Monday, June 18, 2012

Mechanical Turk: What it Is and What it Ain't


Mechanical Turk is a subsidiary of Amazon.com and first started in November of 2005. Like anything else, has its supporters and its detractors.

When you look at the website, you get the spiffied up version of what Mechanical Turk is. Basically, it’s a way to make money doing menial computer tasks. And to a lot of people that sounds great… until you understand that some tasks pay very little. As in .10 or less for some. There are others that pay much more ($10 and more); however, these may require certain skills and passing certain tests to get approved for them.

Mechanical Turk has been praised as a way to make a little money while sitting on the phone surfing the net since a lot of the jobs don't really require all that much brain power. Others object to even bothering with such drivel, calling it a "virtual sweatshop". 

What it comes down to is realistic expectation. You have to know that there is a difference between "working from home" and "making money online". If you need to work from home and want something that can pay the bills, this ain't it. If you feel like it could be good or a little fun to at least make forty or fifty cents here and there filling out questionnaires and the like, what the hey-- go for it. 

Beware that some users have reported doing a job and not having the work accepted or getting to a certain amount of money and having their account suddenly suspended.  Others report (ahem, foolishly) offering personal information and then being on the receiving end of solicitations from insurance, roofing and siding companies. This article reports that nearly 40% of tasks on the site are now nothing but spam.

Just like any other make money online or work from home opportunity, when considering Mechanical Turk, DO YOUR RESEARCH in order to figure out if it will be something that works for you.

Good reads for this subject:  

Top 10 Amazon Mechanical Turk Tips and Tricks