10 Ways to Make Money for the MySpace Generation
I still remember my dial-up internet connection, paying for AOL by the hour, and waiting 45 minutes for a 1MB file to finish downloading. I can recall thinking that it was all fun to play with, but I didn't see the big picture of how the internet would so drastically change the world that we live in. Now, the Myspace generation is growing up, and they have known nothing else! Luckily for them (and us) all these changes present tremendous opportunities for business and new ways of making money!
1. Sell stuff on eBay for Mom and Dad
If I were a teen trying to make a few bucks, I would sit mom and dad down at the kitchen table and offer to sell their junk for them. I would have them identify all the junk around the house they don't want, and I would offer to split the profits with them. Hopefully, they would just let me keep all the profits. Either way, this is a win-win deal.
2. Write product reviews
I still remember a few years ago when I realized the power of user-generated reviews. I had this revelation that I no longer had to guess if a product would hold up to what it claimed; I now could find out beforehand from others. There are websites like Epinions.com and ReviewStream.com that offer cash or rewards in exchange for product reviews. If you are a fast typer and have an opinion, this could be a way to earn a few extra bucks.
3. Take online surveys
When I first discovered online surveys, I thought it was like a dream-come-true. I could sit at my computer and make a living taking surveys all day. Then after doing it for an hour and wanting to pull my ears off with boredom, I realized this wasn't for me. An additional hazard is that many of the survey sites are borderline spammy, and if you don't protect your phone number and address, you could end up with some "deals" that you might not have been interested in.
4. Sell digital photos
The internet has helped the advancement of the digital photo. There are now lots of sites looking to buy digital photos: Dreamstime.com, Shutterstock.com, CreStock.com, Fotolia.com. While it definitely wouldn't hurt to be a pro photographer, there is plenty of opportunity for amateurs with a good/decent camera to make money selling their work.
5. Tutor or give lessons
Many parents are willing to shell out a lot of cash to pay for a tutor for their child. They realize that if Johnny can get his GPA up to 3.7 he will have a better chance at getting a college scholarship. If you are great at Geometry, Physics, or Underwater Basket-weaving, there probably is a demand for your help as a tutor. Try advertising your services on Craigslist. And to make it even more 21st century, try tutoring via Skype.
6. Create Myspace backgrounds
When you hear about a pre-teen making more money than his parents creating Myspace backgrounds, you know that times have changed. If you know how to use Photoshop or Gimp and have a little creativity you can create a product that people will want. Throw up a website with a Paypal "Buy it Now" link and you will be off and running. Bonus: creating Twitter backgrounds is in fashion, as well.
7. Design web logos
Taking the whole graphic design thing one step further, you could create logos for blogs and other websites. There are a gazillion blogs out there that would pay $25-$100 for a logo.
8. Create websites
Even though we are well into the "Internet Age" there is still a tremendous demand for affordable web developers. There are still tons of mom-and-pop shops that either don't have a website and want one, or haven't updated it since 2002 and want to. It seems like I hear the same story every few weeks: The small business owner wants a website, but can't afford to pay thousands of dollars for it. Many of these business owners would be thrilled to pay $500 for a Wordpress site with a pretty theme. Sounds like a great business opportunity to me! (Over the last year blogging has become my primary source of income — which is nice after getting laid off last year! It is anything but a get-rich-quick scheme, and I like to call it a work-for-free-for-a-long-time-and-then-reap-your-reward program, but there is money to be made. I wrote extensively about how to make money from a blog a few months ago on my blog.)
9. Sell widgets on Etsy
If you are crafty and need a bigger market than your freshman lunchroom, you can sell your goodies on Etsy. They are a website designed specifically to buy and sell handmade items.
10. Become a freelance writer and sell articles
Check out Upwork and find thousands of people willing to pay for your writing skills. There is pretty good money to be made for good writers. But even if you are mediocre, as long as you can write a coherent sentence you should be able to find plenty of work. If you prefer to sell your articles individually, you can visit sites like Constant-Content, ArticleSale, Helium.
This guest post is by Bob of ChristianPF.com, a website that approaches financial topics using timeless Biblical principles.
