The first and quickest way to start is to simply use your status update feature to announce to all your friends that you have something to sell or that you are looking for a specific item. This is quick, easy, and painless. However, the audience is limited to your friends and you may not have too much success, particularly if most of your friends live hundreds of miles away and you are trying to sell a refrigerator.

The next place to go is the new or used Facebook Marketplace. This site was launched earlier this year and allows you to find items for sale or to sell your used stuff. The site is powered by oodle. Stefan covered oodle at length in his March 2009 article Oodle – Another Craigslist, But Slightly Better. To list items for sale, you have to allow Marketplace permission, like other Facebook applications. The site has four primary categories: items for sale, housing, jobs, and vehicles. Beside each category is a small “+ post” button for you to add a post.

Marketplace is as easy to use as Craigslist, and to me, easier than ebay, since you don’t have to bid and wait. Via the Facebook interface, you can comment and ask questions about the items up for sale. When you go to the main screen and begin browsing, you can set your location and search area to limit the distance you want to search. You may find a deal 500 miles away, but shipping costs or a trip to pick it up may make it less cost effective. Once you select your location, a section of the resulting page will show you pictures and a brief description of the latest items listed for sale.

If you choose to browse one of the four categories, the page comes up in classical Facebook interface style. The “type your status here” bar is replaced with a “Post in ___” bar (fill in the blank for the category). You are also provided a choice to “post” a listing or “find” an item.

From the main page, if you have clicked the “+ post” button beside a category, you are given the choice to “sell it” or “give it away”. Curb alert! Also from here you can post requests for items by clicking on the “ask for it” button.

You just can’t find what you are looking for in the Marketplace? Hunt up one of the Freecycle groups. If you’ve never heard of Freecycle, let me explain – at least a little. Freecycle groups exist in many locations and through various internet channels. Freecycling is simply giving away things that you would normally throw away or donate. A large majority of items are clothing related, but I have gotten some decent video games and books through Freecycling. Many people don’t have time or enough items to hold a yard sale, they don’t think the stuff is worth much money, they don’t live near an organization’s donation location, or they just don’t want to throw it away, so they list it through a Freecycle group.

Freecycle groups are accessible through Yahoo, Craigslist and Facebook, among others. On Facebook, simply go to “Groups” and in the “search Groups” box, type in ‘freecycle’. Numerous groups will come up and you can browse for one in your area. Join the group, and you will get status updates when items come available.

Some groups, like those on Yahoo, are set up to send an email alert every time something is listed. Be forewarned if you live near a metropolitan area, you may get swamped with emails regarding items you are not interested in. You may want to establish a separate email account tied specifically to the Freecycle group or you may want to use email filters set for a particular item you are needing. If you use a Facebook Freecycle group, your wall may end up being flooded with status updates about items as well, so you may want to turn these off and just go look at the offerings when you are looking for something in particular.

Yard Sale groups on Facebook are another way of finding good deals. Yard sale groups are relatively unexplored and there are only a few out there. Like the Marketplace, you buy and sell, but like Freecycle, this is done through a Facebook group.

I really like this concept, particularly if you have a group of friends who live relatively close to one another, but you just don’t have time to hold a yard sale or time to go to yard sales on Saturday morning. You can start the group, advertise via your status, and start a small local network of friends who can buy, sell, or trade items.

Do you have any other creative ways to use Facebook to find good cheap stuff?

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If you’re sitting on top of some major CPU horsepower, you might consider putting some of its idle time to good use towards various distributed computing research projects that are important to you.

The following list of websites offer 10 ways that you can donate your CPU time to science.

How Distributed Computing Models Work

The idea of distributed computing is a very simple concept. Various research projects work with huge volumes of data and computations that need to be processed and analyzed using particular algorithms determined by the research goals.

In order to reduce the time it takes to process raw data, scientists have turned to the distributed computing model in which those computations are broken into components and distributed to distributed computer systems where the CPU of each system works on a computational task and then sends it back to the central server.

Choose a Distributed Computing Project That’s Important to You

After losing a family member to cancer not long ago, I’ve developed an affinity to supporting causes that seek to cure cancer. However, many readers out there may have their own important issues that they personally want to support.

The following list are some of the distributed computing projects that I personally find potentially significant and important in terms of human progress and technological advancement.

