Bored at work.

June 5, 2006 6:38 AM

What should I do with 7 hours/day on the internet?

I'm a student who's on campus job consists of sitting behind a computer in a computer lab for 7 hours a days aimlessley wandering the internet. I figure there must be something monetarily fruitful I can do during this time, but I have no idea if the thousands of survey sites are actually legit. Does anybody have any advice, or personal experience with money making (no matter how small the ammount of money is) websites? If that area is a lost cause, any advice on how I should spend 7 hours in front of a computer?

posted by sicem07 to work & money (37 comments total)

I'm registered with YouGov, which is legit but takes a long to time to recoup any money (you don't get paid until you hit £50, which at 50p/£1 a time takes forever).

I think it might be UK only as well.

I looked into this a while ago and it seemed to me that almost all the survey sites are just an excuse to get hold of your email and vital statistics - all the better to spam you with.
posted by ganseki at 6:50 AM on June 5, 2006

The Amazon Mechanical Turk scheme might be interesting, though I don't think it pays much.
posted by matthewr at 6:54 AM on June 5, 2006

1. Learn web development, computer programming, or listen to educational podcasts.
2. ???
3. Profit!
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:55 AM on June 5, 2006

Yeah, the YouGov site is UK-only, but it has a US equivalent - YouGov America.
posted by matthewr at 6:55 AM on June 5, 2006

I actually had this job in college like 10 years ago - I did my homework. Who says you have to waste the time? Why not be productive?
posted by echo0720 at 7:02 AM on June 5, 2006

I'm not taking classes this summer, so while usually I try to do homework, I have none.
posted by sicem07 at 7:06 AM on June 5, 2006

Solve the World's problems by posting your opinions on political blogs.

I somehow doubt you are being paid to surf for pleasure. Get to work and you won't have to worry about where to play.
posted by caddis at 7:06 AM on June 5, 2006

I actually had this job in college like 10 years ago - I did my homework. Who says you have to waste the time? Why not be productive?

That's not really the question he asked, is it? Hence the title "ask metafilter" as opposed to "preach metafilter."
posted by mecran01 at 7:13 AM on June 5, 2006

Caddis - I had a similar job in college briefly. The student's job consists of answering other students questions when they have them -- which, during summer session, with labs (and the campus) mostly empty is rare. It's an ideal homework-doing job, normally.

So while your answer was pithy, it was also inappropriate.

To the OP: I would pick up a new skill if you can. I'm learning 3d animation with Blender this summer. Pick something you always wanted to know how to do and hack at it.
posted by SpecialK at 7:13 AM on June 5, 2006

sicem07 defined the job as "aimlessly wandering the internet." I somehow doubt that is in the job description. Hence the appropriateness of my answer. If you have a problem with it, take it to MeTa. Anyway, I did give him some practical advice. Posting on political blogs can consume vast amounts of time.
posted by caddis at 7:23 AM on June 5, 2006

Definitely second picking up a new skill. If Photoshop is installed on the computer you can follow the many online tutorials, and even have fun entering contests at places like Worth1000.

Without even using the computer you can practice sketching, drawing, etc.

You can also build your skill in a traditional game (chess, go, backgammon, dominoes, etc.) via online opponents. Yahoo! Games is good for this sort of thing. Or try PuzzlePirates or Virtual Magic Kingdom if you want more of a social aspect mixed in with small games.

You could start to learn a musical instrument, if no one in the lab minds you plucking away at a guitar or similar.

Enter contests online for fun and/or prizes.

If you post some of your offline interests, I am sure people here will come up with more specific ideas.
posted by mikepop at 7:26 AM on June 5, 2006

If you really have time to kill and you want to make money perhaps you can just write. Novels are fun, but hard to get published. It's easier to make money with self help books, they are easier to get published and even if you can't you can set up a website to sell them electronically.

Create a good blog and make money through Amazon links.
posted by caddis at 7:29 AM on June 5, 2006

Google Answers?
posted by bonaldi at 7:30 AM on June 5, 2006

Find the Wikipedia article(s) for your area of study, and make the entries better.
posted by griffey at 7:35 AM on June 5, 2006

Looking towards making more money in the future, find out where people in the field you wish to join hang out online. Spend your time somehow contributing to their online community, thus building up your reputation and contacts.

In a more "make money now" theme, if you can come up with one clever bit of art or wordplay, you can attempt to stick it on Tshirts, cups, etc. and sell stuff via CafePress or other such sites.
posted by mikepop at 7:38 AM on June 5, 2006

Special K nailed it, there are about 4 people in a 130 station lab, so I don't get called up to help that often. Interests involve anything science/medical related, current events (I get tired of viewing cnn.com, and drudgereport gets old as well), and I also try to dabble in technology as much as possible, so thanks for the advice there, I may take ya'll up on those. Bonus points: Would it be possible to work on learning Spanish using a computer/internet?
posted by sicem07 at 7:39 AM on June 5, 2006

http://www.studyspanish.com/
posted by caddis at 7:46 AM on June 5, 2006

About the Spanish...you could try here.
posted by NSSG at 7:48 AM on June 5, 2006

There is always online material, but what about taking advantage of the library on campus and getting some good books? I'm sure you'll find some great beginner Spanish books (an excellent and extremely useful language to learn), as well as other reading and learning materials. I self-taught myself Spanish through books and conversation groups with native speakers, and it is completely possible to learn it quickly if you keep motivated. There are some great non-fiction works out there to check out. Some of the most fascinating things I've read were just randomly pulled off a shelf.

