Citizen Journalism

Citizen journalism actually refers to the concept whereby the world’s citizens feel an obligation to report on significant events that they are a witness of or participant in. For example, the Virginia Tech shootings or the Mumbai terror attacks were first reported by people with access to a camera, a computer, and the internet.

While many people give this content away for free, there are websites and companies willing to pay for a well written piece of journalism. The catch is that you will be paid significantly less than the traditional reporter from your local Daily Herald, but you do have a much wider range of possibilities in front of you. The most famous of these sites is without a doubt Associated Content, but there are others as well. You might even want to check with local newspapers...For example, if you were a longtime resident of Towson, Maryland and have recently moved away, that does not ipso facto exclude you from contributing to the Towson Times. If you have access to a telephone and the internet, then you can report on local city council meetings. Frankly I think this loses a little in the translation, but if you’re a good writer, then there’s a market for your service!

Start a Content Site

Don’t like the hassle of having to update your blog over and over again? While Wikipedia has stolen the thunder from many content sites, there is still good money to be made by starting one. Like a blog, all you need is a domain name, a host and an idea. Unlike a blog, you don’t have to constantly update your information if the content you provide is helpful, interesting or just plain popular. Think about things you know best: Write a how-to-manual on Cross stitching, putting model sailboats in bottles, how to rehab a surgically repaired ligament, etc. Make sure you do a little marketing work on your own by dropping the link in some forums, on your other websites, in email that you may or may not send out, or buy up some credit on Google AdWords. If you’ve done your job, and done it well, you’ll start to see traffic flow in. You have to monetize your site, of course, but in this day of easy-to-construct html, it’s a snap. Personally, I use Apple’s iWeb for Macs for its ease of use and functionality, but you may be more comfortable with another Linux or Windows based program. Just wait until traffic to your site picks up and guest start clicking on your relevant ads, and you’ll be making money in no time.

Alternatives to Adsense

Frankly, nothing beats Adsense for its ease-of-use and its access to Google’s mighty mighty empire. However, those of you seeking a little variety in the kinds of publisher’s network you use might want to consider the following programs which have worked reasonable well for me so far:

CPC

1. Yahoo Publisher’s Network
2. Chitika
3. Microsoft
4. BlogAds
5. Clicksor
6. Target Point
7. Adbrite
8. Kontera






Affiliate Programs

1. Amazon Affiliates Program
2. eBay Partner Network
3. Linkshare
4. Neverblue

Monetize your Blog

Bidvertiser is a very good PPC program that will allow you very easily to monetize your blog. Click on the link below to activate your account.

The Shocking Rise of Money-Seekers Online

Yes, it seems that dire economic times have pushed more and more people to the internet to try and make ends meet. According to this article from the Baltimore sun, the number of web searches for "make money online" has risen by a startling 1,725 percent in the past month as more and more people are pushed out of work. Ultimately, this is a troubling statistic that reflects the seriousness of the world economic crisis. If you find yourself in this position, you may want to visit Eileen Ambrose's column from the Baltimore Sun, "Need to make ends meet? Try a few of these unconventional ways of making money." Don't despair, there are plenty of ways to make some cash on the internet!

Guides to Making Money on eBay

Go to Amazon.com and put in a keyword search for "make money on eBay" and you will get this list of results, with about 320 entries. Why are there so many guides on how to make money on eBay? Frankly, because it's possible.

It's not only possible, it's highly probable that if you have something to sell, someone will buy it. The trick is, of course, buy low and sell high...that mantra that has guided the merchant community since the beginning of the merchant community. So what can you buy at low cost and sell at a higher cost? I've already gone over the gift card market, but there are certainly other things. If you are really interested in investing some time, building up your eBay profile and becoming a trafficker in material goods over the internet, I recommend checking out one of those books (either by buying from Amazon, or if you're cheap like me, by checking it out literally at your local library).

