The site is based on a freelancing job platform, you can decide to do a “micro” job, then wait for the client to approve and pay. We talk SMALL jobs, of under 1 USD, most of 20 cents. Overall not a bad idea, if we have some very small tasks.

So, I create an account there and start browsing through the jobs. Have done 2 small tasks (a registration and something more) and then started looking closer to the jobs. Let’s see what’s there for us:

1. click Adsense ads. Yes, that’s against Google Adsense TOS. I wonder how the job was approved, if MicroWorkers actually monitor the jobs. Hmmm. I have reported the job and also reported it to Google.

2. create a site review (on a PR3+ site) for 1 USD. Yes, some are getting paid TENS OF DOLLARS for such a taks by regular clients, no one at MicroWorkers actually understands that a high PR link doesn’t cost 1 buck. But again, they monitor everything.

3. post a permanent link in the blogroll (again PR 2 at least) for 1 buck. I used to get paid 10-15 USD/month for a PR1 link, these guys want to get the “SEO” done for cents. Again, the jobs are there, no one from the staff would move their butts to see the job is WAY TOO LOW PAID for such a value.

My experiences as a client:

Since working for cents is not my idea of a perfect career, I looked to the other side: what if I employ people at an affordable rate.

My first job was for them to create an account on a forum and post 3 messages. My “success” rate was 60%. I have never in my life had to face such IDIOTS as some of the people who freelance through the site. Let’s see most created the account and asked for money. Job incomplete, no payment. Others spammed the life out of my forums. I was spending hours cleaning their mess. Banned accounts, deleted messages, no payment. I can understand only beginner freelancers would bother work for cents, but the payment wasn’t bad for that job. I have been a forum poster in my career and kinda know my drill.

In the end we finished the campaign with a lot of work from my part to clean their mess.

The second campaign was for them to post 3 messages on another community. I got the campaign DECLINED, because I quote: If you want 3 posts with 30 words each, please offer 50 cents per task. Thank you.

OK, so, if you pay 1 dollar for a 30-50 USD job (that’s how a paid review costs, my dears), it’s super ok from them. If I pay 10-15 cents/post, that’s a reason to decline my campaign.

With these in mind, I have started another campaign, that really got me the worst response anyone who’s claiming professionalism could have given.

I asked for 3 comments done on 3 separate blogs in a niche, with my link in it. Something that’s widely done on microworkers. I have even taken inspiration from another approved campaign and the pricing was similar, so that I don’t get declined from “abusing” the freelancers. All went well, till I started receiving reports from my “workers”.

Here is what I had as results:

• 2 SPAMMED my own blog. So, I asked for 3 comments on 3 SEPARATE blogs with my link in them, the idiots posted 3 crappy comments on MY BLOG. Comments deleted, NO PAYMENT.
• 2 actually posted on 3 separate blogs. God knows how they were able to find those crappy unknown blogspot blogs, but at least they posted something there. I have released payment and thanked them for the job.
• other 2-3 just replied to me “thank you”. That’s it. I have asked for the 3 links to the 3 articles with my link in the comment. Nope, they haven’t done the job, but wanted payment. Of course, I declined payment and realized microworkers seems to have gathered the biggest idiots in the world, who can’t even READ a darn task.

Then surprise:

Blog commenting
Your campaign was terminated due to too many Not-Satisfied tasks.
Remaining funds were returned to your account.

So, I am to blame for not wanting to pay for a job that wasn’t done. We don’t talk crappy jobs ( I have paid for those) we talk about people who didn’t do anything but asked for payment. I have of course sent a response, detailing the problem: that I have paid for the complete jobs, but cannot pay if they don’t actually do the task. NO RESPONSE! Not something like “OK, our bad”, or “we’ll be more careful with the workers here”. Nope, nothing.

So, if no one cares to mend the problem (I wanted to spend MONEY on their site, looks like they don’t need me), I have tried to recover my money. Of course, there’s a commission, so I lost money too. And now, another surprise: I cannot withdraw my money, because they need to send a PIN by regular mail. I am not at home now (won’t be for 3 months), so this means I cannot get my money back, although, when I had to put money into the account, there was no issue. When I have to get my funds back, suddenly my paypal address is not enough.

Right now I am more than dissatisfied with the site. I’ll get my money back (hopefully) in 3 months time, when I can solve the “PIN” issue. Had wasted my time with a sinisterly low freelance market and now I can’t even get my money back. Totally un-recommended.

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1. Under no circumstance you should spam: email or forums/blog comments.

Sure, you might get some visitors, but the overall feeling towards your project would be HATE and DISRESPECT. Are these few visits worth your entire image online? Do you want to be known as the “spammer”? I am certain you don’t.

2. Never steal content. NEVER.

If you are tired of article writing, STOP. For 1 day or 1 week. Sure, you have to constantly create content, but when you can’t do this and have hit a wall, why steal content from others? Why not just relax for few days and come back with 3-4 articles that are well written and original? ANYONE needs some time off and you should be focusing on keeping a high quality level, than stealing content.

You can find all the other “tips” in the article published on wtricks.com - What a respectable blogger should never do!

Please feel free to comment here with your own ideas of how to be a respectable blogger and you can also join Wtricks.com, a very friendly (even for SEO reasons) community. There’s an entire area about blogging, you can ask for advise and show off your creations.

