Compostapalooza

Quirky is probably my favorite website.  The site is a crowdsourcing product-development site where users submit ideas for new products and then try to guide the products picked for production by voting, rating and leaving feedback.  Normally Quirky charges a $99-dollar submission fee, but participating is always free.  Every member who influences a product gets a small percentage of the profit from those products when they go into production.  I have tiny amounts of influence on nine products and my account goes up by a few cents every day.

Right now they are looking for an idea involving composting--this being one of their special promotions, they are allowing free submissions, so there is nothing to lose if you have an idea. With no registration fee, Quirky is one of the few sites that really allows you to make money with no initial investment.  Some of the ideas are good, some are interesting and some submissions are so ridiculous that they are hilarious. Even if you don't care about compost (although how is that possible??)  Quirky is worth the time to check out.

THE TIMELINE

May 17
Launch idea submissions
May 17 - 26
Submissions accepted
May 26 - June 4
Ideas evaluated
by community
June 4
Announcement of
winning product
June 4 - 15
Regular product
development cycle
June 15
Product launch