Searching – Larry Page & Sergey Brin – Google

I couldn’t even count the amount of times I use Google in a day, it’s become so accurate and intuitive that it’s the only search engine that I need, but of course that’s not all it does. It makes me money with AdSense, helps people to find my website, search for my own images on the internet, powers people’s phones, hosts a social network, and so much more. Google keeps growing and buying other companies to add to their portfolio and improve their service; on the internet, Google is king.

By the looks of things, these two are the richest, and most successful internet entrepreneurs in history, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to be changing anytime soon. They were introduced by their professor at Stanford and started working on Google, went live in 1997 as part of Standford University’s website at google.stanford.edu and the rest, as they say, is history.

Social Networking – Tom Anderson – Myspace

I can see the comments coming already ‘what about Facebook?’, ‘what about Friendster’, but Tom is on the list because he made social networking what it it today – he brought it to the masses. It may not be the best social networking platform on the internet, but there was a time when we were all using it, because everyone else was using it as well. You could add bands as friends, and browse through music, way before Facebook allowed you to listen on their site, but best of all, it laid out the blueprint of how we network with friends on the internet.

Myspace isn’t really what it used to be, with a large number of users having switched to Facebook for good, many of whom (myself included), have closed their accounts. It was at one time the largest social network on the planet though, and for that Tom deserves a mention. Tom sold Myspace in early 2008 and left in 2009, not liking the direction the website had taken, he’s even got a Facebook page now.

“People seem very confused why I’m on Facebook. I’ve had a profile since 2005 and a “fan page” since 2009…Why am I not on MySpace? Because, I left the company in early 2009, and like most of you, I don’t like using it anymore.. not a fan of what the new folks have done with MySpace.”

Music Sharing – Shawn Fanning – Napster

Before Kazza and Limewire, there was the original, and largely illegal peer to peer network – Napster. Napster set the president for online music downloading, as well as a lot of the legal troubles back in the day before there were so many competitors. For the first time on the internet, it was possible for the masses to be able to share their music with each other and download music and videos for free.

As many of you probably know, Napster learnt their lesson the hard way and got slammed with masses of legal problems, and eventually had to be shut down. Nevertheless, it lead the way for similar services, and gave us all a taste of what it’s like to download music for free. It now runs a service similar to Spotify in that you pay a subscription and you can stream music from a library online. What’s interesting about this is that Sean Parker, who was one of the co founders, now owns a stake in Spotify, which is Napster’s biggest rival (now owned by Best Buy).

Learning – Jimmy Wales – Wikipedia

Many people have a love/hate relationship with Wikipedia, because of it’s ability to provide you with excellent and well referenced information, as well some complete nonsense. Jimmy Wales founded Wikipedia, which is a user generated internet encyclopedia, back in 2001. It currently indexes over 20 million articles and has helped hundreds of thousands of students world wide find ‘inspiration’ for essays and reports. If I’m looking for something on Wikipedia, I more often not just Google it, because the wiki I’m looking for is usually in the top 3 results.

Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site, and it has about 90,000 regularly active contributors. Wikipedia can be seen in 282 languages and is currently the largest encyclopedia on the internet… no surprises there. It’s currently ranking sixth globally among all websites on Alexa and having an estimated 365 million readers worldwide. It is estimated that Wikipedia receives 2.7 billion monthly pageviews from the United States alone. Just to keep in the spirit of things, this whole paragraph was made up from information on Wikipedia.

Jimmy Wales really had changed the way in which we learn on the internet, because even though there’s some bad information on there, a lot of it is well referenced and full of the facts we’re looking for.

Shopping – Jeff Bezos – Amazon

Amazon.com is the internet’s most popular and trusted online retailer, and has completely changed the way we shop. The death of the high street is all down to online shopping and there’s no better retailer than Amazon for finding the best deals with service you can trust. The website was one of the first of it’s kind and went live way back in 1995, when most of us were still trying to get to grips with a keyboard. It started as a bookstore to rival chains such as Barnes & Noble, but it soon diversified and spread to many more countries around the world in an effort to turn a profit. It survived the burst of the dot.com bubble and finally made a profit in 2001 on the sale of over 1 billion dollars worth of goods.

The growth was initially quite slow, and it took me a while to get into it too, but with free shipping, a huge selection of products and some of the best prices on the internet, it’s hard not to love them. Now as the world’s largest online retailers and Jeff Bezos being worth more than $19Billion, Amazon.com has made a permanent mark on how we use the internet.

