Showing posts with label eHow.com scam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eHow.com scam. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Moral Battle of Writing for eHow.com - Should you Stay or Remove Articles?
10:46 PM | 
Posted by
jp
Like some other freelance writers, I find myself in a moral battle of writing for eHow.com. The debate over the latest fiasco has pitted many against each other and harsh words are being spewed from all corners of the internet and forums. What's the debate? The legal and moral standing of eHow's decision to expand their brand to the UK. That itself is an excellent idea. The trouble is that they cloned the US site and filled the UK library with these articles. eHow is denying that the articles were cloned. According to Merriam-Webster online clone means "one that appears to be a copy of the original form: duplicate". I think posting our articles in full sounds like a clone whether their legal speak deems it such or not. The main issue is about compensation and the loss of earnings and views created by the competitive US versus UK Google rankings.
eHow does own the UK site, but writers did not give up all rights. eHow has decided to remove the articles from the UK site citing their concern over preserving the community. I cannot help but believe that somewhere they hung themselves with what appeared to be a legal loop hole.
The moral battle is deciding whether to continue writing for a company that seems to belittle their members with subtlety and turns a deaf ear often enough to dizzy some of their hardiest supporters. Do you follow the money or hang up your laptop? Many folks are so angry that they are deleting all of their articles from the website. A lot of wriers are starting to write for Info Barrel, a newer content site that has seen a huge spike in members over the past several months because of problems on eHow. For people who have lost trust in eHow and want to write for Info Barrel, I'll be posting information on that site soon with some advice.
An eHow.com review pointed out that eHow has trouble communicating with its members. There have been many things that I don't agree with since I started writing there. But, I don't own the company and frankly, eHow's business model is one of secrecy. They are not upfront about their payment methods and some people call it a scam. Not me. I do not believe that eHow is a scam. But, I don't agree with some of their decisions.
Here's the bottom line: money is eHow's bottom line. Not everyone has the ability to pull their articles and this is not what I advise. As long eHow has their Writer's Compensation Program it is a good place to earn residual income. Freelance writers should have a diverse portfolio. There is a lot to learn writing for eHow. I'm not happy about all of the things that have occurred, but legal mistake or legitimate move, they are removing the articles from the UK site. I doubt there will be rectification of earnings and it is likely only a class action law suit could even attempt to find out the truth behind earnings.
The absolute best thing to do is make yourself stand out as a content and freelance writer. Whether you decide to remove your articles from eHow because of the UK debacle or stay and ride the wave is ultimately your decision. It is critically important for you to not be influenced by other people to pull your articles and run. Don't make a decision in the heat of emotion.
eHow does own the UK site, but writers did not give up all rights. eHow has decided to remove the articles from the UK site citing their concern over preserving the community. I cannot help but believe that somewhere they hung themselves with what appeared to be a legal loop hole.
The moral battle is deciding whether to continue writing for a company that seems to belittle their members with subtlety and turns a deaf ear often enough to dizzy some of their hardiest supporters. Do you follow the money or hang up your laptop? Many folks are so angry that they are deleting all of their articles from the website. A lot of wriers are starting to write for Info Barrel, a newer content site that has seen a huge spike in members over the past several months because of problems on eHow. For people who have lost trust in eHow and want to write for Info Barrel, I'll be posting information on that site soon with some advice.
An eHow.com review pointed out that eHow has trouble communicating with its members. There have been many things that I don't agree with since I started writing there. But, I don't own the company and frankly, eHow's business model is one of secrecy. They are not upfront about their payment methods and some people call it a scam. Not me. I do not believe that eHow is a scam. But, I don't agree with some of their decisions.
Here's the bottom line: money is eHow's bottom line. Not everyone has the ability to pull their articles and this is not what I advise. As long eHow has their Writer's Compensation Program it is a good place to earn residual income. Freelance writers should have a diverse portfolio. There is a lot to learn writing for eHow. I'm not happy about all of the things that have occurred, but legal mistake or legitimate move, they are removing the articles from the UK site. I doubt there will be rectification of earnings and it is likely only a class action law suit could even attempt to find out the truth behind earnings.
The absolute best thing to do is make yourself stand out as a content and freelance writer. Whether you decide to remove your articles from eHow because of the UK debacle or stay and ride the wave is ultimately your decision. It is critically important for you to not be influenced by other people to pull your articles and run. Don't make a decision in the heat of emotion.
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