#1 – Climate Prediction

ClimatePrediction is one of a network of research projects that uses the BOINC software to process its distributed computing work. ClimatePrediction is one of the largest climate research projects online that’s attempting to accurately forecast the Earth’s climate in the future, using distributed computing. While there are many theories regarding the Earth’s climate, ClimatePrediction seeks to provide solid evidence using mathematical predictions.

If you’re interested in taking part in this project, the first step is to install BOINC, and configure it to connect to ClimatePrediction’s servers.

As you can see, there are a long list of projects you can support (a few of which we’ll get to later), but in this case you’ll select ClimatePrediction. Once the software connects and downloads a set of files to work on, you can view progress in the BOINC manager as shown here.

Any software that offers a fascinating graphical interface like this scores highly in my book. Another bonus is the fact that you can set up the graphical climate modeling as an intriguing screensaver.

#2 – Defending Against Biological Terrorism

Another worthwhile project comes from the Drug Design and Optimization Lab, also known as D2OL.  The goal of this project is to find antidotes or “drug candidates” that can counter biological agents such as Anthrax, Ebola, Smallpox or SARS.

By donating your CPU cycles to this cause, you’ll be helping to fight against such worldwide infectious diseases that can have disastrous effects in countries all across the world.  This effort uses software called D2OL which runs in the background on your PC much like the BOINC software does.  This software is available to download for Windows, Mac, Solaris or Linux.

Unfortunately the graphics look like something out of a Windows 95 or DOS game from the 1990’s, but the software does what it’s supposed to do, and in the end you could be a part of finding a cure for any one of the world’s most infectious diseases.

#3 – Fighting Cancer

Another network of distributing computing projects is called the World Community Grid. This network allows you to support various causes with one selection in the BOINC software, including discovering new drugs, AIDS, fighting Cancer, Human Proteome Folding, nutritious rice for the world, and clean energy.

In my case, I’ve selected “Help Conquer Cancer.”  The graphics that display the status for this particular project aren’t breathtaking, but the cause is important.

#4 – Support the Advancement of Nanotechnology

One of the most promising branches of science is nanotechnology, another word for microscopic technologies that can be used for a multitude of important scientific achievements.  The Spinhenge project seeks to discover magnetic molecular molecules that could be used in a multitude of technologies, with the potential to advance humanity into the future with integrated memory, magnetic switches, or biotechnology applications that are far in advance of where the state of the art is today.

This project utilizes BOINC, so adding this project is as simple as selecting it from the project list in your BOINC install.

The graphics display for this project is fun.  While the cartoonish image on the left could probably stand some improvement, the rotating image in the center and status update bars actually make it feel like you really are part of important scientific research.

#5 – Advance Artificial Intelligence

Another area of computer technology that fascinates me personally is the field of artificial intelligence.
The distributed computing project called AIS, or Artificial Intelligence System, seeks to reverse engineer the brain.  As outrageous as this sounds, with the distributed computing model, nothing is impossible.  This project has already simulated over 565 billion neurons out of the estimated 100 billion neurons of the human brain.  If you’re willing to donate some of your CPU time to the efforts of this small company, it could lead to a significant advancement in the field of artificial intelligence.

#6 – Clean Energy Technology

The Clean Energy distributed project is hosted by Harvard University and is using computational chemistry to isolate “the best molecules possible” that could lead to some of the most advance clean energy solutions in history.  The project involves searching through thousands of potential systems and using complex algorithms related to chemical properties of various molecules.

If you are interested in reducing world dependency on fossil fuels, this is a great project to support. This one is part of the World Community Grid, so you can add the project to your BOINC app by selecting the project on the WCG web page.

Other Great Distributed Computing Research Projects

There are so many excellent scientific research projects to support, that it’s difficult to choose.  It’s almost tempting to set up multiple computers simply to help these projects with their processing needs!  Some additional noteworthy scientific projects include the following.

Einstein@home – Searches through data from the LIGO and GEO gravitational wave collectors in order to identify pulsars.  What would this accomplish?  You could help humanity take the next step toward understanding the force of gravity.

LHC@home – This project, originally designed as a form of grid computing by CERN’s IT Department, is now a volunteer effort where you can donate your CPU’s idle time to help particle accelerator physicists develop and analyze concepts for future accelerator technologies.

