We’re used to the idea that the Internet now offers us unprecedented levels of connectivity, not just to information but to each other. This has implications across all aspects of our lives, but one that many people are only just realizing is the potential for the generation of side income.
Before we get started, it should be clear that there are no guarantees in any of the activities outlined in this article. While there are plenty of ways to earn income online, doing so through a community or interactive service almost always entails some level of risk. With that said, here’s a look at three interactive online areas in which you can look to earn, or even “win,” money.
Daily Fantasy Sports
Fantasy sports have been popular for many years now, but only in the last few has the idea of daily fantasy begun to gain widespread popularity. The Washington Post detailed the rise of DFS sites, noting incredible amounts of money that major companies like Fox Sports and Turner Sports (among others) have spent investing in the two main competitors.
These competitors are DraftKings and FanDuel, and as of now, they essentially offer the same services. Users can log in, enter any of a huge variety of different fantasy sports contests (with different buy-in and payout rates), and choose lineups of players in an attempt to earn high scores based on the stats those players compile. It’s the same as fantasy sports has always been, except that it’s based a per-day (or per-week, in the NFL) leagues, meaning you can always build a new team for the next competition.
The significance of daily fantasy sports as a money-making opportunity is in the peer-to-peer nature of the competition. This isn’t ordinary sports betting in which you’re made to compete against “the house” with low odds. Rather, while there are riskier league options with low odds but high rewards, you’re usually competing head-to-head against other users.
Online Casino Games
Any discussion about P2P money-making opportunities online has to include mention of the casino industry, where communities have reached incredible sizes. While significant portions of the world (including most of the United States) still exclude online gambling in a legal sense, millions are playing games at online casinos, meaning there’s a massive network of competitors at any given moment. Much like head-to-head games appealing to players who’d rather not bet against the house in a fantasy sports setting, the guarantee of live competition offers online gamblers the chance to deal with other humans when trying to profit.
That’s not to say there aren’t alternative options as well, for those who want to shoot for higher paydays. Betfair claims it’s common to see lucrative jackpots in its slot machine gaming market, which, while not facilitating P2P competition, do offer options and potential winnings reflective of a massive user base. They also offer some more competitive options elsewhere on their platform.
Personal Investment Tools
In a way, the stock market represents the ultimate forum in which individuals can seek to profit from community interactions. The actions of each individual trader sway the stock market, and so, in a way, you’re competing with and against a world of traders and investors when you make a transaction. But this is really just a more interesting way of phrasing things. What you’re really doing in any stock trading environment is leveraging your own methods of analysis and prediction against market trends.
No matter how you want to look at it, personal investment has recently become much more feasible for the average individual looking to generate side income online. The revolutionary app and online tool Robinhood has brought about a new way to make real stock trades without messing with buying fees or complex brokerages. International Business Times notes that the service is pioneering “free stock trading” for its users. We’re still in the early days of the tool’s functionality, but for the time being it looks as if the biggest market for generating income online, the stock market itself, has become an everyday utility for those with interest.
Again, none of these options provides any sort of guarantee, and in fact all can be quite risky. But they’re all representative of the fact that growing communities in various areas online are providing new potential streams of income for those interested.
