Hey, got a Buck?

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A flash in the pan - circa 2002

In the earlier days of the internet there was a mini-phenomenon called cyberbegging. Are you familiar with the term or has it fallen completely into the history books? I don't know why I was thinking about it, maybe it was because I was one of those cyberbeggars, one of the ones who rushed out and tried to get on the bandwagon - one of those people who just figured - if I ask, will people give? Sound like a good idea? Well it did at the time, I put hours and hours into a website, blogged religously for a while and figured...

Anyday now my money train will come in.......

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Fast forward to 2009 

Ramblings of an unsuccessful cyberbeggar

I quit blogging after a month, I quit checking my PayPal account after two, within six months I had parked my domain and "given up" on money for nothing. I did receive a few donations - net proceeds from my experiment? $1.24 after fees! Not exactly enough to retire on!

I did what any reasonable person would do given this situation, I kept working and the most amazing thing happened, I kept getting paid and my career progressed! So much for easy money, LOL!

But what happened to all those cyberbeggars from that little explosion? Well, you might not be interested in knowing, but I was.

I guess you can attribute it to the fact that I was "in on" the "movement" even if ever so briefly.

It's funny how most of the content you find under Google dates from 2003 and 2004 - not really much relevant new data - go figure!

Maybe it has always been at the back of my mind - maybe this could work, after all it did work for one person - Karyn Bosnak of www.SaveKaryn.com fame (or infamy - you be the judge). It wasn't exactly what she had in mind as she worried about how to pay off $20,000.00 of credit card debt, but she was eventually approached by a book publisher and as they say.... the rest is history!

Books by Karyn Bosnak 

Yes, Karyn Bosnak did make a few bucks from cyberbegging. Yes, she did do interviews and appear in publications all over the world, but how she finally made the most of HER adventure was by becoming an author and writing about the adventure!
Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back
Save Karyn: One Shopaholi...
20 Times a Lady: A Novel
20 Times a Lady: A Novel
20 Times a Lady
20 Times a Lady

What's out there now? 

Why didn't it last?

As most people do, I began my search on Google - the modern search megamammoth and in just a matter of seconds I had about 9,000 results to work through. You can check for yourself, or keep reading for a brief synopsis of what I found.

To sum it up it a few words, when I started surfing around, I didn't find much.

I guess you could stop reading now, or you could make a donation here. I promise I'll appreciate it, and I'll even acknowledge it here! No, I don't need your money, but I won't refuse it either!

The first article I found talked about how the whole cyberbegging movement pretty much shriveled up and died on the vine, but after I kept digging, I found a tiny niche on the internet that continues to hang on despite being just a slim shadow of what it once hoped to be.

Before you run off and click on this link to www.savemesites.com be aware that it is chock full of cyberbeggars more than willing to help you part with your hard earned cash! Then again, I guess that is probably true all over the internet today.

Show me some love! 

Who said it had to be money for nothing?

I made this special design just for this lens, we all get tired of this guy and that gal trying to empty our pockets little by little, let em know in advance not to bother - you already gave at the office!
I gave at the Office! 2.25

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I gave at the Office! Sticker (Oval)

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I gave at the Office! Mini Button

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I gave at the Office! Mug

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To sum it all up.... 

If you are down on your luck and feel like you just don't know where to turn - cyberbegging is NOT the answer to your prayers. Anyone that is trying to get you to pay for hosting for a cyberbegging site is NOT your friend or your Guardian Angels.

* * * DISCLAIMER * * *

This site is designed to be entertaining and informational only. Any Donations to this site are for the entertainment value you received here only. I appreciate your visit, and I appreciate the donation! May God Bless Us All!

The "best" cyberbegging sites I found..... 

If you haven't already gotten your fill of cyberbegging, here are some of the sites that I found at least somewhat interesting.
Internet Begging on Wikipedia
Internet begging From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search
Internet begging is a cyber or e-version of traditional begging, asking strangers for money to meet immediate and other needs (money, food, and shelter). It is also referred to as cyber begging and internet panhandling...
Save Me Sites
A one stop shop for the cyberbeggar, not only do they link to lots and lots of cyberbeggars, if you want to create your own cyberbegging presence this is an (occasionally) updated site.
Dustin Diamond - Cyberbeggar!
Dustin "Screech" Diamond was set to lose his house after some poor life choices, this is how he managed to Save his House through cyberbeggin!
How to Cyberbeg
A quick down and dirty on how to cyberbeg - if it were really this easy, you'd see these things around every corner!
Follow this link if you like this website and would like to do your own
If you like what I've done here and think you might want to give it a shot, it is really easy and doesn't cost anything, just follow this link!

Thanks for visiting, let me know you stopped by! 

If you make a donation and want me to link to your site drop me a note with the donation and I'll do what I can! Thanks for your comments. I hope you found this site interesting and entertaining!

Lensmaster

Webcodes wrote...

Never heard of the term til now. I enjoyed reading your lens, unfortunately I am a beggar myself. I will contribute to you by favoriting and 5* this lens..

ReplyPosted May 27, 2009

Lensmaster

InternetBeggar

I made an internet begging site called, www.ImBeggingYou.com (good domain name huh?). I heard that other people have had some success, so on a shoe string budget (like 10 bucks), ImBeggingYou.com was born. You never know until you try, right? Check out my story, and oh yeah--donate!

ReplyPosted January 01, 2009

Lensmaster

mspomogrante

Checked into this site http://www.bailafamilyout.com Its a cyberbeg with an open chat rooms. The site is about two months old and everyone is estremly friendly and funny. In the hour I visited it was very entertaining. There are about seventy needy families posted and the stories are truly heartbreaking. But I see alot of the members do come and chat and some feel the having the chats makes a bad day alot better. Some even said that having someone to talk to is worth more than the donations they received. If I have to rate the site I'll say its one of the best startups I've ever seen and from the looks of it...The site is very popular with woman and I loved it!!!

ReplyPosted December 29, 2008

Lensmaster

amandaquerque wrote...

Great lens and great resource! I am making an attempt at cyberbegging at http://www.squidoo.com/internetpanhandling

ReplyPosted October 15, 2008

With all this going on the U.S. National Debt just continues to grow....