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OR...they could get off their butt and go get a job where they have to work hard and use *GASP* muscles! And Energy! OH THE HUMANITY!
People wonder why the economy is so bad, when we're trying to figure out non-jobs for 'myspace generations' (What the hell is that anyway?) Seriously? I really don't want inexperienced coddled teenagers reviewing products I might buy someday. FREELANCE WRITING? You know who else wants your writing skills? YOUR FREAKING ENGLISH TEACHER.
All teens who read this article: please ignore everything you read - and go get a real job. You've got to pay your dues and work hard- that will create perspective and teach you valuable lessons.
Or these could be looked at as good ideas for anyone just trying to increase their cash flow to pay off debt or just earn more money to save.
And yet the author of this comment is researching the same information on ways of making extra cash, same as the "myspace generation" are. Your generation is the problem with our global economy and our generation has to pay for it.
I think that in light of the new economy, this article actually has some merit. Sure, you could tell someone of the MySpace generation (which could arguably be age 15 to late twenties) to go flip burgers, but in many areas, even these jobs are scarce (and let's be realistic, in some cases, those that haven't lived long enough to even obtain a college degree are competing against someone with of Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration to even get the job.)
Ingenuity, flexibility, and a passion to connect virtually all seem to be traits that define users of the MySpace-type tools. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, and if you're a full-time HS or college student, and getting a traditional job just isn't in the cards (try finding a job in a town of 1800 where there ARE no jobs), then finding alternative and LEGAL ways of raising cash is an admirable skill. (And might I mention that it most definitely prepares one for some of the job categories that are growing right now.)
Encouragement to explore your own kind of entrepreneurialism is what made many of us successful today. (And I'm SURE you didn't mean to imply that freelance writing is somehow not a respectable career -- try telling that to my utilities company when I use my freelance writing checks to pay my bills, on time, every month.)
Thanks for the comment (and thank YOU Bob for the eye-opening guest post.)
Linsey Knerl
The jobs listed aren't jobs for the "lazy" -- they take a lot of time and dedication. If a teen has the motivation to put in the effort, what does it matter whether it's flipping burgers or asking mom and dad what they no longer want around the house to post on eBay?
While these are advice that anyone can take, especially relevant for teens is that way over qualified candidates are now applying for jobs typically only teens would want. And even if a teen just didn't want to do those types of jobs -- before I graduated college, I just never looked at jobs in fast food/restaurants or retail stores because it wasn't my preference -- and wanted to find a job he/she was actually interested in, what's the harm in that?
Whatever shows initiative and a motivation to work for something, instead of asking mom and dad to buy and give things, is a trait that any teen should be encouraged to pursue.
...NOONE uses MySpace anymore.
r u crazy me and my friend + use myspace every day
7 and 8
Creating websites and logos are not actually as simple as you might think. In addition to having access to photoshop and dreamweaver, you have to consider copyrights and usage and plagiarism. These and many other reasons are why professionals in these fields spend years in college to obtain degrees before. Your "easy way to make a buck or two" may turn into a huge lawsuit.
4
be aware that once you give your photos or illustrations to istock, you no longer own the rights to them. this means you cannot post them on facebook or hang them on your wall or use them in your holiday greeting card, unless you then purchase them and use them according to their guidelines. Regardless of whether they choose to sell them or not. (Also, if they choose to give them away for free, you will get no dividends).
Your tips are a good observation. We appreciate your input !!
Linsey Knerl
Thanks for sharing 10 way creating money from myspace.How about other social marketing like tagged and friendster.
I just wrote a post about this topic on my blog today. Yes, there are plenty of underemployed people who may be looking for extra cash right now. Thanks for the post! My fiance and I have both sold stuff for our parents on Ebay and Craig's List. In return, our parents gave us a cut of the earnings.
APOLIGIES to bob i have no issue with his article other than it was well written and infromative my issue was with jesse who left the first comment.
The myspace generation includes college grads so much school debt that it gets in the way of their moving on to other phases of life... unable to buy a house, have kids and so on. My daughter fits this, plus has a job that requires she be "on call." So a second part-time job doesn't work for her. Some of these ideas might work for her.
Good post and good idea... Thanks