I certainly think it is legit to a point. If they were going to troll/create a fake system in an attempt to create lots of ad revenue they would have gone about it completely differently, I think. For one, they would have specified fan fiction only - they're main target audience for their scripts etc appears to be writers, and yet they've got other sections set up and running as well that they wouldn't need if this was a scam. Secondly, the advertising is way too unobtrusive for them to be attempting to make money that way through a scam, plus again the site wouldn't need the complexity it has. I honestly believe that they want to recreate a fandom version of myspace and make profit through traditional means. Lastly, they're not spamming huge amounts of people, the revealing of the site has been done in layers as opposed to friending thousands of people.

As for the connections ... I believe they may have a couple, and that's all they really need to make such a claim ^^. It's important I think to notice how they're only promising exposure and not anything more concrete.

*grin* As for the selection of us, I amost died when I was in the 20 or so person shortlist right at the beginning, especially when it was because of the amount of fanfic I'd written. I'm not sure if I almost died from laughter or horror, but either will do ^^. I just finished writing up a huge review of the site (what I thought worked/didn't work/suggestions etc) and emailed it to them - the site is still in the beta stage and they seem really eager for thoughts and suggestions.