Watching – Chad Hurley & Steve Chen – YouTube

The world of online video watching took a lot longer to get off the ground, due to internet speeds and hosting fees, but it’s well and truly here to stay now, with no website more popular than YouTube. Started by two former PayPal employees Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, YouTube was launched in 2005, and was sold less than 2 years later in November 2006 to Google for $1.65 billion – not bad for a couple years work. YouTube offer the ability to upload an unlimited amount of videos for people over the 18, so long as it didn’t include adult content.

The site made huge changes to viral media, with fun and short videos becoming much more easily accessible with YouTube’s fast loading time and unintrusive website. It also created the ‘YouTube Star’ where people could make their own regular videos and earn money through Google AdSense, which has provided full time careers to some users. YouTube seems to have gone downhill a bit recently, with their annoying adverts, but they’re still the market leader and name we think of when we think about online videos.

Blogging – Matt Mullenweg – WordPress

Again, I’m hearing cries of ‘what about David Bohnett, the creator of GeoCities’ and ‘what about blogger.com or Tumblr’, and the answer is simple, Matt Mullenweg did it right. GeoCities was a massively popular site back in the day, but the customizations made it look childish and usage went so far down that they’ve closed it all together. WordPress on the other hand is the most popular blogging platform on the internet because of its usability and easy to install plugins that can make every site look unique. No doubt that the majority of people reading this are using WordPress for their own site, and we recommend it as we use it for IncomeDiary and ExpertPhotography.

It’s not just changed the way we blog, because the capabilities of WordPress go far beyond that now, and they’re so easy to use, that just about anyone can do it. To say that the reach of WordPress is substantial would be an understatement, as it’s used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet’s “top 1 million” websites and as of August 2011 powers 22% of all new websites. Matt has made a big change to the way we use the internet, because we’re not just spectators anymore, we’re now a part of it.

Gaming – Mike Morhaime – Blizzard

Mike is currently worth nearly $2billion because of the way that he managed to revolutionize the way that online gaming is done, with one of the most popular games of all time – World of Warcraft. WoW alone has over 10 million online gamers, all of which have to pay a monthly subscription to play. I’m not trying to say that he changed the internet because he managed to make so much money out of it, I’m saying that he’s created a game so popular, that 10 million people happily pay for it and spend their time on the internet, using it. There are of course other games on the internet, such as Runescape, or simple games you may find on sites such as Miniclip, but no game seems to rank higher with gamers than WoW.

Matt has helped online gamers realize that there are some things that are just worth paying for, and that’s set a president for other online gaming sites too. His community is vast and virtual world, huge.

Communicating – Niklas Zennström & Janus Friis – Skype

Niklas and Janus have had a pretty interesting career so far, with their part in the online music peer to peer network Kazaa (which was the most downloaded program in 2003), and more famously, Skype, an online telephone based on the same principals. Within just five years of it’s launch, it already had over 300 million users, proving itself to have a place in business and pleasure. I personally use it to talk to friends who live abroad, as well as Skyping in when I work from home.

Zennström and Friis have had a bit of an on again, off again relationship with Skype, selling it to eBay for €2.1 billion in 2005, as well as being a part of the investment team that bought it back in 2009, where they re-joined the Skype board, before selling it to Microsoft for $8.5 billion, in May of 2011, netting them approximately $1 billion. International calling is almost a thing of the past these days, and even if you did want to make a phone call, it’s cheaper to use Skype credit. With mobile phone apps, you can now take it with you anywhere, it’s truly become a part of the way we use the internet, and it seems to be here to stay.

File Sharing – Bram Cohen – BitTorrent

Yes, there are of course plenty of legal uses for torrenting, but that’s not typically what we think of when we hear the name BitTorrent. The BitTorrent network revolutionized the peer to peer network by breaking up much bigger files into parts and sharing them with multiple users to download from, which was a distinct advantage over the traditional p2p network. The BitTorrent network has many illegal implications, where you can download and share files such as music, movies, software and TV shows in just a couple hours, although Cohen himself claims to have never violated copyright law.

The program launched in the 2004, and now there’s thousands of websites and programs dedicated to the sharing of files, for whatever the use may be. Whether you’re using it for legal or illegal purposes, you can’t deny the fact that torrenting has changed the way we share large files on the internet and Bram Cohen has been a huge part of that.

I started my online business way back in 2005 and migrated to an LLC in 2007 once I started making more money. I made the move to full time self employment in 2009 and last year I more than surpassed my goal to earn $150,000 in 2010. I also sold one of my larger websites in a deal worth six figures last year too so overall it was a pretty great first full year of self employment (I got fired in late 2009 lol).

