AOL wants your two cents at the Opinion Place.

I imagine that Google or Yahoo could become killer market research companies if they wanted. They certainly both have large and diverse audiences which could meet most any demographic need. For now, unfortunately, you're out of luck if you want to be paid for giving your opinion to Google and Yahoo about anything other than Google or Yahoo. I suppose I can understand why it might not be that appealing for a company to do market research by working with another big company, possibly a competitor. Microsoft wouldn't want to call up Google Surveys in order to research how people are using Office, for instance. That's likely the reason why so many small market research companies are thriving by working with some very big companies from all kinds of industries.

For some reason, AOL is the exception to the rule I just suggested. They're a big company, but they still do market research in partnership with DMS Research. AOL's survey site Opinion Place is one of the best sites of its kind. The way it works is simplicity itself. First, you go to the site and create an account. You'll be asked fill in a fair bit of personal information as that is the only way you can be hooked up with surveys that target specific demographics. You'll also be asked how you wish to be compensated for your participation -- I like the payments by PayPal myself, but AOL subscribers and frequent fliers might prefer credits or miles to cold, hard e-cash. Then you can take a survey. It's a very straightforward process; sometimes you're matched with a survey, and sometimes you're not. After all is said and done, Opinion Place will let you know when you can take another survey.

Taking surveys probably won't pay your Internet bill, but it is a fun way to burn some time and earn a little extra cash at the same time. It's actually useful work you're doing as well, as your answers will, in aggregate with the answers of many others at least, influence the products and services companies provide. You also sometimes get to find out about cool "coming soon" stuff through surveys; sadly, you are generally strictly forbidden from discussing anything top secret. To give a non-specific example, I once got to test out a beta version of what has become one of my favorite multimedia sites as part of my participation in a survey. Surveys are pretty cool!

I've often felt that the big Internet companies are so keen to make money off the little guy that they forget that they can sometimes profit right along with the little guy if they're willing to work with him. Amazon understands this; that's why they have their affiliate program, Mechanical Turk, and the Honor System. Google gets it; that's why AdSense is open to everyone. Making money with most other big Internet companies isn't quite so easy if you don't want to apply for a job. AOL has successfully transitioned from an Internet service provider to a web content provider, but their business model is still largely based on profiting from an audience that consumes rather than produces. This being the case, I must commend AOL for showing a willingness to do business a little differently when it comes to the Opinion Place. Thanks, AOL, for providing a great opportunity for people to share their opinions and earn a few extra dollars in the process.