Greetings, Vocal

When I was really young, I used to watch my favorite movie, Babe, probably every day, and that was the extent of my technological prowess. It was a calmer time for me in the mid 1990s.

And then, I remember my family’s first computer. We lived on my mom’s pretty property outside of Little Rock, Arkansas. My mom and dad are both nerds. My mom is a scientist and my dad makes a living with web design. Our first computer was a few off-white clunky boxes, yet it ran Windows, and it had Solitaire and Paint. I was in love!

If I wasn’t watching reruns, I’d tap away at the loud mouse and it’s textural scroller, playing and replaying solitaire until the cards stacked and jumped across the screen, filling it with piles of cards. When the logical game was too challenging, I’d opt for Paint. I remember just loving this app, because I could make art endlessly and without having to clean afterwards. Hah. Lo and behold, the design world was ever evolving, and soon that premordial spray paint tool would be replaced with endless paintbrush options that the open source internet or self-help could provide.

So, as I got older, Photoshop replaced Paint, video games replaced Solitaire, and eventually, I learned web design, too. I also learned how to code somewhat self-taught yet also by my father, and then I took a coding class at school, for Java. My dad even taught me how to build computers, and he had actually built me my very own first desktop.

I consider myself lucky to have had the privilege of access to modern technology, the internet, and thus the lifestyle it can provide. I never imagined when I was young that I could make money on apps that pay me to answer questions, watch videos, rank choices, take pictures, scan receipts, listen to music, walk, drive, etc.

However, from a humanitarian perspective, knowing that some folks live in abject poverty, I want to connect these resources to them. Imagine venturing to the local computer center, or accessing free WiFi at a hotspot, and then being able to take surveys that pay more than a day of farming, in some impoverished localities. If some people only make $1 a day for their family — and even their whole family might be farming for that pay rate — and now they can make $1 in 30 minutes with a few taps on a phone answering questions?

I have another hack available, too, which is setting up AdSense websites for charity, or in other words, placing others’ ads on a site in which the earnings go to whichever need is pertinent at the time. Or better, allocating resources to help the impoverished set up their own sites that generate money daily.

In addition, there are apps that give away free digital currency such as Coinbase. Then there are options that require constant internet or data access yet are rather passive income, such as digital currency mining apps like Honey Miner or location capturing apps like Coin.

And then there’s Vocal, to get paid for writing, which pays better than the passive options. Imagine the impoverished stories waiting to be told from the vantage point of a community center’s free WiFi.

Have you always had access to modern technology? If you haven’t, what was the transition like? Do you believe technology can make our world a better place? Do you believe technology can eradicate poverty?

Thank you for reading my first Vocal post. I look forward to any feedback!

- M. E. G.

P. S. Stay safe! 🍊