eHOW Members React Angrily to Switch to Demand Studios
Posted: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
by Tom Germain
Permatourist
The world's biggest user-submitted articles site, eHOW, recently switched to using Demand Studios for content rather than accept direct contributions from its members. The move stunned eHOW users, leaving many of them angry while others feeling confused, and yet others used the incident as an opportunity to plug competing sites. I had joined eHOW less than a month ago and never got the chance to submit any "how to" articles since their editing interface wasn't working. However, I did have the chance to ask active members for their reaction to the sudden turn of events at eHOW.
Angrier members are deleting the content they uploaded to eHow before the switch, such as images, worried about losing their copyright to Demand Studios . One such user told me " You are selling everything (for a few cents) to Demand -- but they can use your works anywhere and not pay you anymore ".
A user nicknamed formythreeboyz , among the many confused members, writes " Not too sure what I plan on doing. I got really excited and had a lot of fun writing for Ehow...I am just waiting to hear what I am supposed to do next. " Another user expressed fear of Demand Studios' application process: " As their name says, they are very demanding and I don't qualify ". While still another worries about their true intentions: " I would just be providing them with information for their email marketing list, which they might sell to others. "
Finally, there's the member who claims eHow deliberately deleted articles, causing users to not qualify for automatic participation in Demand Studios. Snowfence believes eHow's future is bleak: " What is eHow supposed to become now? A playground?! Geez! "
A few eHOW writers are more hopeful about the change. " I am hoping this switch will at least correct ALL the publishing issues. It is no fun when Ehow never seemed to work properly .", writes one of them. Could the notorious technical flaws have been one of the things that prompted them to abandon the community format that had been so successful? Another user has this advice for his fellow members: " I think it is good because all the quitters will go away.... this is almost like a Network marketing approach.... those who stick with it will make the big bucks. Don't Quit ."
Cynicism is in no shortage among the disenchanted members. One, also named John, says: " So Now I can't write for eHow or Demand Studios! Oh well, I'm going to focus on writing for myself! " Did eHOW err? To quote one member: " Overall I am sad to see a good thing come to an end ."
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Tom-Demand Studios does pay their writers for their work. It actually pays more then most sites and offers direction to its writers. The way the industry is moving, writers need to be thankful for any kind of paying job they can find on the internet these days. Sites can get content for free so paying writers seems to be a thing of the past. Thanks for sharing their views and giving them a voice!Yes, that's correct, they do pay for assigned work, if accepted. However, they don't pay much, certainly not enough to make a living. One could say the Internet has made writing cheap, but you can also say it gives a chance for many new writers to have their work seen. The best writers can use the Internet as a springboard to greater things.
I had planned to write articles for them, but now I won't bother. Proves once again that nothing is constant, except maybe the speed of light.
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