waste it on some crappy sites and lose part to scammers then learn this stuff and start again from $0 to get all the way up.. well that's how most people actually start
seosapien has some good points. I think many of the best sites started off as a passion. The benefit you get with working with your passion is it doesn't seem so much like a job. When you have enthusiasm for something it does show through the work that you do. I run just a few websites and I know that the time involved is insane. I couldn't even imagine 100 sites without hiring a helper. OR, you could take the $8K and put it on number 32 on a roulette wheel
The health market is huge. If you do it wisely and take your time to do everything right you could make a killing. You have to take into consideration it is one of the most competitive markets online, so it won't be easy, but competitive markets assure you a big income once you become popular.
Go to sitepoint and look what's going dirt cheap, people can't get rid of there sites quick enough there as people need quick money. Buy something very undervalued that is making alright money you could develop on top of.
I think with $8000 you can consider promoting clickbank products with ppc .... i think you'll make a good profit ...i am having a good luck with ppc and clickbank products ... good luck ...
use the 8k and stick to the stuffs you know, maybe you can offer programming services to companie? "Stick to the status quo" heard that song?
I'd always spread your risk around if your thinking of buying sites buy 8 sites for $1k instead of one big site. The people that make all the money in the world are only good at one thing and that's managing their risk, if you can master that dark art and you will always make money.
Yeah , definitely start with some sort of unique idea , it may take awhile but it will definitely kick start your site if its something new good luck