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.
