Don't put your money on the advice of some liberal arts graduate who's a professional writer for fool.com or another site. These are novelty sites that display their good performing portfolios and downplay and eliminate their bad performing portfolios.

First, read a book like A Ramdom Walk Down Wall Street/Malkin. Then read the financial news and see how stocks are affected and what affects them. Think about industries that you are familiar with. If you think you have a worthwhile insight, buy shares of that company. I would start by doing some 'paper trades' to see if you're getting it.

Lastly, choose an online broker that doesn't charge more than $10 per limit order. Anything more than that is wasteful.