Related:

• March 7, 2008 -- 1 excellent blog is better than 30 crappy ones (5)
• March 23, 2008 -- Weekly revision (5)
• March 7, 2008 -- What blogs should we comment on? (8)
• March 7, 2008 -- Blog comments: how to make sure the blogger will really hate you (12)
• March 7, 2008 -- How to start a blog? (3)

And, on top of all these, uncertainty. Doubting yourself. You read countless articles about freelancing, you see portfolios with good looking young men (there are a lot of women freelancing, but mainly this is the image) in their 20s or 30s and you feel inadequate.

Yes, you’re 15. Or the other category of future to be freelancers currently doubting themselves, 55. What are your chances in this market? Who does take seriously a kid? Or a grandfather? Why start freelancing anyway, if your clients will roll their eyes finding about your age?

Let’s see!

PS: I have started a Freelancing forum too (the rest of the article is there). Should you wish to chat about your freelancing career, promote your portfolio or looking to hire someone, please feel free to join. It’s FREE.

Related:

• January 9, 2010 -- Freelancing: what to be prepared for (3)
• November 16, 2009 -- Why I love freelancing (9)

Have filled all the report information and now I am waiting to see what Google (they own blogger, don’t they?) does about this. All the 4 posts in the guy’s blog are mine. Am curious to see if Google actually does anything or I have to be even nastier.

I just hate losers like this. If you’re stupid enough to not be able to fill that junk blog you got there with your content, do something else with your life. Don’t steal my work!

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Had 3 months of karate training and in Romania there was no site that would actually advise you in this topic. So, I had to create a site that would allow me to share my ideas about this and all the things I was reading online in those big English only martial arts communities.

This is how I started web design and development. This is how I started my network. Never thought about money, never thought about getting rich or messing with people’s trust, as so many webmasters do nowadays. I WANTED TO SHARE.

In the following years my network started to include orthodontics sites (am still in braces and though some people might benefit from my experience too), martial arts (of course, couldn’t forget about my first love), web design and development and even women communities and a travel blog. What do they offer?

• UNIQUE content. I don’t steal articles, I don’t “re-write” stuff, just get informed and then try to explain the things I know to the people who read me;
• friendly and FREE communities. I still have several forums that are successful and people can join and discuss with no strings attached.
• easy to access content. No email trapping, no schemes, no crap. Articles you can easily read and always have full and free access
• travel stories and pictures
• unique movie reviews
• original and brave articles about life and society. Yep, my own ideas I am not afraid to express and always love a good chat about them.
• free to download unique wallpapers
• original pics from the places I have visited
• free downloads and content

I don’t charge for my ideas, I don’t try to trap email addresses to then spam you to death. Because there’s nothing more  I hate than all the schemes people use to get “successful”. You know what’s the secret to get a decent traffic and exposure? WORK and PASSION. And ideas you provide for free. Willingness to discuss your opinions with your visitors. QUALITY content, original stuff, freebies, anything you’d like to find in a site.

So what do you have in mind and how do you think IT WOULD HELP ME, your visitor?

• a links directory – yes, they are still successful. How would you make it good for me? Free indexing? Do follow linking? Ways for me to upgrade to featured?
• blog – do you just create “automated” content to fill it? Do you just steal content or write crappy articles, just to have many? Would you personally benefit from reading your articles? Do you teach us something good? Do you provide your own experience and help us take better decisions? Are there some unique pics you took in your vacations? Anything at all that’s worth my 5 minutes on it?
• forum – is the community “clean” and easy to use? Am I actually learning anything from there?
• ebooks – is your price good for the quality of the content you’re presenting there? Do you just recycle the same stuff others did in tens of other books and just want to trick me to paying you tens of dollars? Will I be left with ANYTHING other than an empty pocket?

I just gave some examples of the things your site might contain. The secret I think is to really make it worth it for your visitor. Even if it’s paid content, make it EXCELLENT. If not, just provide the ideas for free and get your payment from advertising. Believe me, it can be done. If you’re starting a site just to fool people with affiliate links or try to sell them useless junk, you won’t get too far. People can be fooled, but you’d really lose them for ever.

Quality content and sincere articles will make you loved and read. Ebooks that are well written or other resources of good quality will make people recommend you and come back often to get some more of your amazing stuff. I think now, more than ever, quality does pay off.

So, when you’re looking at your online projects what do you think? Would they enrich my knowledge? Will I be able to read some excellent ideas that I can think about? Even if I might not agree, a good idea is worth my efforts. We can comment it and see what solutions we find for it. Are the resources you provide me quality ones? Am I able to see some nice images from the amazing places you have visited? Maybe I can even schedule trips there and follow your advice. Got fed up with bad service? Tell us all about it, we might avoid getting scammed too.

In my country there’s a saying I’ll loosely translate: “don’t do to others what you wouldn’t like done to you”.

So, if you wouldn’t visit your site / read your book / use your resources, why do you try to fool me into doing it? What’s the reason for a site that does nothing?

Related:

• March 27, 2008 -- Why do I exist online? (5)
• March 23, 2008 -- Weekly revision (5)
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• March 7, 2008 -- You don’t have to take courses to be a good web designer (2)