Why do I blog?
Back when I was first married, I was an avid LiveJournal-er. I had bunches of friends, very few of whom I knew in the "real world" and wrote every day on what it was like to be a newlywed living in a new country under a pile of ice and snow. I laid my struggles bare, and trumpeted my triumphs to the world, and I loved it. I loved the comments and the feeling of community, the expression of thoughts, ideas, dreams and painful moments as well.
Back when I was a high schooler and college student, I journaled in real books. Cloth covered and leather bound, filled with a multitude of variously coloured pens, occasional drawings and horomone-induced rants and raves, they chronicled mood swings and lost romances to what I was sure would be enthralled archaeologists reading them in the next century.
After our "year of hell" in which my husband and I lost our daughter and our home in different incidents, I started journaling in a "real" book again, though it was an art journal this time. It healed me, in many ways, because I kept track of all the reasons life was still beautiful.
Recently, my husband and I have been talking about why I found it hard to make friends in the past (in Grande Prairie) and why it's been easier since I've been in Strathmore. I think that part of it has to do with being more willing to talk about myself, where in the past I've had a very hard time opening up to people. I'm able, however, to open up very easily in writing. So in a way, this is kind of practice for me. Opening up about my writing is new to me. Of course, writing internet content is new to me as well, so why not double the new? I miss journalism, and I miss fiction writing, since I don't seem to have the time for it that I used to, but it's easy to blog in the little caught moments during the day. It keeps me in practice, when I'm writing mountains of articles about things I don't really care about very much, both in writing from the heart and opening my heart.
I think much of what I've written has been critical of the companies I write for, but I am grateful for the chance to write for pay again, too. I'm a little nostalgic feeling about Mahalo - I ranted about them a lot, and it's a little bittersweet that they're closed down for now. Of course, until they pay me correctly (they still owe me back pay) I'll probably remain more bitter than sweet. I'm angry that they seem to make policy changes - like on how they pay writers - without notification and you are left to sort out what happened yourself. I'm angry that 75% of the emails I sent to my manager were never replied to, especially when I was having a problem and needed an answer, such as with the pay issue. I'm sad that they can't seem to get themselves together, because most of the "management" people there seem like genuinely nice folks.
I feel less connected to people at DMS, probably because I don't participate much in the forums. Yesterday, while trying to remedy that, I came across a post on the forum referencing another site, which is essentially a rant site about DMS. Okay, so I'm familiar with "mean girl" forumnations. Oh too familiar in some ways, but I was genuinely surprised that there was one at DMS, since for me, they've been the most positive experience I've had writing content (at least so far). I was shocked at the number of people that talk about DMS being a scam or the fact that they are making money off of a writer's hard work. This is nothing new in the world; everywhere I've worked I've had folks above me who made more money than I did, often for doing less work than I did, and have taken advantage of my willingness to work for a wage. I don't think it's something you can escape from. When I worked for a publishing company in the past, it was the same thing. Yeah, sure, it was "real" journalism, which what I'm doing now isn't, not in any meaningful way. But the publisher made more money than me. I was asked to cover things (review art openings or plays) more for people who were big advertisers than for people who weren't, and occasionally I was asked to write articles about specific things that I wouldn't have chosen as my own topics. That's the way life is.
I suppose I sound a little Pollyannaish - oh heck, lets go all the way Pollyanna, and play the glad game. I'm glad I have a chance to write for pay. I'm glad I can work from home or from places I travel to with my husband when he's travelling for work. I'm glad to have money. I'm glad to do something I like. I'm glad that places like DMS exist, and I'm glad I can contribute to them. I don't think that I'm a "part of the problem" or a bad person or a bad writer for writing for them, though that appears to be the consensus of some people who don't write for them. Yep, they're a content farm. Yep, a lot of the content they produce is fluff. Yep, there's a demand for it. If I'm not filling that demand, someone else will be, why not do my best to create quality in the content that's out there?
Showing posts with label Mahalo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mahalo. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....
