Making money from Internet?

[DR M]

I don't know if this is the right place for this topic, and I don't know if such a topic has a place in this forum.  :)
But I will ask, because here I can find so many people who are offering their help, without expecting anything. Something like ... more friends than friends.

Anyway. My question is: Can you earn money from the Internet? Of course, I am not talking about those scams, which are fake. I am asking about something legal and profitable. Some people suggest that making a web page can give you money, through google adds. Some other say about online stores. But could someone live from these? Is there anything else someone could do, to earn money, through Internet?

Please, give me some advice, correct me, and guide me.

Thank you in advance.

[hayc59]

Well you open yourself up for alot of heart ache..you can and then cant
depending on what you want from the internet.
pr0n will bring alot of money but goes with a bad rap and rep!
I have a few friends in New York doing it and to me its just gross...and then the ads..adware..virus.. you and others have to deal
to much work.

Now that that's out of the way..do you have a hobby of sorts like make stuff you could sell to mass produce for the masses?
I have sis in law that sells things and dings on something called Etsy https://www.etsy.com/
she still has a full time job...so who knows ;)
good luck and that's all I got
Gordon

[Corrine]

Tech and subject-speciality bloggers can make money from sponsorships, Google Adsense and similar programs but it doesn't come easy.  It takes regular (daily) new information plus social media interaction to build up traffic to the site.  Plus there's the cost of the domain and web hosting.  At least a general knowledge of SEO is helpful as well.

As to what Gordon's friends do, you even think about that, Panos, and you'll be in really big trouble from me.

[hayc59]

That was in no way a suggestion.. I would not ever go there
but you have to admit,  a lot of money to be made!!
and NO disrespect intended to anyone here at Landz
just given the facts

[JDBush61]

Short answer? Yes, you very much can, if you're a pro editor. The money is very good, and unending.

Requirements? An education from a good school, a well-developed skill set, clients who trust your work, and time.

Fun part? Can be done from anywhere, even a boat. Inmarsat helps, but doesn't come cheap; http://www.inmarsat.com

Comedy? Dreamers who think that blogs or YouTube postings will pay the rent. Stranger things can happen, yet ... ;)

My personal needs? More TIME!

[Frands]

Hi DR.M,

Well, I would suggest that you find another way to earn some money :) . Ads has never been that popular, and nowadays people blocks them more and more. F.ex here around me, 4 out of 10 blocks the ads where possible. Personally I have no problems with ads on sites that gives out a free service, but I would still rather donate some money for the service and things I get from those sites. 

[DR M]

Hello, and thank you for the info.

Frands, I wish I could find another way to earn money.  :)

I really need a job (I have a part time job now, since September, but 400 euros a month cannot do much, and I can't live from my mom's money for ever! ), but it seems that it's the most difficult thing now. So I am asking about anything, and since doing things with my computer is one of my hobbies, I thought to investigate the possibility of earning money from the internet. And I don't mean getting in troubles in any way.  :)

[GR@PH;<'S]

There is a lad up our road that works from home buying and selling goods from auction sites like e-bay,
As well as sites like Gumtree

GR@PH;<'S  

[Ghost]

There is a lad up our road that works from home buying and selling goods from auction sites like e-bay

Yes by all means. i sell at Ebay and i find it easy to do once you have sold a few items.
I buy used Playstation 2 consoles at pawn shops and clean them up and sell them. Some i can repair but if not i sell them "for parts". The ones i repair i sell for a good price compared to what i pay at the pawn shops.
As im working during the summer i check out yard sales for items and a friend of mine buys storage units and sells what he doesnt want on Ebay unless its furniture or other large items which he sells to a second hand store here in town.
My sis inlaw buys large lots (boxes) of items after the holidays and stores them till just before the same holiday a year later. She sells them as new and does very well because the price is always more the next year;-).
Just acouple ideas.

[Pete!]

...... I wish I could find another way to earn money.  :).....
....I really need a job ........

Off topic but.....
If you're really desperate....

Any menial job that requires a background check.
Educated or skilled people don't want menial jobs, and illegal/undocumented aliens can't pass the screening. There's usually a shortage of applicants.

eg: (In the US) any support job at a school, like custodian, food service, and etc.
An evening/night job, like custodian, still leaves time for job interviews (for your desired career) in the morning.

