Saturday, December 29, 2007

Social Discussion

Social networking sites like MySpace have become extremely popular in recent years because of how much people enjoy interacting with others online. So, it was only a matter of time before sites began offering incentives for users to take part in these types of activities.
Whether it be talking with others, posting in forums, or offering your assistance in an area you have some expertise in, you can find several ways to get paid to take part in these discussions.
BitWine allows you to earn money for taking calls and giving people advice in some area of expertise. You can set up a profile page, decide which topics you wish to advise on, and set how much you would like to charge per minute. BitWine is integrated with Skype, an internet call program, which you must download and install in order to take calls. You can decide when you want to take calls or even set up appointments in advance. BitWine also features an affiliate program that allows you to install a widget on your site and pass people looking for advice to BitWine, and then receive a commission in return.
ChaCha is a search engine site that uses its team of "Guides" to help make their search results more relevant and accurate. ChaCha features a standard search engine page as well as an option for users of the site to chat with a Guide, who can then suggest sites to the user depending on what they are looking for. Anyone can apply to be a Guide and they reportedly make between $5 and $10 per hour, can work whenever they like, and can request payment at any time.
Dada.net is a social networking site - similar to MySpace - with millions of users. Members of the site can create their own personal page and list their interests, write in a blog, post audio and video, and of course link to their friends and post comments on their pages as well. The site also features a program called Friend$ which allows you to make money just by using the site, referring other people to it, and driving more visitors to your personal page.
Ether is a site that helps you get paid for assisting others over the phone. They supply you with a number and personal extension (available in the USA and Canada only) that forwards to your real phone number, which is always kept private. You decide on the topics of discussion in advance, as well as what you would like to charge - this could be an hourly rate, by the minute, or a flat rate per call. You can also set the hours that you are available for calls, or simply turn your Ether number on and off whenever you like so you will never get calls when
you don't want to. Ether does not really promote your number, so it's up to you to let people know about it.
Just Answer is a question and answer site where experts answer paid questions for customers. When you apply, you may also provide any credentials you have such as degrees or professional licenses, although these are not required. New questions appear frequently, along with the amount the customer is willing to pay to have it answered. As an expert, you answer questions primarily by posting messages, although a chat option is also available. If your answer is accepted, the amount paid is split between you and Just Answer. The more questions you answer, the greater your share will be when you answer new ones.
Jyve is another site that where you can offer your assistance to others. Users of the site ask questions, many of which are answered in a live chat - but because anyone can ask a question whether they are a member of the site or not, some of the questions can be incomplete or nonsensical. You can get paid for answering questions when users choose to tip you, or you can sign up for "JyvePro" which gives you the additional ability to take paid voice calls using Skype. These calls can be pre-paid, or you can speak with the person first and then switch to
a paid call later.
myLot is a large and active discussion community where users are paid a small amount simply for contributing to discussions. Once signed up, anyone can start a new discussion or post in a discussion that someone else has started. All of the discussions are organized into a huge group of "interests" covering almost anything one would like to talk about. The focus of MyLot is more on chatting than on writing, so serious writers will find more reliable earnings elsewhere; but if you enjoy a more casual chatting environment, MyLot is worth checking out.
Tutor.com is an online tutoring site. Tutors work in an "online classroom" where you can chat with a student, use a whiteboard or browse sites together, and send files back and forth. As a tutor, you schedule your own hours (anywhere from 5-30 per week). To apply, you must live in the US or Canada, have a degree, fill out their online application, and go through their screening process. Tutor.com claims to pay very competitive rates for tutoring and also pays potential tutors for going through their training process.

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