Artists are suing major AI companies, claiming their work is being plagiarized by AI. Hear the full story in this short podcast.
15 out-of-the-box ways to make extra cash from anywhere
By now, you probably know that you don’t have to leave home to make money. After all, many companies sent employees home to work during the pandemic. But even if you aren’t a salaried employee, you can still make a living from the comfort of your own home.
All you need is a computer, a phone and a solid foundation of internet know-how. Some jobs are straightforward, like working for a call center from your home. But not all jobs have to be dreary and bereft of fun.
For instance, you can work as a professional dog groomer or even an artist who creates items from home. Apps like Etsy, Rover, Dolly and more have sprung up to empower you to become your own boss and work flexible hours. Here are 15 money-making opportunities that put you in the driver’s seat of your work life — sometimes literally!
Bolster your bank account
A few names get the most headlines when it comes to the gig economy. There’s Uber, Lyft, Instacart and DoorDash.
Good news if you don’t want to drive around the city, carting strangers and their food. There are many ways to make extra cash without surrendering to the 9-to-5 corporate world.
We collected some exciting ways to put extra bucks in your bank account. Save yourself some research time and check out our favorite resources:
- Sell your skills: Whether you like writing, drawing, dancing, voice acting or doing celebrity impressions, you can do anything on Fiverr. Some people will even throw a message in a bottle or speak with other people’s pets telepathically … or so they say!
- Pet sit dogs from your own home: Want to pet sit but don’t want to leave the house? Rover pays you to take care of strangers’ pets while they’re away.
- Transcribe audio: Put your ears to work by typing down the words from audio recordings at waywithwords.net.
- Be a mystery shopper: Check out BestMark and SecretShopper to start.
- Rent your car: If you aren’t using your car right now, rent it out through Turo.
- Decorate your car: Companies like Stickr.co and Wrapify give you decals with advertisements. Drive around with them to make sure people see the ads.
- Watch TV: If you love sitting in front of the silver screen, good news: there are sites that pay you for watching.
- Sell your friendship: Tons of people are lonely since the pandemic drove us home for a year and a half. Rent-A-Friend lets you connect with others for cash.
- Test products: Do you love free stuff? Sites like Toluna, Nielson and Johnson & Johnson will pay you to test products.
- Listen to music: Audiophiles can head to Slicethepie to make a few cents for every song they listen to and rate.
- Test medicines: If you want to be a part of medicinal progress, join clinical trials.
- Rent your swimming pool: Swimply lets you sell access to your pool by the hour.
- Rent out extra rooms in your house: We aren’t talking about roommates. Some folks just want cheap storage space. If you have rooms, rent them out through storeatmyhouse.com or neighbor.com.
- Sell your hair: If you have luscious locks, let it grow out to at least eight inches in length and chop it off. Sites like HairSellOn, OnlineHairAffair and WorldofWigs will be happy to take it off of your hands.
- Cook for your neighbors: Here’s a way to turn your love of cooking into cash…without working in the hectic environment of a restaurant kitchen. EatWith is a meal-sharing app that lets you host, cook dishes for people and even sell baked goods.
While many of these jobs are fun, you’ll probably have to put in a lot of hours and hard work to make a significant chunk of cash.
If you want to widen your net to find as many job opportunities as possible, we recommend heading to our sponsor, LinkedIn. It’s the No. 1 social media site for job seekers, employers and more.
You can find a ton of great gigs on LinkedIn
On the flip side, if you’re hiring, there’s no better place to put a job listing than on LinkedIn.
Is Meta's new AI art tool worth checking out?
My artistic skills don’t paint a pretty picture. That’s why I am utterly astounded by AI-generated images. Today’s AI art looks more and more like the real thing, and Meta just unleashed its CM3leon AI art tool.
Listen, we all know Mark Zuckerberg and his Meta corporation have questionable judgment and sell our data to anyone he can, but they might just be onto something here. Let’s break down the hype. By the end, I promise you’ll understand a lot more about AI art.
