Anyone reading this is probably aware by now that eHow recently publicly confirmed it will not pay US writers for the ad revenue their cloned articles on the eHow UK site generate. And eHow said it will delete those article clones.
Fantastic. Now what?
Well, “now what” will probably not be determined in the forums. Member concerns have been brought to light, and eHow’s hand has been forced to some degree. EHow has been called out, and they have finally begun responding. That’s a start.
But friends are fighting with friends now, fingers are being pointed, and names are being called. What a shame for such a great community of collaborators to spend their time and energy hammering this into the ground.
So because I have had a hand in exposing the issues related to eHow’s UK site, I believe it is important to balance that by also stating my opinion that the eHow community of members is among the best on the Internet.
This blog is about earning a residual income by writing online. Spending unproductive time in forums is time that everyone could be applying toward writing and earning that residual income that, let’s face it, we need.
This blog is also about collaborating to advance the online writing community as a whole. Revealing business practices that are potentially harmful to this community is part of that mission, but wallowing in negativity is not.
So whether you are, have been, or want to be part of the great eHow community, please help to keep that spirit alive.
If you have made eHow aware of how their actions have hurt you and what you expect from them, you have helped to give eHow, Demand Media, and other user-generated content sites notice that writers will not accept unfair treatment.
Demand Media and eHow have finally answered our initial calls to action, so let’s take some time to observe whether and how they will honor their stated intentions.
Only eHow and Demand Media know what all the facts are here. Speculating and threatening will not help anyone at this point. So how about we all put this into perspective, take a step back, and remember what makes us so passionate about eHow.
It’s the community. The people. The ones who write to you privately when you don’t know what to do next, and tell you. The ones who have your back on the forum, and who comment on your blog.
EHow is the members who collaborate on the forums and on their own blogs to bring attention to the plight of a missing child, to try to bring her home and protect her with prayers.
EHow is the people who rally around those whose family members are sick or injured.
EHow is a community of people who show they care, time and again.
If you join eHow tomorrow as a new member, and you post on the forum that you need a little help getting started, other members will quickly offer their assistance. I guarantee it.
When I was new to eHow and I was discouraged because I had earned no money after writing several articles, one long-term member helped me to carefully analyze each of my articles and why they might not be earning money. Although the lack of earnings was later said to be a technical glitch, I learned valuable strategies from this member, and from others, that have improved my article writing significantly.
Here are some of the many positive actions I have seen promoted on the eHow forums and the eHow messaging system:
- Keeping Lindsey Baum, a child missing for more than six months now, fresh in the public’s hearts and prayers.
- Recruiting members to post holiday greetings to a child with cancer.
- Throwing virtual holiday forum parties for the entire community.
- Offering helpful, free tools, such as the Earnings Tracker by 17of26, and ebooks/guides by Desolator and David Sarokin.
- Supporting members whose articles have been plagiarized by others.
- Coordinating a joint entertainment venture based on a doll that travels from member to member, and whose exploits are documented in the forums and eHow’s official blog.
- Rallying around a member whose child was badly injured in an accident, to help promote her articles on their own blogs.
- Generously sharing resources, such as reviewing other residual income opportunities and tips for earning more money.
Some of eHow’s best and brightest are quietly posting their own thoughts on the Internet, asking for us all to remember that eHow is a great community. I vote for honoring that community spirit, respecting those whose opinions are different from our own, and encouraging and helping one another again.
Let’s let the eHow UK Clone Saga play itself out for awhile. Most of us have already lost potential income one way or another through this whole debacle, and we owe it to ourselves to focus on writing and on our families and friendships, while still keeping an eye on the situation.
I challenge everyone reading this to spend time you might have otherwise used posting to the eHow forums, to earn an extra $10 by writing online next week and then donating it to Haiti quake relief.
And I challenge you to thank your friends. Publicly. If you hurt a friend’s feelings, apologize. Save your eHow relationships as you would your articles.
Please, post your comments here about positive actions you have seen from the eHow community. Your email addresses will never be shared, and they don’t have to be addresses you normally use if you are concerned about that.
So who’s first? Dolly?