Life has so many twists and turns. Today, Mahalo fired all their guides. Okay, maybe fired is a little harsh: they are "restructuring" and all guides have to write a little treatise on what their areas of expertise are. Then, there'll be a month long pause in content creation, while the bosses decide who is worth keeping and who isn't. I have a feeling that most people are going to fall into the "not worth keeping" area, partially because I think many, many of the pages on Mahalo are written poorly. They are trying to shift toward hiring area experts instead of quality writers, which I think is a step halfway in the right direction. Many of the pages suffer from poor grammar and style, which is partially because they don't pay the kind of compensation necessary to have a stable of highly qualified writers. They also have such narrowly defined pages that it can be difficult to write quality copy that fits the minimum word requirement and fulfills the title of the page.
I'm not too worried. I panicked, at first, then realized I still have DMS to write for, where I get paid more anyway. And if Mahalo doesn't keep me, it'll be their loss I suppose. Funny that I preferred them when the pay was less.
For my petition to keep my job, I have to write about two areas of expertise and explain why I'm an expert. I'm considering Education and Hobbies for my two, though Food and Drink might be a good option as well, since they seem to produce quite a few cooking pages. My problem with that is, while I love to cook and have plenty of personal experience in the area, I don't have any education in that area, nor do I have proof that I'm an area "expert". For Hobbies, I can point to classes I've taught and workshops I've participated in, things of that nature. On the other hand, I don't think I've seen a single hobby page up in the queue since I started there. They must be highly searched areas, since DMS has many many hobby type pages, several of which I've written for them, and DMS creates titles based on search engine stats. Hmm.
Speaking of hobbies, I've been working more on my own designs. I designed a scarf for my dad for his birthday in January, which I neglected to take a picture of (maybe I'll have to convince him to take one of him modeling it), and of course the laptop bag I recently posted. I've also finished a cotton summer sweater which turned out beautifully and which I will hopefully eventually photograph as well. It was inspired by a halter design I saw, though I changed nearly everything about it, including the material used to make it.
My latest design is a nice little short-sleeved shrug. I had some lovely grey yarn, though not a lot of it, very soft and pretty and perfectly suited to a lightweight spring/summer shrug. I searched and searched for a pattern, but nothing fit the idea I had in my head, so I went ahead and designed one myself. I love that ruffles have come back into fashion with such a flourish - I'm a girly girl at heart and the recent push for ruffles and rosettes makes me happy. That's what inspired the lettuce edge ruffle border on the shrug.
While these pictures don't exactly do the item justice (it looks much better on) I hope that the subtle stripes on the back and the sideways garter stitch on the sleeves shows up a little bit. The back was worked top to bottom in knit and purl stripes, while for the sleeves, I picked up stitches along the edge and worked them in sideways garter stitch for a different look. The bottoms of the sleeves are finished with two rows of single crochet, as I find unfinished knit edges to be a little... well, unfinished looking. The ruffle edge is also done in single crochet. Mixing styles with both knit and crochet brings the best of both worlds to garments, in my opinion. I need some tips for photographing things better, though, if anyone has some to share!I'm going to use the leftover yarn from this project to either trim a matching scarf or make a rosette for my hair. Maybe both. We'll see.
I'm thinking my next project might include granny squares. They have a lot of nostalgia for me. Maybe pinks and greens for a spring scarf, done in sport weight, a shiny yarn like luster sheen. Or possibly crochet cotton, wagon wheel granny squares for another spring and summer shrug or sweater. It's hard to decide! I still haven't finished that teal tank sweater, and really, really ought to. The pattern stitch is small and complicated, and making a garment mostly in single crochet on a tiny hook takes a long, long time. And lots of sport weight yarn, too.
I'm not too worried. I panicked, at first, then realized I still have DMS to write for, where I get paid more anyway. And if Mahalo doesn't keep me, it'll be their loss I suppose. Funny that I preferred them when the pay was less.
For my petition to keep my job, I have to write about two areas of expertise and explain why I'm an expert. I'm considering Education and Hobbies for my two, though Food and Drink might be a good option as well, since they seem to produce quite a few cooking pages. My problem with that is, while I love to cook and have plenty of personal experience in the area, I don't have any education in that area, nor do I have proof that I'm an area "expert". For Hobbies, I can point to classes I've taught and workshops I've participated in, things of that nature. On the other hand, I don't think I've seen a single hobby page up in the queue since I started there. They must be highly searched areas, since DMS has many many hobby type pages, several of which I've written for them, and DMS creates titles based on search engine stats. Hmm.