101 Ways to Make Money Online

The ideas are out there, and it's not rocket science. There is still money to be had online, despite the tough economic times. Two sites in particular have done some dirty work for you and come up, each of them, with 101 ways to make money online. Try comparing the two for a more nuanced approach!

http://www.destroydebt.com/articles/101-ways-to-make-money-online.html

http://www.experienced-people.co.uk/1042-top-ways-of-making-money-online/

From the Times

Check out this informative article about 10 ways in which there is money to be had online.

Make Money Online - About

About.com has about a billion articles on how to make money online, but this one is by far the most informative.

Become a Bike Merchant

Seriously, if you have a car and a bike rack, then you are eligible for one of the greatest money-making schemes of all-time (slight exaggeration, of course).

Have you ever noticed how used bicycles never have consistent list prices in the classifieds? That’s because nobody knows how much a used bicycle will sell for. We only have a vague idea...somewhere between $0 and the price you paid for it. Best thing is that used bicycles work on the classic supply-and-demand system. The closer you are to an area where demand is high, the more you can get for a used bike.

I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. When you went over the hills into the suburbs, used bicycles were relatively cheap. The same used bicycle would sell for double in areas close to the University of California or Stanford University. The same bike you buy for $50 in the ‘burbs would sell for $125 in the used bike shops in Berkeley. Do your own calculations, and if you can find an economical way to transport bikes from the suburbs to the university towns, make sure they’re ride-able, and sell them off to desperate students, then you have just opened up your own used bike service.

A tip...the crappier the bike, the better an idea this is. Why? Because good mountain and road bikes are bought and sold by discerning bicycle riders who are willing to pay $300 for a good used bike. These same people know more about the value of a used bicycle than your average student, so the profit margin is likely to be much lower (if there is one). On the other hand, if someone is trying to get rid of a run-of-the-mill street bike from the early Nineties, chances are good that it will sell at a very low price. You can then re-sell for an elevated price, but one that is still accessible to the majority of students looking to get from point A to point B on campus.

About Survey Sites

Read this helpful post about paid survey sites from Answers.com

Affiliate Marketing

Bartering

Remember the guy who pixels on his homepage? What about the guy who sold one square-inch portions of his beach-front property? If you have a ridiculous idea like this, it could be worth millions (well, maybe not quite millions).

Free Stuff

There are people who give away a lot of free stuff, and it’s easy to find. Individuals will use free classifieds like Craigslist to advertise free goods; the only catch is that usually you have to pick it up yourself. Mattresses, armoirs, boxes, toys, DVDs, you name it, it’s being given away for free. What’s to say that you couldn’t pick up an old dining room table, fix it up, and then sell it off for $50. This requires a little bit of work and perhaps basic carpentry skills, but if you have it, then you’ve got possibilities.

If old mattresses aren’t your cup of tea, maybe free samples of breakfast cereals or cosmetic products are more to your liking. Go to (About.com) for the “Free Stuff” blog.
It’s updated relatively frequently, and gives you advice on where to go to get these free samples. Walmart.com shows up pretty frequently.

Perhaps you would rather go for industrial quantities of free stuff. Have a need for mulch, scrapwood, manure? If you can believe it, many people just throw this stuff away. If you’re a gardener, picking up a truckload of organic refuse (provided you can verify that it’s not toxic for some reason) is a great way to avoid dishing out hundreds of dollars in topsoil and fertilizer. Gardening is also, by the way, a good way to avoid paying out 20% of more of your income in food bills.

Pay-per-Use

An addendum to the last post. Suppose you actually offer a product or a service...downloadable images, songs, videos, etc. You can ask your audience to pay what they believe to be a fair price for your goods and services. The band Radiohead pioneered this a few years ago by offering their entire album online in exchange for donations to be determined by the downloaders.

This technique evolved in response to the advent of free file sharing and “digital piracy” by services like Napster, Gnutella and Limewire. This is a way to avoid paying huge sums to the middleman (record company and film production company) and instead send your money directly to the artist. While sites like ITunes allow you to download content at a price that fits its relative market value (new as of February ’09), the “pay-per-use” technique allows the audience itself to determine market value. Sure, you’re not Radiohead, but if you have goods and services to offer with a low overhead, this may be a way to avoid giving it away for free.