P.S. Read about one member’s experience with eHow Dolly here. I ran across this today, and it’s a great example of the eHow community spirit.
Like any community, eHow has it share of good, quality, personalities, as well as, some of the most wretched, money-hungry, souls I have ever witnessed. Just like statistics 101, outliers are truly expected no matter what facet of life we venture into.
In wake of the Haiti catastrophe, I do think it is important that we step back, reevaluate things, and cherish the good in whatever situations we are faced with. This is expected with any horrific catastrophe, and definitely reflects that we are still human.
Hardly a day went by when I was stationed in Afghanistan, where a maimed child didn’t straggle through the main gate, yet another victim of an unexpected mine strike. It’s events like this that soften the heart, and I completely agree, we should all try to help out where we can…..with millions in monthly revenue, it would be great to see Demand Media/eHow take the lead with this, in some way, shape or form…..
We can debate their terms of service to no end, but, the fact is, eHow’s UK website has been earning for nearly 6 months, while also directly competing with writer’s original articles in the search engines. I know my words will probably fall on deaf ears, however, it would be very nice (and welcomed) if they would divert some of those earnings towards Haiti relief.
Perhaps if the eHow community banded together, they could begin a grassroots movement to convince eHow to contribute to the victims of Haiti?
A positive suggestion for both the community and the owners. Good call.
Our brothers and sisters in Haiti are in pain beyond what most of us can even imagine. Maybe someone with an extra $5 or $5 million could lend a hand here…
Demand Media: will you match eHow community members’ contributions to Wyclef Jean’s Yele Organization for Haiti relief if an eHow community campaign is launched on your forums? How about it? Come on. Show us what you’re made of.
If the eHow UK site brought in even remotely close to what the eHow US site brings in, I wouldn’t be surprised if they brought in over $50,000,000 in just one month along ($50,000,000 x 6 months that the site has been LIVE and kicking (and earning) = $300,000,000+).
If anyone has the means or the voice to pass this blog post, and these comments onto influential people involved in eHow, NOW is the time to begin donating…..many of the teams they are sending over don’t even have aspirin (according to former president Bill Clinton, while asking for donations even as small as $5.00).
$5,000,000 could go a LONG way.
If the eHow members/eHow truly wanted to band together, NOW would be a great time to do it.
I will be monitoring their forum to see if someone has begun a thread about this. I’ll be issuing this same challenge to other sites I write for, as well.
Thank you for your uplifting words and your sensible approach to the unpleasant situation at eHow.
For the past week, I have been torn and tormented over the UK dealing to the point that I was not being productive. I started writing elsewhere but writing elsewhere did not give me the gratitude that I feel at eHow. I found myself comparing everything, and missing the fun aspects of the community chatter.
eHow is a family to many. We all get along like siblings. At times, we will agree to not agree but we will never turn our backs on each other. We are tight writer’s community and we all care about each other.
All of the good about eHow changed when Rich our community manager announced that eHow took our articles to the UK, and that they were not going to compensate us, but the good news was that eHow decided to take the articles down within the next three weeks. eHow set the motion for the bickering between the community members, and the overall negative atmosphere.
eHow lied and cheated members out of their rightful compensation. I wonder will eHow step up to the plate to make a negative situation positive, I don’t know the answer I hope and pray that in time they will realize that they are in the wrong. For now, it pains me but I need to turn my back to eHow and I walked away.
The eHow that I loved has changed, there is not integrity or trust all that remains is Demand Media greed.
LeavingeHow, I hope you will keep in touch with your friends. I’m so sorry it has affected you this way, but it’s understandable.
If you are looking for community, BellaOnline might be another place for you to consider writing. They do not pay residuals, but their training is excellent, and they allow you to keep 100% of any affiliate earnings you make. It’s a supportive womens community, and I don’t know from your ID whether you are one, but I believe they have male writers, as well.
Take care of yourself, LeavingeHow, and keep going, even when you don’t feel motivated.
And you are correct; many of us have been hurt, and the least eHow/Demand Media can do is show they are not made of stone by accepting our challenge to match our donations to Haiti.