Speaking of hobbies, I've been working more on my own designs. I designed a scarf for my dad for his birthday in January, which I neglected to take a picture of (maybe I'll have to convince him to take one of him modeling it), and of course the laptop bag I recently posted. I've also finished a cotton summer sweater which turned out beautifully and which I will hopefully eventually photograph as well. It was inspired by a halter design I saw, though I changed nearly everything about it, including the material used to make it.
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I'm thinking my next project might include granny squares. They have a lot of nostalgia for me. Maybe pinks and greens for a spring scarf, done in sport weight, a shiny yarn like luster sheen. Or possibly crochet cotton, wagon wheel granny squares for another spring and summer shrug or sweater. It's hard to decide! I still haven't finished that teal tank sweater, and really, really ought to. The pattern stitch is small and complicated, and making a garment mostly in single crochet on a tiny hook takes a long, long time. And lots of sport weight yarn, too.
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Grammy Fever - Sis Boom Bah Crash....
I had a blast live blogging the Grammys for Mahalo. Until, that is, my computer decided to have a rather girly hissy fit and puke all over the rug. More about that later.
One of the best parts of live blogging is the interaction with others who are writing at the same time. The expressions of horror over Nicki Minaj's dress for instance - the favourite page of mine that I was able to blog on that night - or the delight over certain winners. (I'll admit it, I was rooting for Train and Lady Antebellum all night. Two of my favourite songs of last year came from them). I get a lot out of the live blogging, as well as putting in a good amount of work of course. They have such a lovely team at Mahalo, and the immediate feedback of hearing I did a great job on a page is nicely rewarding. I'm hoping to work on the Academy Awards at the end of this month as well, though once award show season is over, I'm guessing there won't be a whole bunch of opportunities to live blog. Hm, I'll bet it'd really be something to live blog the Olympics - it'd be practically 24/7!
As for my computer, it's been doing this weird thing lately where it says I have no speaker hardware installed. I googled the situation, and it looked like several people had this problem not long after installing Windows 7, which I did about a month ago. I was told to reboot, which should resolve it. Okay, so the first time it happened, one reboot did it. The second time, I had to reboot twice. The third time? Four times. Uh oh, if it kept doubling I was going to be rebooting ridiculous amounts of times pretty soon.
At the same time, I'd been having a lot of trouble with .pdf docs and flash player items crashing my browsers, so I went ahead and updated both my adobe reader and flash player. Thought I was all good. Then during the grammys, everything started freaking out. Flash was crashing. I couldn't watch videos. That was okay for a while, I had the coverage on my dvr that I could watch to blog on. The browsers were crashing. The sound was gone. I couldn't get the computer to stay together for more than a minute or two. After eight reboots, EIGHT, I was able to get back into Mahalo's irc and finish the page I was working on. I thought I was all good, took another page on, and boom, crash, system error, your windows did not shut down correctly. Gah! I had to call it a night about an hour early.
Luckily for me, I have an in-house computer tech, who spent a few hours taking things apart, trying various options, and finally told me my sound card was toast. At first we thought that the replacement of that would fix everything, but soon discovered it went deeper than that.
So, now I am typing to you on a new-to-me used laptop that we picked up. It's only a couple of months old, so that's okay. My old laptop was from 2008, and I'm well aware that technology is only meant to last a year nowadays. But I can be back to work today, as I have sound and the ability to play videos again...
One of the best parts of live blogging is the interaction with others who are writing at the same time. The expressions of horror over Nicki Minaj's dress for instance - the favourite page of mine that I was able to blog on that night - or the delight over certain winners. (I'll admit it, I was rooting for Train and Lady Antebellum all night. Two of my favourite songs of last year came from them). I get a lot out of the live blogging, as well as putting in a good amount of work of course. They have such a lovely team at Mahalo, and the immediate feedback of hearing I did a great job on a page is nicely rewarding. I'm hoping to work on the Academy Awards at the end of this month as well, though once award show season is over, I'm guessing there won't be a whole bunch of opportunities to live blog. Hm, I'll bet it'd really be something to live blog the Olympics - it'd be practically 24/7!
