Microworking (also known as crowdsourcing) is working on very small discrete tasks. As advanced as the modern computer is, some functions are still beyond its capabilities. Simple tasks that we take for granted, such as understanding speech and recognising objects can still be very hit and miss for computers despite years of research. In the last few years, a movement has arisen whereby companies that have huge amounts of processing to do can farm it out to a huge network of online workers that will complete these tasks, usually for payment but sometimes even on a voluntary basis. This presents a potentially interesting option to those wishing to top up their income working from home, without having the commitment to set hours. I took a look at some of the companies offering this kind of work.
When I wrote the original version of this article, I had a few sites listed on a single page. Every now and then I take a look around to see if any more promising sites have appeared. This seems to be a rapidly growing segment and this article seems to be growing with it. I've therefore now split the article into two main sections: those sites that seem the most promising and those that seem less promising.
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