A schoolboy makes millions by selling words
Wisdom Obinna Uzor, from London, England, set-up Search by Story after thinking of ways to help him and his family live a better life. Uzor has already made a small fortune of US 1000 in only four days by selling ten words on Search by Story to some of his associates.
This site enables visitors to search for the information on the internet by clicking on words in a story. There are some stories on the website that range from music stories to fashion stories.
When you click on a word in a story, you would be taken to a site that is related to the story genre. For instance, if you were reading a story about music, every linked word in that story would take you to a website related to music. He found his profitable way to make money online.
This is a bizarre and wacky idea, says Uzor, but I hope it will catch people`s imaginations.
Thanks to the power of blogging and word-of-mouth, Search by Story is currently receiving about 1000+ unique hits a day.
“My site was mentioned in a blog a couple of days ago and I`ve been getting loads of hits since then. I`m amazed at how popular Search by Story has got in such a small space of time, says Uzor, It`s almost surreal.
A profitable way to make money online
Businesses and website owners can advertise on Search by Story by buying a word in any story for $100, which will display a screen tip with a description of their website, together with a link back to their site. Sites that have bought some of Uzor`s words include online-gaming websites, book websites, and soccer websites.
Uzor`s says that his inspiration for Search by Story came from observing his fellow schoolmates and teachers.
I noticed at school that nearly everyone had an exciting book that they were reading. Even the teachers. I then saw from websites, like the million dollar homepage, that businesses are always looking for new and exciting advertising opportunities. It just made sense to bring the two together to produce Search by Story.” – comments Uzor.
Uzor says that he gets help with managing the site from his older sister. “I take care of the site design and uploading links, while my older sister takes care of handling payments and managing the database, comments Uzor, It`s kind of like a family business”. If completed, which offers a total of 20,000 words for the US $100 each, is set to fetch Uzor a cool $2 million.
Uzor, who will be starting his GCSEs in September, says that businesses and website owners are getting value for money by advertising on this site. “Each link on Search by Story has received at least 150-200 hits every day since I launched,” says Uzor, plus they are getting at least two years advertising space for only 100 dollars.
When asked what he would do with the cash, Uzor says that he intends to share it with his family and pay for university in the future. If God willing, I sell all of the words, I?d most definitely share it with my family. The whole point of making my website was to help me and my family fulfill our life-long ambitions, he explained, I’d also like to put the money towards my university education in the future because as my mom always says, Education is the key.
Uzor is not the first young person to launch a money-making website. Alex Tew, aged 21, set up http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com in August 2005 after thinking of ways to pay for his high university fees. He made one million dollars from his website in only four months and started the considerable internet craze of pixel advertising. This just goes to show that business is moving down a generation. It`s no longer a game for the old and experienced. Young people are taking a bite too.