TL;DR:
- 💱People perform transactions over the internet, your goal is to be on the receiving end of these transactions.
- âš For those who say smart contracts are not people, someone had to write the code for the smart contact to exist. For those who say AI can write code, someone had to write the code for the AI to exist.
To make money on the internet, you need to access the internet (no-brainer). The main options are a smartphone, tablet or computer. According to StatCounter.com over 56% of users access the internet via a smartphone (tablets 2% and computers 42%). As such I have structured this guide assuming you only have a smartphone; which is enough to get the ball rolling. Eventually you would need to purchase a computer/laptop to scale up your operations.
Before explaining how to turn your device into an ATM, first is to understand money and second the internet. How they work and why they work in that way. The internet as we know it has only existed since 1990's versus money which has documentation dating from Mesopotamia, so we'll start there.
Money
In order to get what we want, we have to give. Breathe out to breathe in. An exchange is the swapping of one item for another. While humans originally exchanged goods for goods or favors, we developed the concept of money to simplify the day to day exchanges in our life.
Money is any item or verifiable record that is used to facilitate exchange of resources (goods, services or assets);
- items commonly used to denominate currency are metallic coins and paper notes. in recent times plastic cards and digital files have been introduced.
- verifiable records are typically documents such a receipt, cheque, title deed, digital signature, blockchain address.
The Internet
The 'textbook'/simple definition is that the internet is a global network of computers. I made a slight tweak to this definition: 'the internet is a global network of computer users' because the user is the most important component of making money.
Networking is the exchange of information and ideas among people of common interests. Information becomes a form of money.
Computers are (mostly) metal, plastic and glass machines that provide access to the internet. Having a network of computers allows for the exchange of information across vast distances. Enabling the transfer of money to become more efficient.
As important as the network is, the users who code software, create art, crunch spreadsheets, upload videos, place trades, write blogs, post applications, record music and most importantly; perform transactions, on the internet that makes it possible to earn an income online.
Internet Money
Combining the concepts of money (items or records of exchange) with the internet (network of computers and users) reveal that making money online is possible by exchanging data on the network. Which can also be described as transacting. A transaction is the agreement or communication to exchange goods, services or assets for payment between a buyer and a seller.
The simplest form of human transactions is barter trade - transactions can be as simple as two sacks of corn for sowing my farm, a piece of land for 36 moons of being my porter or bars of gold for military equipment. A more relatable transaction could be do your homework for screen time.
As complexity and amount of transactions increased, a system was required to keep track of who owed what; hence representational metrics began being employed for simplicity. An oversimplification of their evolution is: Shells => Metallic coins => Paper => Plastic cards => Computer files.
At present a majority of transactions are paid for using government backed currency; however recently there has been adoption of non-government backed digital currency to facilitate transactions.
How to make internet money
In simple terms, the internet has made it possible to perform transactions across a global network. Our goal is to be on the receiving end of these transactions.
The premise of barter trade remains, you have to give in order to receive. As of writing, the marketplace has seen continual demand for (Time, Skills, Experience, Material). It is important to remember that using the internet in your life is a spectrum. However the web3 economy is proving that even minimal participation in the internet economy can be enough to sustain life. Rather than bore you with an exhaustive list of all the possible ways to make internet money, I present practical ways to start now.
Brave
An internet browser that pays you (in crypto) for scrolling through the internet.
Sweatcoin
A step counting app that rewards users for movement. Use this link to download the app to your smartphone.
Ask for money.
- GoFundMe
- BuyMeACoffee
- Crypto Faucets
Add an online component to your existing offline business or profession.
- Add WiFi to your place of business.
- Wireless payment methods.
- Remote ordering processing.
- Create and maintain social media pages.
- Portfolio website.
Trade your time and skills.
Assuming you have yet to being your journey in employment, here are some ideas that you may wish to explore:
- Jobs; apply for a higher income position. [LinkedIn]
- Freelance; leverage the skills you have. [UpWork]
- E-Commerce; sell goods or services via an online store. [Shopify]
'Do I need a website?'
This is the same as asking 'does my car need a steering wheel?'
Not all of us are fortunate to have a Tesla. This is a portal into your world. At the very least, I suggest you look into getting a checkout page to complete transactions for users who sell products or services; and for skill based users - a portfolio page to display work experience.
Or hire Kiganjani Co. to build your next web based project, click here to see the options available.
