---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Getting back to my blog after a long vacation, i decided to post about one of my favourite websites.Though i have already mentioned it in my previous post on Microjobs, i wish to go in detail and discuss thoroughly.This post is completely dedicated to a particular website,which increased my enthusiasm and zeal. My endeavour in search of legitimate online money making sites has come to a standstill on encountering MTurk
Getting back to my blog after a long vacation, i decided to post about one of my favourite websites.Though i have already mentioned it in my previous post on Microjobs, i wish to go in detail and discuss thoroughly.This post is completely dedicated to a particular website,which increased my enthusiasm and zeal. My endeavour in search of legitimate online money making sites has come to a standstill on encountering MTurk
WHAT IS AMAZON MECHANICAL TURK?
The Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a marketplace for work that requires Human intelligence, that enables Requesters to co-ordinate the use of human intelligence to perform tasks that computers are unable to do yet. It is one of the suites of Amazon Web Services. The Requesters are able to post tasks known as HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks), such as performing short surveys, rating websites, rewriting sentences, completing surveys, writing original articles, copying text from scans and photos, transcribing audio files, writings reviews and short articles. Workers can then browse among existing tasks and complete them for a monetary payment set by the Requester.
In my opinion, an average individual can earn $0.10 a HIT, so if u can complete around 100 HITs a day then u can easily make 10$,that could make $300 dollars a month. Don’t get disheartened as HITs with higher payment are also available, ranging from $ 2 to $15, but they mostly come under the surveys category, If u are interested in participating surveys then you can go for them. But the only drawback is that some of them consume a lot of time. In that case u can go for an alternative. While, some of the surveys will pay you $1 or more for just 5 or 10 minutes work. So stay alert, and always look for some new HITs by refreshing the page before u accept another one. For better earnings, it is advisable to avoid 1 or 2 cent HITs, as they consume a lot of time without paying much at the end of the day.It is really is up to you how much you would like to earn.
Before you get involved in any Amazon Mechanical Turk hit, it is better to analyze these main aspects.
- Firstly, if it requires a qualification test to be passed before you can even begin working on the hit(s) proper.
- Secondly, does it have extensive instructions, thereby slowing down your submission process and thus increasing your rejection rate?
- Thirdly, estimate the amount of time u might spend on a particular task and check whether the payment offered to complete the task is worthy for the time spent by you. If u consider, it unworthy then skip to another HITs, by refreshing the page. You can always find new HITs getting updated in the marketplace.
- Finally, Read the instructions carefully before you accept a Mechanical Turk hit.This is one of the most important Mechanical Turk aspects. If you regularly end up having to return an Amazon Mechanical Turk hit because you are unable, or don't want to complete it, then this will affect your "hit return rate" adversely. Alternatively you may complete and submit a number of Mechanical Turk hits incorrectly, then get them rejected, which can be very frustrating, as well as a huge waste of time. This doesn't matter if you do it once or twice, but if you do it regularly, then it will limit the range of Mechanical Turk hits that you can take.
The Pros and Cons of Amazon Mechanical Turk:
PROs:
- It's free to sign up.
- You can work from home.
- Liberty to choose only those HITs in which you are interested
- No minimum payout
- No referral system
CONs:
- No proper regulation of the HITs.
- Need to be cautious as some Requesters might scam you.Just be aware of them and avoid their HITs.
- The payments can be scrimpy and irregular.
How to overcome the Scams?
"Prevention is better than cure".Stay away from Scammers.These tips will help you avoid Scammers.Stay away from hits that ask for your name, address and credit card details.Mechanical Turk requests never ask for personal information.
- Avoid hits with high payment that appear to be fake.Ten dollars for a job that takes less than 10 minutes is a sign of a scammer.
- Join forums such as Turker Nation and MTurk Forum to interact with other Turk workers, get informed and learn what hits to avoid and what hits are the best. These forums are set up and self-run by Mechanical Turk workers and they may help you to avoid the worst of MTurk and direct you towards the best requesters and practices.
- Download and use the Turkopticon-toolbar.This will allow you to see reviews from other Mechanical Turk workers before you decide to take a hit or not.See if a requester rejected a MTurk hit without good reason.Did they pay in reasonable time?One scam that unethical requesters use is to reject work on the grounds that it is inadequate in order to get out of paying.This tool is worth having if you're a regular Mechanical Turk user, in my opinion, as it really does work.
I hope this helps you avoid pitfalls and allows you to get the most out of a truly innovative and valuable service.I also hope that your search for legitimate money making sites stops here. Signup for MTurk here.
