Shareapic and Share in the Revenue

The number of people looking to make a quick buck on the Internet continues to grow by the second. A tactic that more and more startups are attempting to employ (though many have not been successful) is allowing casual Web users to earn money by doing things they’ve always done. From searching the Internet (goodbye, AGLOCO) to writing blogs (hello, Helium), the number of passive revenue streams are endless. Shareapic is hoping that you’ll use them to host your images. As an incentive, they’re willing to pay YOU, the user.

Since sites like Photobucket and Flickr have dominated the photo hosting market, Shareapic is willing to share their advertising revenue in ratio with the number of image views the files you upload receive. So how much coinage does that equate to? Here’s how the math works out:

Let’s say hypothetically that in January Shareapic deems $5,000 as the amount they will share with registered users. They will take the number of total image views to determine the pay out per view. So if there were 5,000 photo views, that would mean $1 per view. That’s wishful thinking. The numbers will likely work out to a fraction of a cent. However, if you use the service for all of your social networking images, the cents can add up to dollars. We’ve also read that the site will pay $0.22 per 1000 pic views.

It’s amazing that file hosting has gone from a pay-for-space business model to a we’ll-pay-you-to-use-us model. This could be a glimpse into the future as newcomers look to shake users away from the old standbys.

Registered users can choose to receive payment via Paypal or by getting a gift certificate to Amazon, Target and others.

What are you waiting for. The number of images you can upload is limitless. And so is the potential income!

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.