The Internet has provided countless opportunities for regular guys to make money without having to leave home-and even despite leaving their day jobs. After all, who would not like the idea of staying at home-away from the traffic of the metropolis, and safe from office politics-and earning your own keep at the same time?

There are real ways to make money and there are those that are sham. If you are looking at fresh earning opportunities online, one of your real best bets is to explore social networking. Social networking sites like Facebook, Multiply, and MySpace are legitimate sources of earning opportunities. And some of the best things about exploring social networks is that you get access to an established website with a strong following, and an existing web structure and system so you don't need to build one before you can start cashing in.

Social networks have become very pervasive in the last few months or years. Through social networks, netizens have discovered different ways to expand their social circles and meet new friends, as well as reconnect with old friends that they have lost touch with.

Many people are also using social networks in different ways, and are deriving various benefits as well. For example, celebrities are building fan bases, companies are selling their goods through advertisement, and professionals are finding employment opportunities. The point is, if you know how to make social networks work for you, they can give you everything that your heart desires.

So what are some of the real ways to make money from online social networks?

The first thing that comes to mind are revenue sharing and referral programs that some social networks have. If you have a solid network of online friends, and have no doubt of their support for any online endeavor that you get into, this is something that could work for you. Under the typical revenue sharing and referral program, you set up an account on a social network and then earn money for every page hit that your account page gets.

You can also use your social network to drive traffic to a monetized blog or website that you put up. Features in Facebook like wall posts or tagging friends to a note or a site are only a few examples of how you can leverage the social network to channel viewers to a page that you want to them to "Digg" or "StumbleUpon".

If you are the enterprising kind and you have a vast network of marketing professionals, you can easily tap this network by offering to build social networking accounts for businesses that are not tech-savvy. You can even ask for retainer fees for the management of these accounts.

Finally, if you simply love the networking part of social networking and don't care about all its other facets, you can also try to contribute directly to the growth of your favorite social networks by applying as a community manager. This way, you can have an excuse for long hours in your social networking site of choice-and earn from it at the same time.