Useful info box, one word answers are fine:

Book Your Currently Reading? Purple Cow

Best Business Purchase? $200 for NetbookReviews.com

Favourite Business Resource? My three 26 inch monitors

Favourite Business Website? BothSidesOfTheTable.com

1. What gave you the idea for your business and what motivated you to apply yourself and get it done.

I’ve been running a wide range of websites ever since I created my first forum for gamers back in 2005. I knew money was being made on the internet and I was determined to make sure I started making money too. I only wish I had met more people that were making money online earlier as I would have been able to make a lot more money faster if I did. My biggest motivation is a desire to build my own business and blaze my own path. I hate working for someone else because I’m just making them more money. When I work for myself I am building my own assets.

2. Comparing your business from back then to now, what has been the main thing that allowed you to expand your business?

The biggest thing for me was the decision to invest more time into my business. For a few years I was running websites for fun but only passively trying to make money with them. A few years after that I decided that if I really wanted to make money with websites I needed to have a clear monetization path before I invested time and resources into a website. Ask yourself this question before you start something “How will this (eventually) make money?” I simply ask myself this question before I do anything now and it helps me avoid wasting time on projects that won’t pay off.

3. Whats the most profitable aspect of your online business, why do you think this is and how can others apply this to what they are doing.

I started doing really well with Amazon’s affiliate program back in early 2009. I shared some tips on what I’ve learned after making $90k+ with Amazon here. The biggest suggestion if you’re looking to make money with Amazon is to use it on websites with a very specific product oriented focus. For example, with the Netbook Reviews website I sold in a deal worth six figures I aimed to create the best possible netbook website and so I did things my competitors weren’t such as actually reviewing the product with videos etc. etc. You can apply this focus to any niche, just know that if you want that #1 Google ranking your site needs to be better than the site currently ranking that spot (in terms of the quality of links, quality of your domain name, quality of your content etc.)

4. How Do You Work?

I wake up around 9:00 AM or 10:00 AM but that just varies based on when I went to bed. I prefer to work regular business owners, but lately I’ve been working a lot more because I have so many projects that have simply gone on for far too long. For example, when I was working on releasing my Amazon wordpress plugin: EasyAzon I had a few days of the week that I stayed up to 5:00 AM finishing up the members area, creating how to videos, talking to affiliates etc. etc. Right now I have one full time employee in the Philippines and she helps me build websites. I haven’t felt comfortable enough yet to outsource my customer support as some of my products were based on my expert knowledge and I just can’t let go of answering all of my customer’s support inquiries. Sometime soon I know I need to outsource the more basic stuff such as “this video doesn’t load” and “can you fix my email address in the members area?” etc.

5. When did you realize you were successful/made it? and how did you feel/celebrate?

I felt like I made it when I hit my one year fireversary (celebrating my first full year of self employment) and soon after that I really knew things would be ok when I received the first bank wire payment for my website in the deal worth six figures. Seeing that much money in my bank account felt awesome and I splurged on my $500 Herman Miller SAYL chair (ridiculous I know but since I sit all day why not?). I later paid off a $26k lump sum from my wife’s student loans (although that’s a decision I now regret).

6. Looking back, what could you of done sooner to of got to that point quicker.

If I would have stopped putzing around building websites that had no business model (i.e. video game forums) I’d probably be making double or triple what I am today. But I still like to say that I owe the start of my business and it’s eventual success to the video game Halo. So I do know there are things I could have done to be successful faster but I wouldn’t change anything.

7. What should other Internet entrepreneurs reading this be focusing on to expand their own Internet business.

I’m a huge fan of monetization. A lot of what I’m doing this year is simply buying websites from people and finding ways to better monetize them right off the bat. The easiest way to make more money is to make sure you’re fully taking of your existing traffic before you go out and try and get more traffic. (Which reminds me, if you are interested in selling your website contact me here. My range is $50k and lower.)

8. What do you consider the main differences between those people who have been successful in your industry and those who have failed?

Most of the people I talk to fail before they even start. There’s only so much time you can spend learning before you have to take action. If you are reading this interview and haven’t actually done something (i.e. registered a domain name and set up your first website etc.) then you should stop reading this right now. Figure out what you’re interested in, do a quick search to see who the existing competition is and then make a decision to move forward with building your first website. If you aren’t an action taker you will never be successful with an online business.

