For those who want to earn money while they write, either an instant payment or a residual payment that they receive when people read the article - or both - these sites are the ones I recommend. Bear in mind that if you are doing it as a paid hobby it can absorb a lot of your spare time and you may decide it is not worth it. Likewise, if you are seeking to be a professional writer, writing articles for such sites will supplement your income but will never bring in a high income or one that you can live on on it's own.
TRIOND.COM - Pays a residual income forever, once you have signed up with them. The beauty of Triond is that YOU choose what your article is about, you choose the title, you choose which category to put it into, you choose which angle to write it from, and you do not have to be a genius at writing. In my view it is ideal for the beginner. If you think quickly and type fast you can bash out a few articles while you have a cup of coffee and check your emails, no sweat.
HELIUM.COM - Pays a residual income forever BUT you do need to ensure that you are always in credit with writing starts. If you ever allow the stars to drop to less than one then you no longer get paid your residual income. One of the beauties of Helium.com is that you can also volunteer potential titles to be used and get paid a (small) amount of they are agreed. Another beauty of Helium is that there is a competite streak in most of us and we can compete against the others writing an article under the same title to see whose is the most popular. The downside to Helium is that you have to write an article on the topics they put forward and cannot select your own. There is also a market place and a forum where you can exchange news and views with others. The quality needs to be higher with helium than it is with triond.