Web Worker Daily

Web work doesn’t necessarily involve earning an income. Through the Internet, we can give back to the global community and do a different kind of online work — volunteering. Here are some ways to use a little of your time to help others.

Look for organizations that you can work with online. Many non-profit organizations have some volunteers working only through the Internet. The United Nations has a database of online opportunities for which you can apply. NABUUR is another online volunteering platform that connects local communities with online volunteers. For both sites, you can choose from a variety of tasks, including research, translation, writing, design and much more. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s leave aside ethical and moral considerations for the moment and think about what can be gained from contributing to the public domain. At first glance, there does not seem to be much solid ROI to be gained from giving away your work product, via something like the creative commons use license. It’s non-specific, and credit, if given, is not usually highlighted or given primary focus, so many won’t even realize it’s your work on display.

Other types of work, like contributing to the digitization at Project Gutenberg, are even more thankless. Adding to the sum of archived knowledge is definitely helpful in a general, charitable sort of way, but is there a more tangible, immediate benefit to you as a web worker as well? In both examples, the answer is yes.

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