Pyramid Scheme Network Marketing

All Network Marketing schemes are a PYRAMID SCHEME - fact or fiction.
Let's spend a little time on Pyramid Schemes, a Pyramid Scheme is illegal, the definition of a Pyramid Scheme is when people are recruited to make payments to the person who recruited them while expecting to receive payments from the persons they recruit; when the number of new recruits fails to sustain the hierarchical payment structure the scheme collapses with most of the participants losing the money they put in. In short you pay to get it; you get paid for people you bring in and so on and so forth, nothing to do with any product or service.
Direct Marketing however (which often gets confused with Pyramid Schemes) is based on legitimate companies who rely on solid sales over time who has a strong base of customers who love and use the products. Multi-level marketing structures are commonly used for the distribution of goods and services in the direct selling industry. These structures may seem similar to pyramid schemes, but in reality they are substantially different and are more similar to a conventional corporate business model.
So there you have it... Network Marketing is not a Pyramid Scheme BUT...
If you really want to get into Network Marketing - do your due diligence. Don't wait to be approached by someone, don't wait for someone to tell you they have the next best thing and it's best to get into it now while it's fairly new. Do your due diligence.
First think about what your area of expertise is what things you are passionate about, what things you know a lot about, what experiences you have. Then and only them seek out the top 25 Multi Level Marketing Companies in the World and do your research on them to see how they fit with you, your beliefs, your skill set and what they have to offer you.
Think about things like... what support systems do they have for you, what is their compensation plan like (make sure it is deeper than 5 levels), what tools do they provide, and more importantly what is the product or service and is it something I can believe in and feel comfortable to talk about with others. This is a business after all. Your business, so you need to do your research before you decide to take the leap.
Do a search on your niche, as in who will buy the product. Next and most importantly plan your success you will be given tools to help you do this. Don't skip this stay, plan, research and plan some more. Know what it is you want and how you are going to get it.