Swan song: Here’s something to share: Spotify’s CEO earned $345 million in the last year. How does that compare to an artist on the service? They’d need 115 billion plays to earn the same amount in 12 months. Most earn $0.003 per stream. Btw, that’s 15 billion more streams than Drake has had so far.
Which musical artist used an American flag as the backdrop for their 1984 album, “Born in the U.S.A.”?
300M Spotify streams of Taylor Swift’s new album
“The Tortured Poets Department” set a new record high on its release day, along with these Spotify records: Most streams of a single artist in one day, most streams of a song in one day (“Fortnight”) and most gossip in one day. I made that one up, but I bet it’s true.
Fun site turns your kid's or grandkid's drawings into animated characters
Is there anything more charming than a child’s drawing? You’d be hard-pressed to find it. What if we told you there’s an incredibly easy way to bring your child or grandchild’s latest masterpiece to life?
Animated Drawings by Meta AI Research utilizes the power of automation to do just that. All you have to do is upload any drawing, creating short animations featuring your child’s favorite artistic designs.
The best Amazon Prime perk you’re not using
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, there are tons of perks that you might not know about. For example, Prime Reading gives you unlimited access on any device to more than a thousand eBooks, magazines, comics, books with Audible narration and more. Tap or click here for 11 perks you might not know about.
I’m pretty darn proud of myself — I know all but one of these artists.
🎨 Tell every artist you know: Digital creators are ditching Instagram for good reason. Meta now views public posts as part of its AI training data, and you can’t opt out. One alternative? Cara. It’s just like Insta, but it bans AI posts and training. Try it on iOS or Android.
AI, the lawsuits begin
ChatGPT was trained on the work of writers and artists — and now they want to be compensated for it. Here’s the scoop, in 60 seconds.
Voice cloning is already on the air
Viral AI-generated songs by famous artists are hard to stop. Here’s why in this one-minute podcast.
3 adorable optical illusions that will train your brain and make you say 'Aww!'
Optical illusions are a great way to test your eyes, train your brain and even honor those who are gone. If the last one sounds surprising, wait until you see the adorable corgi-themed brainteaser made for Queen Elizabeth II. It’s one of the most adorable optical illusions the internet offers.
Can you spot the hidden faces in these 7 optical illusions?
Can you spot the hidden faces in these seven optical illusions?
If you have time for a few brainteasers, it’s your lucky day. We collected seven mind-boggling optical illusions that are full of secret symbols. Find the hidden faces in these tricky images to prove that you’re in the top 1%.
Free Photoshop clone that runs in your browser
Photoshop is the gold standard for image editing and the choice of serious professionals and dedicated amateurs alike. There are other image editors out there, but they have limited functionality or are just about impossible for non-pros to learn. Maybe you want to clean up the family photos and let your artistic side flow, but the high-end image editors are too intimidating, and the free ones are too limited.
12 gifts under $200 for techies and the not-so-savvy
High-quality tech doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, you can grab some awesome holiday gifts for low prices! No matter your budget, we’ve got a list of great gifts you can find on Amazon. Tap or click here for 27 gifts that are all under $20.
Discover new artists you'll love with this cool music finder
If you’re like us, you’re dying to find something new to listen to after all this time in quarantine. The tracks on your playlist might be stale by now, and there haven’t been many artists releasing new material over the past few months.
You won’t believe how much money musicians make on Spotify
Years ago, many artists were skeptical about making the transition from analog to digital music. Nobody was sure how anyone could make a profit from downloads, and particular attention was paid to the threat of music piracy.
Check your home! These vinyl records are worth big money
Did you ever think vinyl records would come back in style? Believe it or not, they have.
I remember having tons of vinyl record albums and singles when I was a child. There was nothing better than kicking back and relaxing to the soothing sounds of Miles Davis as the LP made its way around the turntable. Until of course CDs took over the music scene in the mid 1980s.
Weird Apple bug renders your key fob useless
Apple’s devices are no strangers to glitches. Remember Antennagate? Well, a new glitch plaguing iPad Pro owners is sweeping the nation. The weirdest part: the glitch doesn’t affect the iPad itself. Instead, users are finding themselves locked out of their cars — and their iPad is to blame!