Last Saturday I briefly touched on an email I received from Cindy who had some problems understanding some of the words and phrases associated with working from home and making money online.

Read on…

Hello Chris,

Thanks for all the work you do.  I have been out of the job market for 31 years.

WOW! I’m trying to acquaint myself with words like blog, Monetize forum, virtual assistant, website, hits to website, posting, scams and SO MUCH MORE! Talk about feeling antiquated! ;0)

I’ve even been seeing things I grew up with like toys, record albums, furniture and the such talked about as vintage. :0{

Well, I wrote all this to ask if you would explain in your blog the different types of terms out there in the real world that someone might need while searching for an online job.

There  may be many of us out there  that are antiquated.  Haha.

Thanks

Cindy

Cindy, I’ll try my best to explain. Leave me a comment if there’s any more confusion.

Blog - A blog (short for weblog) is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Cindy, think “diary”! Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or reflect the purpose of the Web site that hosts the blog. Topics sometimes include brief philosophical musings, commentary on Internet and other social issues, and links to other sites the author favors, especially those that support a point being made on a post.

The author of a blog is often referred to as a blogger.

Monetize forum is actually a combination of two words. An Internet forum is a discussion area on a website. Website members can post discussions and read and respond to posts by other forum members. An Internet forum can be focused on nearly any subject and a sense of an online community, or virtual community, tends to develop among forum members. They are also commonly referred to as Web forums, newsgroups, message boards, discussion boards, (electronic) discussion groups, discussion forums, bulletin boards

Here’s an example of a work at home forum : http://www.wfhmarket.com/work-from-home-forum/

Monetize - Basically finding ways to make money on a blog, website and/or forum. So in the case of a forum, there may be ads displayed that generates income for the owner of the forum whenever someone clicks and takes action.  Take a look at the pic below, you’ll see how this forum is monetized.

The area circled in red is a banner that generates incomes whenever someone clicks on it, for the owner or the forum.

Virtual Assistant - Virtual Assistants (typically abbreviated to VAs), are business owners who provide professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients. Basically it’s similar to the role of a secretary in a conventional office setting, except they (the VA) can be located anywhere globally. They perform their work and communicate via the internet.

Hits to website - By you coming to read this blog, it’s considered a hit. Anytime you go to a website, it’s considered a hit. The total number of hits, people visiting a website is called Traffic. The goal of anyone owning a website or any online property like a blog or forum is to attract as many hits as possible. The greater your traffic, the more popular your website is.

Posting - Updating the content on a website, blog or forum. So this bit you’re reading can be considered a post. If you were to go to a forum and leave a question or answer someone’s question, that could be considered a post. I’m sure you’ve read where I’ve said that the “jobs database was updated today with new posts”. When I use it in that way, I mean new jobs were added to the jobs database area.

Scams - Fraud. Anytime someone tries to trick others into sending or spending money that will not lead to what they promised, it’s considered a scam. Here’s a good example… You contact a supposed employer who posted a job online. They then reply saying that you must pay $35.00 admin to be considered for the position. SCAM! No employer will ask you to pay them to be hired. Their only concern will be to fill that vacant position with the best possible applicant. Never pay any sort of fee for the promise of a job. Always be weary when you see stuff advertised on the internet which makes claims of making tons of money with a small investment.

Shoot.. this post is turning out to be a bit long. Cindy or anyone else who may have relating questions, be sure to leave me your comments and I’ll try to get them answered for you.

Enjoy the weekend.