Granted, if you did want to go the online route, I'm sure that you can probably find e-books to read onscreen, but I'm at a loss as to where to point you there.
posted by galimatias at 7:49 AM on June 5, 2006

ACOP is legit; I don't know how often you'll actually qualify, but they pay pretty reasonably for your time.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:52 AM on June 5, 2006

MySurvey is very legit. I've been doing their survey's for a couple of years.

And as a way to keep busy - try 419Eater , you can have fun, be creative, develop skills, and fight crime all at the same time.
posted by LadyBonita at 7:58 AM on June 5, 2006

Write your novel.
Do the lyrics for your album.
Read.
Learn something - anything.
posted by pollystark at 8:05 AM on June 5, 2006

Educate yourself on stock and option trading? Practice it for a while and eventually try it with a real dollars. You'll be hooked after a couple big-percentage returns.
posted by peewee at 8:22 AM on June 5, 2006

I know you're asking for stuff to do on the internet, but can you read books? A good page-turner will pass the time quickly. Also, if you can wear headphones, watch movies/DVDs. There are some great recommendations for TV shows on DVD here.
posted by AlisonM at 8:27 AM on June 5, 2006

How do I handle the boredom of a computer-site job in the summer?

Well, at the moment, I'm reading AskMeFi... ;)

Oh, are you going to apply to grad school? Take some time to look at the appropriate exam now, even if it's a long ways off...
posted by electric_counterpoint at 8:29 AM on June 5, 2006

The real problem here isnt the lack of things to do, its your level of interest and motivation. If youre just not motivated you probably won't do anything than randomly surf. As a student you might be "educationally burned out" from the last semester and just need some time screwing around. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

If you are feeling motivated (as opposed to guilty for having free time) then just ask yourself what your interests are and find similiar people on the net. From there you'll probably find tons to do.
posted by skallas at 8:34 AM on June 5, 2006

I have the same job as you. When I don't have homework I either read [which, offline, can be annoying because it makes it hard to keep up with instant messaging from friends who know that you are sitting at work for 4-8 hours] or go to timewaster internet-y things.

idle surfing that has occupied large chunks of time in the past has been:

metafilter, of course.
Project Gutenberg
stupid celebrity gossip.
365 tomorrows
Tucker Max
posted by mustcatchmooseandsquirrel at 9:06 AM on June 5, 2006

When I had that job I spent my downtime making subtle but important changes to documents on the network share space. I'm a bad person, but in case you are too, it's pretty diverting.
posted by moift at 9:47 AM on June 5, 2006

That's not really the question he asked, is it? Hence the title "ask metafilter" as opposed to "preach metafilter."

mecran01 - I didn't realize that the poster didn't have classes (that was his reply to my post, which i appreciated), I was just offering a suggestion, like all the people who are suggesting he read books or other non-internet related things. How come you don't have snarky replies for them?
posted by echo0720 at 9:57 AM on June 5, 2006

1. Learn everything you can about Google AdSense, Search Engine Optimization, etc.


2. Start a special interest blog(s)


3. Profit

posted by jasondigitized at 11:19 AM on June 5, 2006

what about that Amazon.com "mechanical turk" thing?

I know nothing about it other than that it supposedly pays out cash.
posted by drstein at 11:50 AM on June 5, 2006

No ideas about making money, but when in similar situations I tend to do random searches on topics of interest and just aimlessly follow links learning by osmosis. Wikipedia is especially good - think of something you want to know, read about it, then read about things connected to it, then things connected to that, and before you know it you know a little bit about everything. Alternatively, embark on a mental project of sorts - decide to inform yourself about some issues you think are important or interesting and submerge yourself in related websites for a while.
posted by MetaMonkey at 1:07 PM on June 5, 2006

Make a schedule. Stick to it.

Doesn't matter what is where, as long as something is.
posted by DrtyBlvd at 1:27 PM on June 5, 2006

Start a special interest blog(s)

What he said, assuming you'd derive any enjoyment out of it. Not likely to seem much money, but you'd make a little while (1) presumably really keeping track of a given subject and (2) being entertained by the requisite reading and writing.
posted by cortex at 3:59 PM on June 5, 2006

If you may install whatever crap you like on your computer, you can make decent money abusing online casinos' bonus systems. Lots of sites describe the process and recommend suitable casinos. Just google around for "blackjack" and "bonus".
posted by springload at 4:55 PM on June 5, 2006

when I was in school I had a grunt job like that, was bored... ended up much later having rootly powers and doing student assistent sysadm things and being paid twice as much, and it all started from learning to do things on my own at that job so that I wouldn't have to bother the real sysadms with stuff.
posted by bleary at 8:22 PM on June 5, 2006

Related.
posted by eritain at 11:37 PM on June 8, 2006