 |
|
|
Get Paid to Expose Lies By Christine Durst & Michael Haaren Sept. 27, 2012 The web has given birth to some unexpected trends (which may be the understatement of the century). One of the fastest-growing is “crowdsourcing” – turning to the public en masse to get something done, large or small, commercial or philanthropic. For example, at any given moment, thousands of people across the U.S. need to have errands run. Sites like Taskrabbit.com match them to errand-runners, who earn a few dollars for their time. For a corporate example, 1-800-FLOWERS and other companies with seasonal surges in orders will hire temporary home-based customer service agents to meet the need. THE TRUTH PAYS One of the latest in the series of crowdsourcing sites is TruthMarket.com, which bills itself as “the marketplace for truth telling.” Per the site, “TruthMarket™…enables participants to ‘crowd-fund,’ organize and execute grass roots campaigns to publicly expose false political, commercial and activist claims and reinforce true claims. Successful campaign creators, challengers and defenders earn cash rewards, public commendation and acclaim for their efforts.” TruthMarket lets individuals claim a bounty when they disprove or support an asserted truth. For example, as we write, $5,000 is being offered to anyone who can disprove the claim of Sheriff Arpaio of Arizona that President Obama’s birth certificate is forged. Similarly, $5,000 is offered to anyone who can show that prolonged cell phone use is safe. On the flip side, the site also lets you raise money from the public yourself to encourage individuals to disprove a lie or support a truth. For example, $30,000 is being sought to disprove the claim that “Guns are used 1.5 million times annually by U.S. residents for self defense.” EASY TO ASK FOR MONEY The web has made it simple to ask an almost infinite number of people for money, for almost any reason. Do you have unpaid medical bills? Would you like to offer more crafts for sale on Etsy? Need to increase the capacity of your organic bakery? Want to write a book? Sites like Indiegogo.com and Kickstarter.com make it easy to ask the public for donations. However, storm clouds are gathering on the horizon. Many campaigns offer merchandise or services in exchange for contributions, and some people are complaining that they didn’t receive the things they were promised. In other cases, donors say they weren’t adequately informed of how the money they gave was spent. Easy money is a powerful lure, and the sums at stake can be quite large. For example, a campaign at Indiegogo.com to buy back inventor Nikola Tesla’s old laboratory has raised $1.3 million. At Kickstarter.com, another “crowdfunding” site, a campaign for a “smartwatch” famously raised $1 million in 28 hours, and by the time it was over had raised more than $10 million. On that thought, maybe we should launch a campaign to fund the writing of our next column! ---- Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is Work at Home Now, a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2012 BY STAFFCENTRIX, DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The
contents of this site are the property of Staffcentrix, LLC © 1999-2011. Staffcentrix, LLC. All rights reserved. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
