Recently I received an email from a reader asking if I had heard of Cloud Crowd and whether the money making opportunities there are any good.
I had never heard of them before, so I figured I would sign up and see what it's all about. Here's what I found out:
What's Cloud Crowd About?
Basically, Cloud Crowd pays you to complete various tasks that range in pay from just pennies up to $30 per task. You can select whether you want to work on lots of really easy micro-tasks that take 30-40 seconds to complete or whether you want to work on more involved tasks, like researching and writing articles at $30 per piece.
Can Anyone Join Cloud Crowd?
Yes. Anyone with a Facebook account and a Paypal account can join Cloud Crowd.
Keep in mind that Cloud Crowd doesn't operate from a standard .com website, even though all their instructions and support forums are on a regular website. The actual work is posted to a Facebook application instead.
Once you've created your Cloud Crowd account, head over to the link that says "Earn Money Now". You can select tasks right away - however, it's strongly advised that you read the FAQ on their site so you understand what's expected of you.
Micro Jobs vs Writing Jobs on Cloud Crowd
If you intend to just complete lots of little micro-tasks to earn your money, then go right ahead and get started! The pay for this type of work is quite low, but as long as you're quick and you're careful about making sure your work is correct, you will get paid tomorrow for any approved work you do.
However, if you intend to accept more involved work, such as writing articles or press releases, editing, marketing work or proofreading, you can expect to be paid up to $25 per hour or 5 cents per word for your time for some of these more involved tasks. In order to qualify for this level of work, you will be asked to complete a Writer Credential Test.
There are several Credential Tests you'll need to take, depending on the type of work you want to complete. The majority of these are basically testing your comprehension and usage of the English language. If you're already working as a freelance writer you should find these Credential Tests very easy to pass.
Does Cloud Crowd Really Pay You?
Yes. Payment is made daily on Monday through to Friday via Paypal for any tasks you've completed that day. There is no minimum payout threshold you have to reach. You just need to have finished some tasks in your Cloud Crowd account.
So if you complete a few tasks on a Monday and they're all approved on Monday night, you can expect to see payment turn up in your Paypal account on Tuesday night.
Advantages to Working with Cloud Crowd
There are some definite advantages I've noticed when working with Cloud Crowd. Here are some of them:
1. Next Day Payment - that's always a bonus in anyone's book, right? It's even nicer that there's no minimum payout threshold you have to reach. You just get paid for any approved work you submitted.
2. Lots of Variety - if you're keen to work on the higher paying tasks, it's quite easy to earn a decent amount of money fairly quickly here. However, if you want a bit of a break from the researching or editing or whatever you're doing or you just want to fill in a bit of time at the end of a work day, you can always pick up some quick, basic categorization tasks that only take a few seconds to complete.
3. Get Paid to Review - yes, that's right. You don't even have to do the work yourself if you don't want to. You can choose to review other people's work and get paid for your time that way.
4. Correct Any Rejected Work - if your work is rejected, you still have the opportunity to correct it and resubmit it again. At least your work isn't wasted!
Downsides to Working with Cloud Crowd
As with most things, there are always negative aspects to think about. Here are some of the biggest disadvantages I noticed:
1. Peer Review - any work you submit at Cloud Crowd is reviewed by other workers on the site. If somebody decides to reject what you've submitted, you don't get paid for it unless you successfully appeal the decision. It's also a bit lame that anyone can decide to reject something you've done, even if you've followed the rules exactly. You can keep appealing those incorrect rejections, but you're limited to 16 appeals per month.
2. You Must Disable Secure Browsing - when you're working on tasks at Cloud Crowd you are required to switch off your browser's secure browsing option. You can always turn it back on again when you've finished work, but always remember to run a good anti-virus or anti-spyware software on your computer every day or two. You'll be amazed at how much spyware and adware programs turn up on your computer the moment you switch off secure browsing. Personally, I decided to do any Cloud Crowd work on my laptop and keep my office computer safer that way.
3. 16 Appeals per 30 Days - as there are so many people working on Cloud Crowd the number of people having perfectly good work rejected is very high. Unfortunately, you're only allowed to submit 16 appeals each month.
4. Credibility Score - everyone who works at Cloud Crowd is given a Credibility Score that doesn't seem to make much sense. Every time you complete a task, your credibility score will increase. If your work is rejected, your credibility score will decrease. If you let your score get below 30, Cloud Crowd will close your account. While this seems like a really positive way to get people to follow the instructions and submit great work, I don't see it that way. What I see is that it takes a lot of tasks and a lot of effort to get a high score. But if you get one piece rejected, your score drops really fast.
5. They Want Your SSN - if you're in America, Cloud Crowd will ask for your SSN. I personally don't have one (I'm in Australia!!) - but for those of you in the US, you can just switch up the first two or middle two numbers in your SSN to get your foot in the door. That way no one has your details, you get your account and your identity stays safe :)
What's the Verdict for Cloud Crowd?
So far my verdict is mostly positive. For those looking for easy ways to earn quick money online that pays you the very next day, Cloud Crowd could be a great start. If you're willing to work your way through the Credential Tests, there's even the possibility of earning decent money for your time and effort.
I'd love to hear some feedback from anyone who's tried this site and had any success.
:)
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