Well its invite only and since I got lucky finding an invite immediately on a blog (I’ve heard some people wait months!) I’ll post mine here to return the favor. I got it a few weeks ago so I don’t know if it will work.

http://www.pineconeresearch.com/signup/ds548Referral1.asp

Not that I think they’re the Devil’s work, anyway. Just wondered when you changed your mind.

As a professional writer, I’ve never written anything that only took “an hour or two on a lazy evening” to write. Research alone for both business and consumer articles I’ve written consumes far more time. But then this is original material with relevant information for a specific audience, not just the personal opinions and ideas that pass for “articles” online today.

There’s research, drafting, writing, fact checking, time spent interviewing people, checking resources, working with editors, graphic designers, etc.

If authentic writers could crank out articles in an hour or two, and somebody paid real money (not a penny a word or even less), we professionals would be billionaires.

NOT the way it works. Especially when anyone who can type thinks they are a writer.

I loathe when people admonish others to just “write” as if anyone could do it.

It’s especially painful to see you say that Trent, because you actually can write, which distinguishes your blog from so many others out there. (And you do write articles that require research and fact checking.)

Just because someone has photoshop doesn’t mean they’re a graphic designer, artist or illustrator.

Argghhhh.

AaronO @ 11:43 am June 11th, 2009 (comment #7)

piqued.

Pinecone Research does pay, but they’re down to $3 from $5, so I’m less inspired than I used to be. Plus, you can only sign up with them at certain times.

If I had no other way to earn extra money, I’d probably be more motivated, but I can play the piano, which gives me jobs at weddings, funerals and the like, and I can also do photography. Both of those earn me a far better hourly rate.

Also, it would be interesting to see a “time value of money” analysis applied to the question of whether to make snowflake payments immediately or to wait until the end of the week (or month) and make them all at once. If, for example, you have a $50 snowflake payment to make on a credit card with 20% interest, waiting a week to make it will save you about 20 cents in interest. Now, 20 cents is 20 cents – and why waste 20 cents if you don’t have to? – plus there is the psychological benefit, perhaps, of paying down your debt as quickly as possible. But if making the payment earlier rather than later would cause you any kind of inconvenience at all, it might not be worth it.

IF you can tolerate looking up addresses of professors or celebrities, and it really only takes you 30 seconds to do, that’s only $6/hr, and you (should) get taxed on that amount. If you only do it during commercials, you can’t possibly pay for your cable bill each month this way.

Survey are a much better way to go, if you insist on making a pittance online.