Your Favorite Industry Day

So, I felt compelled today to drop a quick note and let people know a little bit about ads running on small sites for there favorite companies.  Most people just see internet ads as an annoyance, something some terrible porn company or hacker has cleverly laid to trap you.  But the majority of ads, especially on small sites, are legitimate ads, and they serve a purpose.

Most small business sites host ads because it creates a new revenue stream, an extra source of money that can help to lower costs and keep them in business so you can enjoy their products and services.  They are picked by the company that puts them there because they feel that it is something their customers are interested in.  Or in the case of Google's ad network, with a little tweaking, the ads are custom tailored according to where and what you, the viewer, actually visit on the internet, in an attempt to get you to the very site you need to see.

But there is a problem in the modern world of advertising.  More and more people are falling prey to the stigma that all online ads are bad, and so they shouldn't click on them.  So as a tech guru and a small business owner myself, I would ask you to please, please support small business, and if you see an ad on their site about something you are genuinely interested, click on it and maybe earn them a couple of bucks.  I mean, pennies add up, ya know.  So that's my plea for today, so until next time, catch you on the flip side.

Wonders of the Internet (Part 1)

     Isn't the internet a wondrous place?  So many things to do and see, and so many people to meet.  It's like the ultimate convention of people like you.  You can shop, you can show off, you can just sit down and watch a little TV, all from the same screen.  And if you're in the know enough, you can even make money via the internet.  So this post is about the last part, leveraging the web for monetary reasons.  How does someone make money on the web, you ask?  The ways are almost as varied as the net itself.
     First, and possibly the least amount of work, depending on how devoted you are to it, is to set up a website or blog and monetize it.  This process can range from easy(such as starting a blog here on Blogger and clicking the monetize tab) to extremely complex(Managing several websites, domains, feeds, and setting up search, and running ads from a variety of carriers, such as Google and Yahoo).   This is one of the most passive forms of money-making on the net, as all you really have to do is post every once in a while on your blog and hope people click on the Google ads posted on your site.  So, if you are willing to put at least some effort into this, it can turn you a few bucks.
     Next is active working sites.  The only site that I have found at this point that has you actively participating in the work flow of the internet is Mechanical Turk, run by Amazon.  Mturk for short, this site has two sides.  You can either log in as a requester, or a worker.  As a requester, you put up a HIT(human intelligence task), and set up an amount for payment.  As a work, you sift through all the HITs available until you find one that interests you and is for a price you deem fair.  You then select it and complete the work for the HIT online and get paid once the requester looks over your work.  These on average are things like identifying objects in photographs, answering questions, or checking web links to see if the site is still there and works. (warning! These HITs are intended to be relatively quick and easy to accomplish, if there is a HIT that seems to require a lot of work, but offers a high dollar value, it is probably a scam, or isn't worth wasting your time on, you could probably make more money faster doing the smaller ones.)  This is one of my favorite ways to while away some time on the net and get paid for it, you just have to get used to the monotony.
     Another way to help you make money on the net are the highly popular online auction sites like Ebay.  These sites allow you to post and sell almost anything, and if you've read or watched much of the news in the past decade, you know that I mean anything.  So, if you have things lying around that you'd rather get rid of, post them online for sale or trade.
     Then there are online periodical publishing sites like AOL's Seed.  This site is new, and really cool.  If ever you've wanted to be a freelance writer or photographer, this site is the way to start.  You just go on, sign up, and start looking through the titles that Seed wants to publish.  You select one of the articles to write, follow the instructions for length and subject matter, and then post your work. (For photography your directions are subject matter and composition, and you just post it like it was being posted to an online photo album).  The payout is about what you'd expect for freelance article writing, plus, it gets you published on the web.  I haven't had much luck on this site yet in terms of acceptance, but I also haven't spent much time writing anything but this blog recently.
     So, here are some starters for web wonders that pay.  Look into some of these if you're interested, but always remember, with these sorts of things, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.