[Corrine]

My name is Panos and I come from Cyprus, a greek island in the eastern Mediterranean.

Although not nearly as bad as on the mainland, Cyprus has a high unemployment rate.  Via Twitter, https://twitter.com/intlspectator/status/690594862597480448

Highest unemployment in Europe, current. Bosnia: 43% Macedonia: 27.3% Greece: 25.1% Spain: 22.4% Serbia: 17.9% Albania: 17.3% Cyprus: 16.3% {bold added}

Those figures are for people actively seeing employment, not those who have given up or are employed in part-time positions.

[DR M]

Although not nearly as bad as on the mainland, Cyprus has a high unemployment rate.  Via Twitter, https://twitter.com/intlspectator/status/690594862597480448
Those figures are for people actively seeing employment, not those who have given up or are employed in part-time positions.

Corrine, thank you for mentioning this. (Although, I must say that there is no country with the name Macedonia; it's FYROM, and some comments under the tweet are unacceptable.) This is another link, concerning 2015: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/country-list/unemployment-rate. Also, I have recently read that the corresponding percentage of unemployment in Cyprus, among young people, 21-25 years old, during 2015, was 33%.

As for the ''menial'' jobs, I think that no job is menial when the money given is honest. I worked two years at Mc Donalds, during the 1st and 2nd year of my studies, and I was a waiter at night, a year after, for some months. Our schools don't have service stuff, which need a background check, so this is not an option.  I don't want to give the impression that I want an ''easy'' job, while I'm just sitting in front of my computer, but there is a small detail you don't know: three accidents I had during the last 6 years have created a small permanent disability on one of my legs. So I need something suitable. Also, I need a car.  :)

[DR M]

What about making a blog (it's free, right?) which would be an online store of computer gadgets-gifts? Buying from ebay and sell in the online store? I don't think I will ever find PSP 2, as Ghost, to sell, so... But is this legal???

[JDBush61]

Do you still live in Cyprus? Have you thought about relocating to further your education? You mentioned "..during the 1st and 2nd year of my studies...", so I take that to mean at the university level. Is that correct? If so, what is your academic degree? How old are you? What would you like to do with your life? What are your real aspirations for personal happiness? The last two questions are important to think about.

I ask these many questions because it might be better for you to think longer term. Not knowing your current situation in detail (at all, for that matter), I still guess that you have quite a few years left in front of you. That's why I think that furthering your education might provide you with better long-term financial results. I noticed the Greek flag. I've had a house in Ano Glyfada since 1995. Are you Greek, or Cypriot? Although many people sometimes think that Cyprus is part of Greece (which it isn't), and that Greek Cypriots are Greek (which they are not, as they are Cypriots), Cyprus IS a member of the EU. Thus, you're free to travel throughout Europe, correct? Just thinking out loud, yet the angles that you propose for making money on the Internet have been beaten to death; i.e., they are not realistic for any type of large and consistent capital gains.

The better approach, as I mentioned above, is to first get a very good academic degree from a very good university. That will open many doors for you, and doors that you never before knew existed. When my son was 22 years old he said "Dad, I think I want to go traveling around the world." I replied, "Come here, we need to talk." Point being, my son needed to be awakened to the realities of time, education, and money. The realities of life, which actually get more clear the older you become.

Can you buy and sell stuff on Ebay legally? Of course, as long as that stuff is legal. I've done it. Can people live off Internet blogs? I really can't give an educated opinion on that, yet I highly doubt that it's a logical pathway to follow for long-term financial security.

Anyway, just tossing up some ideas for you. Germany has some nice schools. Many people are walking the path there from the Middle East right now, and unlike you, they are not even EU citizens. My Greek wife now lives in London. Just tossing out clues.  ;)

Ps; Macedonia is a country. My Greek wife has been upset for years, as she thinks that it should still be part of Greece. Alexander the Great would love her.

[DR M]

When I opened this topic, I did not object nor imagined that it would lead to a political conversation. I apologize if I have responsibility for this. But because JDBush61 raised very delicate and sensitive points on the history of my nation and my country, I will say a few words about restoration of the historical truth. Not because I am the one who holds the historical truth, but because as a Greek Cypriot I know better than anyone else the history of my nation and my country.

