CloudCrowd (www.CloudCrowd.com) is a new outsourcing, work at home agency that is taking a unique approach to freelance work. They provide their workers with small tasks, that are manageable in a short time frame and therefore easy to fit into almost any schedule, and they pay you the following day for the work you’ve completed.
Companies provide CloudCrowd with projects requiring a variety of services that range from language translation to writing and editing to online research, and more. CloudCrowd then takes these projects and breaks them into smaller, easier to manage tasks. They then list these tasks on their job pages.
When a member of CloudCrowd has time to work – say when your child is down for a nap – they simply sign on to their Facebook account and access their CloudCrowd application, looking for tasks they can complete in they time they have available. These tasks pay anywhere from $.01 to $14.95, depending on the length of time and expertise needed to complete the task.
All work that is completed by 5 pm Pacific Time will be paid by midnight the next day. In order to be paid, however, you must have a working PayPal account.
Is CloudCrowd a Scam?
On the contrary, actually. CloudCrowd is a respected crowdsourcing center that has been reviewed and praised by magazines such as BusinessWeek and Entrepreneur.
They respond to two different needs within the industry right now. First, companies that need to keep overhead down can do so by outsourcing major projects. Second, people who need work now can earn money by completing these projects for CloudCrowd on their own schedule.
CloudCrowd understands that certain tasks must be completed by humans – not computers – in order to be done well. So they have created an independent workforce of over 50,000 people and counting to do just that.
How You Can Be Successful with CloudCrowd
First, CloudCrowd rates its workers on a Credibility scale of 1-100. As a new employee, you are given a rating of 30 and you cannot exceed 50 until you have been an active employee for longer than one month. After the first month, your rating can go all the way to 100.
To raise your Credibility score, you must successfully complete your tasks in the correct way. This means following the instructions perfectly and providing the employer with the correct work they required. If you do the job incorrectly because you did not follow the instructions, or the work you provided was considered wrong or bad, it will lower your Credibility rating.
CloudCrowd also allows you to “Skip” a task after you’ve chosen it if you realize that you don’t know the answer or can’t complete it the way the employer needs. Choosing to Skip a task will not negatively affect your Credibility rating, but doing a task and failing it will. In addition, if you fail the task you are given, you will not be paid for it.
Also, CloudCrowd has certain tasks that anyone can do – like researching things online – or tasks that you must have “Credentials” to do. To get a Credential on CloudCrowd you must pass an online exam in that area. If you fail that exam, you will not be allowed to take it again, so make sure you are ready before you attempt it.
Overall, CloudCrowd is a great opportunity for those looking to fit some extra work into a busy schedule, or those who don’t have a full time job right and for whom every little bit helps.
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Their so-called editors fail to follow their own style guides; rejecting work that is done properly. Trying to appeal their failures is a waste of time.
The end result is a dreadful combination of low pay (because writers don't get paid when editors screw up) and endless frustration.
CC is legitimate, but it is very poorly run. It is OK if you need some quick money, but don't count on it in the long term. It cannot possibly be profitable at the amounts of work that are coming in, and it does not have enough freelancers to complete big jobs on time. The concept is a good one, but it is far from original. Someone will soon do it better, knocking CC out of the running and eating its lunch in the process.
The management has been alienating contributors lately by suddenly withdrawing worthwhile work to force people to work on unpalatable projects, and the peer review system is not well thought out. I get the feeling it is managed by a bunch of ornery teenagers, although it is supposedly run by "veteran tech entrepreneurs."
Don't get sucked into the whole "community" thing and waste time on the forums. CC uses and abuses its freelancers - use it to make quick money and let CC go to hell when you have something better to do.
I managed to score the editing, writing, and marketing credentials, so this isnt sour grapes. I just find it amusing how some writers and editors on the forum are good workers, yet work all day on CC for shit pay. Some workers seem like they make this their full time job...spending hours on the site and forum, posting comments in order to be "helpful". I'm sure most think that they are earning brownie points with this. But CC is a dead end gig.
I am new to CC, seems like you got use it any chance that I can get your help?
For instance, let's say it asks what the size of a 40 inch dog bed is and the choices for the answer are XL, L,M,S. I go to the attached URL and it says it is a medium bed. I choose medium. But CloudCrowd rejects it and says the answer was 40. How the heck do you choose 40 when there is no 40 in the choices. So not only do I not earn my $0.02, but I have credibility deducted.
What is the point?????
CloudCrowd is still going strong, and it has recently upped its pay. CloudCrowd is a legit site, and I have been paid by them for over two years. I can honestly say that CC does not use rejected work, and I've had plenty over the years.
It has paid me a fair bit of money over the past two years, and for most of that, I've been part time.
We don't care about qualifications. All we care about are two things: Can you follow instructions, and can you write reasonably compelling error-free work? If you refer to a company as a plural entity, use the wrong quotes, or misspell words, you're not likely to pass. If you use US English, follow our style guide, and follow instructions, you will pass.
It's not a scam, and there are a lot of regular workers on the platform. If you do take the tests--and they have changed drastically in the past month--read the instructions carefully.
Yes it may be crappy for the past years.. but it did survive? unlike others that disappear right?