As for my computer, it's been doing this weird thing lately where it says I have no speaker hardware installed. I googled the situation, and it looked like several people had this problem not long after installing Windows 7, which I did about a month ago. I was told to reboot, which should resolve it. Okay, so the first time it happened, one reboot did it. The second time, I had to reboot twice. The third time? Four times. Uh oh, if it kept doubling I was going to be rebooting ridiculous amounts of times pretty soon.
At the same time, I'd been having a lot of trouble with .pdf docs and flash player items crashing my browsers, so I went ahead and updated both my adobe reader and flash player. Thought I was all good. Then during the grammys, everything started freaking out. Flash was crashing. I couldn't watch videos. That was okay for a while, I had the coverage on my dvr that I could watch to blog on. The browsers were crashing. The sound was gone. I couldn't get the computer to stay together for more than a minute or two. After eight reboots, EIGHT, I was able to get back into Mahalo's irc and finish the page I was working on. I thought I was all good, took another page on, and boom, crash, system error, your windows did not shut down correctly. Gah! I had to call it a night about an hour early.
Luckily for me, I have an in-house computer tech, who spent a few hours taking things apart, trying various options, and finally told me my sound card was toast. At first we thought that the replacement of that would fix everything, but soon discovered it went deeper than that.
So, now I am typing to you on a new-to-me used laptop that we picked up. It's only a couple of months old, so that's okay. My old laptop was from 2008, and I'm well aware that technology is only meant to last a year nowadays. But I can be back to work today, as I have sound and the ability to play videos again...
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Books and Balls
See, I was going to title this "Books and Bowls" but that was less fun. I'm going to be one of the writers covering the 2011 Super Bowl live on Mahalo today, along with a handful of others, and some video people working live from the office to capture all the cool plays and killer commercials. If you want fun live coverage of not only the action but the side action too (I'll be doing commercials, celeb appearances, shows, stuff like that) just set your browser to Mahalo.com to check in. We'll be working pre-game, game, half-time, and post-game shows to bring you info on everything you ever wanted to know about the Super Bowl. Should be fun!
To help with the pluralization of balls, I should update you that our cat George has a fixation with a certain yellow and white plastic mesh ball that he loves to play fetch with, but only if Richard is asleep or out of the house. I think he's afraid it's going to be stolen or something. Stepped on maybe, he's lost a lot of those plastic mesh balls that way.... not by my feet, I'm close enough to the ground to still see what I'm walking on :) When Richard is home, he persistently brings a large slurpee straw back to one of us for fetching play. He stole it from the trash a while back, and loves it so much that neither of us has the heart to take it away from him.
Books!
11. The guinea pig diaries : my life as an experiment Jacobs, A. J.
12. Your big break Edwards, Johanna
13. House rules : a novel Picoult, Jodi
14. Whispers and lies Fielding, Joy
15. Full dark, no stars King, Stephen
A note on House Rules: I started reading this over the summer, but it was long, there were many people waiting for it behind me at the library, and I was caught up in gardening. I returned it, and downloaded the audio book instead. I've been listening to it for ages, off and on. I loved it, but it was an emotionally intense read, like many of Picoult's books are.
The Guinea Pig Diaries is very funny if you like non-fiction essays.
Also, I totally spaced on my FAQ page and forgot to address this one:
Why are your books formatted so oddly and why do they link to your library when half of us can't get there??
Okay, they are formatted oddly, with non title caps and the authors name backwards because I copy them directly from the "Reading History" tab of my account on the library website. That copies the link for me too, and if you click on it, you can at least check out the book. The library website has enough information, such as summaries and such, that you will know if you want to read it, even if you plan on going to buy it at your local store, or request it at a local library. And if you *are* from here, you can just click to request it, so yanno, good for you for being from Alberta. Or something.
