Writing Online for Money?
May 25, 2010 6:07 AM Subscribe
Unethical practices in online publishing Talks about low pay at Associated Content.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Yeah, the article seems pretty grindy and the blog it's on is weirdly SEO-obsessed ("AC does nofollow" is an ethical complaint?); this seems not so great as the main meat of a post. -- cortex -- jessamyn
Business owners treat workers miserably, keep all the money and intellectual property rights. Film at eleven.
posted by Jon_Evil at 6:26 AM on May 25, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Jon_Evil at 6:26 AM on May 25, 2010 [2 favorites]
Ok, you've been pushing this for a while now... I'll bite.
Thousands of writers from worldwide submit content to AC, hoping to taste success in freelance writing, and AC does a great job targeting them. But the fact that AC holds back from them the real revenues they earn from this content is deplorable and highly unethical for a business.
Pretty standard for publishers. Novelists tend to take around 5-15% if they're not the best. Also, I'm pretty sure nobody is forcing people to sign up to AC. I looked at a couple of these websites a few months ago, realised the returns were mediocre at best, and chose not to submit any content.
But the fact that they are better off writing for their own website or blog is forgotten by all; AC’s impressive design and reliable look easily haze naïve writers’ eyes.
So they'll write a few articles (couple hours at most) and lose their naivete. They may also realise that they're not very good writers anyway, or else they'd probably be writing for real money and for real publications.
In such a case, giving you $1.5 is extremely mean, don’t you, the owner of the content, agree? ... A backlink is very important for a website, since getting so many of them can rank it very high in search results. ... In today’s world, one can be on one’s own. He can publish and get paid ten times more money, if he chooses to, from the content he produces. No one need love an entire stranger like AC by promoting them besides giving them your best content.
This is horribly written.
You may make a worthless hundred-dollar bill from your hard work in AC for so many months, but a rusted cent you make from an ethical business is far more valuable than that.
This is a stupid sentence. Is it a Zimbabwean hundred dollar bill? I think I'd still prefer it for the novelty value.
posted by doublehappy at 6:28 AM on May 25, 2010 [8 favorites]
Thousands of writers from worldwide submit content to AC, hoping to taste success in freelance writing, and AC does a great job targeting them. But the fact that AC holds back from them the real revenues they earn from this content is deplorable and highly unethical for a business.
Pretty standard for publishers. Novelists tend to take around 5-15% if they're not the best. Also, I'm pretty sure nobody is forcing people to sign up to AC. I looked at a couple of these websites a few months ago, realised the returns were mediocre at best, and chose not to submit any content.
But the fact that they are better off writing for their own website or blog is forgotten by all; AC’s impressive design and reliable look easily haze naïve writers’ eyes.
So they'll write a few articles (couple hours at most) and lose their naivete. They may also realise that they're not very good writers anyway, or else they'd probably be writing for real money and for real publications.
In such a case, giving you $1.5 is extremely mean, don’t you, the owner of the content, agree? ... A backlink is very important for a website, since getting so many of them can rank it very high in search results. ... In today’s world, one can be on one’s own. He can publish and get paid ten times more money, if he chooses to, from the content he produces. No one need love an entire stranger like AC by promoting them besides giving them your best content.
This is horribly written.
You may make a worthless hundred-dollar bill from your hard work in AC for so many months, but a rusted cent you make from an ethical business is far more valuable than that.
This is a stupid sentence. Is it a Zimbabwean hundred dollar bill? I think I'd still prefer it for the novelty value.
posted by doublehappy at 6:28 AM on May 25, 2010 [8 favorites]
it loads fine for me, but it is still the same unsubstantiated, poorly-written single blog entry that was linked to yesterday morning.
Don't get me wrong... there are plenty of online publishers that rip off freelance writers, or undervalue work. As noted before, I write for AC myself. But this post needs more meat behind it than a single blog entry, imho.
posted by ShawnStruck at 6:30 AM on May 25, 2010
Don't get me wrong... there are plenty of online publishers that rip off freelance writers, or undervalue work. As noted before, I write for AC myself. But this post needs more meat behind it than a single blog entry, imho.
posted by ShawnStruck at 6:30 AM on May 25, 2010
I hear, off in the distance, the sound of an axe grinding....
posted by HuronBob at 6:35 AM on May 25, 2010
posted by HuronBob at 6:35 AM on May 25, 2010
Also, AC demands that you put your effort to give them the best content you can come up with, without any grammatical or punctuation errors of any kind.
Shocking.
posted by doublehappy at 6:37 AM on May 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Shocking.
posted by doublehappy at 6:37 AM on May 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Even without the editorializing from yesterday, this is a lame FPP.
posted by briank at 6:42 AM on May 25, 2010
posted by briank at 6:42 AM on May 25, 2010
"unsubstantiated, poorly-written single blog entry"
I'll second that. Rubbish post. Sorry.
posted by Hartham's Hugging Robots at 6:43 AM on May 25, 2010
I'll second that. Rubbish post. Sorry.
posted by Hartham's Hugging Robots at 6:43 AM on May 25, 2010
There is nothing unethical about a single buyer offering a below-market price for goods or services. That's called "bargain hunting".
It is only unethical when there is collusion between buyers, attempting to control the market prices. That would be a variation on a monopoly (which traditionally involves sellers, but otherwise is identical).
This is not that case; ergo, only the author's pride has been wounded. May I recommend Johnson's Baby Wipes for the rash?
posted by IAmBroom at 6:45 AM on May 25, 2010
It is only unethical when there is collusion between buyers, attempting to control the market prices. That would be a variation on a monopoly (which traditionally involves sellers, but otherwise is identical).
This is not that case; ergo, only the author's pride has been wounded. May I recommend Johnson's Baby Wipes for the rash?
posted by IAmBroom at 6:45 AM on May 25, 2010
However, the article itself has such chuckle-worthy riding, I suppose a little ride on the ROFLCOPTER would be fun:
Also, I recommend screwing someone who has screwed and continues to screw millions.
Well, hell, if I were having sex with someone like that, I'd already be rich.
Alternatively:
If I knew it was that kinda party, I'd have stuck my dick in the mashed potatoes.
posted by ShawnStruck at 7:01 AM on May 25, 2010
Also, I recommend screwing someone who has screwed and continues to screw millions.
Well, hell, if I were having sex with someone like that, I'd already be rich.
Alternatively:
If I knew it was that kinda party, I'd have stuck my dick in the mashed potatoes.
posted by ShawnStruck at 7:01 AM on May 25, 2010
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posted by jb at 6:18 AM on May 25, 2010