These are the words that bothered me:

Are you Greek, or Cypriot? Although many people sometimes think that Cyprus is part of Greece (which it isn't), and that Greek Cypriots are Greek (which they are not, as they are Cypriots), Cyprus IS a member of the EU.

You are asking if I am Greek or Cypriot. For us, Greeks, this question is meaningless. We are Greeks of Cyprus, Greek Cypriots. Our island was Greek from 9000 BC, our history is Greek, our culture is Greek our national hymn is the Greek one. Cyprus was part of the Byzantine Empire until Franks (1191-1489), Venetians (1489-1571), Turks (1571-1878), British (1878-1960) crossed as conquerors and tried to change our history. They did not make it but because our soul was and it is still Greek. We fought all these years for freedom and union with Greece. Again, our own mistakes, but also foreign interests and political manipulation led to the independence of Cyprus in 1960.

The Turkish invasion of 1974, which brought the occupation of 40% of Cyprus (that is why I can not go to Famagusta, the city of my parents, the turkish army does not allow us to go there), created new conditions. Since then we are fighting for justice, for a real solution which covers the human rights of all the people in the island. The Greek government is always at our side in these efforts.

Although many Greeks from the mainland (e.g. your wife from Greece, I guess) never bothered to learn about the history of Cyprus (that is why many times we feel betrayed), this does not change the history. It is there. The hundreds of our monuments, the common language, the common religion, the common culture are the real witnesses of this history, and they are shouting that the island is Greek. Yes, Cyprus is now an independent state, but this does not change its history.

Τhe incredibly frivolous view that Greeks Cypriots are not Greeks is falsification of our history. There is no Cypriot nation. There is a Greek nation, part of which are the Greek Cypriots. We have Greek nationality and Cypriot citizenship, as citizens of an independent state, member of the EU. This is what is written on our identity cards: Nationality: Greek. Citizenship: Cypriot.

For someone who didn't read Greek History, all these might sound complex or stupid, but for us they are not. I know I'm not good at expressing myself in English. You see my native language is Greek, because I am Greek, Greek Cypriot. I would like to say much more, but I can't, because of the language, but also because this is not a place for such a discussion. For anyone who wants to read about all these, here are some links from our Ministry of Foreign Affairs (You will find a lot of links out there, but please, be careful from turkish propaganda):
http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/highcom/highcomcanberra.nsf/cyprus02_en/cyprus02_en?OpenDocument
http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/mfa2006.nsf/cyprus01_en/cyprus01_en?OpenDocument
http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/embassies/embassy_rome.nsf/DMLcyhistory_en/DMLcyhistory_en?OpenDocument

As for Macedonia, I will repeat that there is no country with the name Macedonia, today. The country that wants to use that name is Skopje-FYROM, and the inhabitants of this country have nothing to do with his descendants of Alexander the Great and the Greeks. Their flag also has the star of Vergina, which is a Greek symbol and part of our history, not theirs. Part of the territory of Skopje is a part of the Macedonia of Alexander. After the WWII, this land was stolen from Greece and was given to them. We, as Greeks,  do not give away the name of Macedonia to people who are not related to Macedonia. We consider this as a distortion of history. Not only JDBush61's wife, but all Greeks (yes, and Greek Cypriots), want this part of the world to belong to Greece. As this cannot be done, due to specific political agreements, we deny giving the name Macedonia for Skopje. It's simple.

Please, forgive me for this long essay, and forgive me if I offended anyone who reads me... I was not intended to ever talk about history here. But please, don't ever say that Greeks Cypriots are not Greek. It's a historical lie, although I know that nobody here intended to do it purposely.

P.S. Because I was asked to answer, I have a degree in Pedagogy and Master in Music Education as well as in Mathematics Education, from Cyprus University. I can work as a teacher in Primary Schools, as well as a Music teacher, as I have a Diploma in Theory and Piano from Royal Schools of London. Τo get a job in Public Schools, I must wait for at least 15 years. Now I have a part time job, as a Music Teacher, but I can't stay only with this. I could also help students with their homework, but it's not very usual for small students to attend such kind of lessons. I opened this topic not because I wanted to find the job of my life, but to ask some questions, so I could find some to complement my salary. Again, my apologies for the long reply (especially for you, you read up to here.  ;)  )