You can learn more about how Chris is making money and teaching others at his blog: Make Money on the Internet

Chris has also just released a really cool new WordPress Plugin for Amazon Affiliates, click here to check it out!

Back in March 2009 one of my earliest posts here on IncomeDiary.com was a list of the the top 30 earning websites in the world

Back then the Top Earning website was not surprisingly Google.com, but I have just done a new Top Earning Websites In The World list based on stats that are now available for 2009 and surprise, surprise, Amazon.com has overtaken Google.com!

Can this really be the case?

Let me be clear – this is a list of some of the Top Earning Websites in the world and as such I don’t claim to have covered every possible website. (but what I wanted to do was give us a comparison of some of the best known websites revenues based on the PER SECOND model)

I don’t know why but there is something amazing about comparing earnings on a per second basis – it almost gives me a shiver up my back (in a good way)

I remember not that long ago being excited about earning just $10 a day, then $50 a day and then the day I first earned $1000 in one day! ($1000 in a day is ONLY 1.157 cents per second by the way)

Imagine what it must be like to be Jeff Bezos, Larry Page or Sergey Brin.

Mind you — one thing I am excited about – my profit margins (net profit) as a percentage is significantly higher than either Amazon or Google

My Father and indeed many other entrepreneurs I know are always telling me:

Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, but CASH is king

That is something to always be remembered in any business comparison

I look forward to your comments – what names on this list surprised you? Who should be on this list that isn’t?

There is 31536000 seconds in a Year — make all of them count — like Amazon.com

To all our successes

Michael

PS: Quote For Today:

Business without profit is not business any more than a pickle is a candy ~ Charles F Abbott

Making money online has evolved a lot over the past few years, every day people become millionaires through the internet and they were just like you, searching through the internet for that piece of inspiration that would give them the kick they needed to make it happen. One of the easiest ways to make money and start an internet business today is by creating a blog. Check out my FREE 7 day eCourse on Blogging and give it a go yourself.

Making money is simple, you find a problem, offer the solution and then monetize it, this is exactly what the 30 people below did to make their billions/millions online. This is exactly what I did when I created this website, people were asking me how to create a blog, I offered them the solution with this website and then I monetized it with affiliate offers. To do it yourself, think about your passion or something you know a lot about, find a problem within it, create a blog and offer the solution then monetize it using any of the 100′s of methods I talk about on my blog.

Top Internet Entrepreneurs

Rank	Name	Website	Year Website Launched	Net Worth
1	Larry Page	Google	1998	$18.5 Billion
2	Sergey Brin	Google	1998	$18.5 Billion
3	Jeff Bezos	Amazon	1994	$8.7 Billlion
4	Pierre Omidyar	eBay	1995	$6.3 Billion
5	Eric Schmidt	Google	1998	$5.9 Billion
6	Ronald Burkle	Yahoo	1995	$3.5 Billion
7	Mark Cuban	Broadcast.com	1995	$2.6 Billion
8	Jerry Yang	Yahoo	1995	$2.3 Billion
9	Omid Kordestani	Google	1998	$1.9 Billion
10	David Filo	Yahoo	1995	$1.7 Billion
11	Kavitark Ram Shriram	Google	1998	$1.7 Billion
12	Todd Wagner	Broadcast.com	1995	$1.5 Billion
13	Peter Thiel	PayPal	1998	$1.3 Billion
14	Niklas Zennstrom	Skype	2003	$1.3 Billion
15	Janus Friis	Skype	2003	$1.3 Billion
16	Jack Ma	Alibaba	1999	$1.1 Billion
17	Mark Zuckerberg	Facebook	2004	$700 Million
18	Simon Nixon	MoneySuperMarket	1999	$680 Million
19	Andrew Gower	Runescape	2001	$650 Million
20	Reid Hoffman	LinkedIn	2003	$500 Million
21	Zhang Chaoyang	Sohu	1996	$425 Million
22	Steve Chen	YouTube	2005	$350 Million
23	Elon Musk	PayPal	1998	$328 Million
24	Chad Hurley	YouTube	2005	$300 Million
25	Duncan Cameron	MoneySuperMarket	1999	$280 Million
26	Marc Andreesen	Netscape	1994	$253 Million
27	Reed Hastings	NetFlix	1997	$150 Million
28	Blake Ross	Mozila	1998	$120 Million
29	Andrew Michael	Fasthost	1999	$110 Million
30	Max Levchin	PayPal	1998	$100 Million

To our success in 2009,

Michael Dunlop

PS. Expect me to be up there one day