What is fiverr?
Think of Fiverr as a kind of online marketplace, but instead of flogging old shoes to the highest bidder, you can buy and sell a range of services or products or other weird and wonderful things for only $5.
Everything is fixed at $5 and buyers can order things, which they’re then required to pay for in advance. There are all kinds of categories and once you’ve received your things or tasks or songs or strange poems, you then post feedback about the person who made them/sang them/wrote them for you.
Fiverr has been around for a few years now, but has only recently been picked up by more than just the geeky tech press, which we hope means it’s set to get even bigger and the tasks even better over the coming months.
What do people use it for?
A better question would be what don’t they use it for. There are a range of categories including Graphics, Social Marketing, Music & Audio, Fun & Bizarre and Technology. After just a quick browse here are some examples of things you can currently pick up for $5 across the site:
I will draw you a caricature for $5
I will write an About page for your website for $5
I will talk/promote/sing what you want as a chinface for $5
I will blast Your Solo Ads Or Any Offer for $5
I will create 10 000 SEO Backlinks for Your Websites for $5
So is it full of crazy people and scumbags?
When a website is based on the premise of “What are you willing to do for $5?” your immediate thought is probably “what will some filthy scumbags offer to do for $5?” (or at least ours was), but don’t worry, there’s a strict policy on Fiverr that anything a little too weird and/or porny won’t be tolerated: “Posting or sending adult, illegal, rude, abusive, improper, copyright protected, promotional, spam, violent, nonsense or any uncool stuff is strictly prohibited. Doing so will get your account blocked permanently.” That’s not to say you won’t find your fair share of sex advice (not that we’ve been looking) and strange antics, we can’t quite believe 39 people have coughed up $5 for the ‘I will sing Happy birthday or any message you want in a strong british accent, wearing only a British thong and hat for $5′ task. You have too much money and time on your hands people.
The one most annoying thing on Fiverr is how many people use it to gain new followers (we say followers, we probably mean spam accounts) on Twitter and Facebook. It’s about the quality not the quantity guys, didn’t you ever get told that in primary school? Is it just a bit of a fad/gimmick/flash in the pan? Well it’s not new, Fiverr has been around for a few years and caught the attention of tech websites way back in 2010, so the fact it’s still alive and kicking now and drawing in more and more people each day bodes well for it being here to stay. Visit fiverr.com to make a small fortune from your mad skillz or just have a browse for some cool things you may/may not need to part with $5 for.