FightAIDS@home – This important project, also part of the World Community Grid, allows you to support important AIDS research that seeks to uncover the drug-resistant nature of this disease, and in doing so, hopefully allow for more powerful, effective drugs in the future.

Proteins@home – Based in France, this important biological research into protein structure prediction could help significantly advance our understanding of a number of diseases including various cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.

Do you know of any more?  Let us know in the comments.   Which ones do you support and participate in?

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…Right?

Look a little closer and you’ll see a very different story.

How much of the money you spend really makes it to the maker or artisan who created the item? Let’s see – the store will take a cut, so will the wholesaler, and don’t forget the agents who source the crafts directly from the villages. In the end, the maker – arguably the most important person in this process is left with next to nothing, sometimes getting under 10% of the final sale price.

Elevyn changes all that.

Through the help of local partners, Elevyn helps to connect poor artisans and villagers directly to customers around the world. The result? By cutting out all the middle men and their bottom lines, the maker now gets close to 85% of the final sale price.

You may have heard of Etsy, a community specialized in selling hand-made items directly on the internet. Think of Elevyn as Etsy for the poor. Elevyn stocks everything from belts, baskets, and jewelry to coasters, music instruments, and key chains. All beautifully handcrafted by village artisans.

Sustainable Development

Both Kiva and Elevyn works on the basis of sustainable charity i.e. engaging in charitable activities which help these people lift themselves out from poverty in the long run.

Kiva works on the basis of microloans helping small business owners in poor countries. Elevyn picks up where Kiva leaves off by connecting these people to the world and giving them a pool of demand which would otherwise have never existed for these villagers.

Engaging the community

On top of direct contributions to the maker, a certain portion (around 5%) is also donated to a charitable cause, ranging from tree planting to women’s groups.

Elevyn also organizes artisans so they can get together to achieve greater economies of scale and specialization as well as raise awareness about the value of the goods they produce. Working with field partners to help out with the orders and dealings on the internet, Elevyn is also committed to capacity building in terms of electricity and internet access via satellite in these villages.

Yes you can make a difference

People get jaded when the money they donate goes into a giant fund, never knowing who they helped and what their impact truly was.  Elevyn offers complete transparency where you will be able to see where all the money goes to the exact cent when you make a purchase. You will also be able to see how much money any particular villager has made in real time, and the impact your purchase had on their life.

Thinking of giving someone a truly meaningful gift for the holidays? I can’t think of a better place to start.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Signing up is easy – just start filling in the boxes, tell them what you are raising money for, how much, how soon you need it, and your PayPal email address. It is important to note that if you use PayPal, you may be subject to their fees.

The rest of the signup process is simple and fast – I had my ChipIn up and running in less than ten minutes! The widgets are created with Flash and easily customizable. It is up to you whether or not you want to set a specified fundraising amount or not, and you can choose from several colors as well as many different size widgets, so you can get the perfect size and color combination that will fit into your blog’s theme or website’s design.

As there are several different widgets to choose from, each displaying different levels of information including your fundraising goal, the amount raised to date, the end date, the number of participants and more, you can rest assured that you get enough information to those who want to donate to your cause.

After you create the widget to your specifications, select where you want to put it – whether it is on any of the social networking sites that you use like MySpace, hi5, Friendster or WordPress – and copy and paste the generated code into your website.

Another great thing about ChipIn is that you can have more than one fundraiser at at time – just hit the “create” button in the upper right-hand corner and get started creating more.

And yet another feature worth writing home about is the “create page” feature. I created a ChipIn page for my fundraiser, so I could get the maximum benefit out of it.

Not only do I now have a widget that I can put on all of my social networking pages, but I can also have a page on ChipIn that will allow people to visit, read more about my project and leave donations for me. The page is easily customizable, where you can add pictures, video, and more information about what you are raising money for.

Not only can I keep up with various fundraisers I’ve created, but I can also see who made contributions to me via the ChipIn website.

Go on over to ChipIn and create your own fundraiser today – then just sit back and watch your collections grow!

By Ellie, who is currently raising money for charity (and hoping to move from Princess to Queen) on ChipIn and writes about technology, web apps and more at ultimate geek girl!

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