello hammock. This must be where the palm trees come in, right?

Below “featured opportunity” is “featured articles” and “featured e-books” - in other words, site resources.

Rivard says WhyDoWork’s sole revenue source is banner advertising, though he plans to launch a reverse-auction component in coming months. While employees follow criteria for ensuring job postings are legitimate, there’s no such criteria for banner ads.

But what about that “featured opportunity”? If someone clicks and is scammed, don’t you think they might hold you responsible,” I ask.

“We don’t expect people to be clicking on stuff like that,” Rivard says. “The forums and job postings are what we want people to look at.”

“But it’s right there on your site,” I say. Suddenly, I feel like I’m wrangling with one of my own kids. “What about the name of the site, the beach, the palm trees? What’s the message you’re sending exactly?”

“For many people who want to work at home, the impression is you won’t have to work,” Rivard says. “A lot of people want a free ride, but that’s not the message we try to convey. There’s a lot of hard work involved."

“But don’t you see the conflict? The contradiction in running ads for scam jobs on a legitimate job site? How can people trust you?” This is going nowhere, I know.

“I do see the contradiction,” Rivard says. “But it’s just an ad. We don’t expect people to click on it.”

Read more about telework in Network World's Telework section.