To help with the pluralization of balls, I should update you that our cat George has a fixation with a certain yellow and white plastic mesh ball that he loves to play fetch with, but only if Richard is asleep or out of the house. I think he's afraid it's going to be stolen or something. Stepped on maybe, he's lost a lot of those plastic mesh balls that way.... not by my feet, I'm close enough to the ground to still see what I'm walking on :) When Richard is home, he persistently brings a large slurpee straw back to one of us for fetching play. He stole it from the trash a while back, and loves it so much that neither of us has the heart to take it away from him.Books!
11. The guinea pig diaries : my life as an experiment Jacobs, A. J.
12. Your big break Edwards, Johanna
13. House rules : a novel Picoult, Jodi
14. Whispers and lies Fielding, Joy
15. Full dark, no stars King, Stephen
A note on House Rules: I started reading this over the summer, but it was long, there were many people waiting for it behind me at the library, and I was caught up in gardening. I returned it, and downloaded the audio book instead. I've been listening to it for ages, off and on. I loved it, but it was an emotionally intense read, like many of Picoult's books are.
The Guinea Pig Diaries is very funny if you like non-fiction essays.
Also, I totally spaced on my FAQ page and forgot to address this one:
Why are your books formatted so oddly and why do they link to your library when half of us can't get there??
Okay, they are formatted oddly, with non title caps and the authors name backwards because I copy them directly from the "Reading History" tab of my account on the library website. That copies the link for me too, and if you click on it, you can at least check out the book. The library website has enough information, such as summaries and such, that you will know if you want to read it, even if you plan on going to buy it at your local store, or request it at a local library. And if you *are* from here, you can just click to request it, so yanno, good for you for being from Alberta. Or something.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
FAQ Day!
I've been getting a few questions since I started blogging, mostly off-site, because one of the biggest questions is about commenting. I decided to do a FAQ day to address all of those. Also, I am headachey and having a hard time working productively today, so I decided it was time to write something a little more "fun" to alleviate some stress.
How do I leave a comment on your blog?
This is the most common question, and it's surprisingly easy to answer. If you have a google account of any kind - Gmail, AdSense, YouTube, Google Documents, Google Friend Connect or, of course, Blogger, just log in at the top navigation bar, and when you comment below the post, it'll use your Google account information.
If you don't have a Google account and don't want one, that's okay too! Use Name/URL from the drop down menu, and enter whatever you like, whether it's the URL of your facebook page or some news story you like. I really don't care what you use for a URL, just as long as I know it's you (if you want me to know!) You can also comment anonymously, though sometimes the Blogger system will pick that up as spam. If it's a legit comment though, I'll de-spammify it. I swear. Even if it's bad - I don't mind criticism. Usually.
I'm still having trouble commenting. Help?
Really, there's nothing else I can do. I have removed all the spam blockers, including the prove-you're-a-human test where you have to type in those warped little letters. I have tried looking up other solutions, really I have. I don't know what the issue could be. It's possible my blog is just broken somehow, judging by how many people are having problems.
How can I get a job at Mahalo?
If you really are interested, this is the hiring link: http://mahaloteams.com/guide/
I'm not sure if they are actively hiring still, or if they are on hiatus with the new M4 software rollout. Hey, it's worth a try, though, right? The system is very buggy still right now, and there are a lot of issues being worked out, but if you're game to give it a go, go for it! At least if you've read my blog, you'll be going in with your eyes wide open! If I know you, feel free to say I referred you. If you are some stranger from Russia who came across this blog while surfing for large woolen hats or something, I'm gonna tell the bossman I haven't a clue who you are if he asks. But do drop me a line and tell me how you came across my blog in your search for winter headgear. Was it the crocheted laptop bag? Hm.
How on earth will you have time to read 111 books this year?
Well, I dunno. I read before bed every night, and listen to audio books while I do housework, walk, and in better weather, while I garden. I read instead of watching TV to relax a lot of the time. Richard and I listen to audio books in the car when we're travelling together. It's about reading for pleasure this year, too, not just for enlightenment or education, so don't expect to see a ton of stuffy, academic books on my list. There will probably be a couple, because sometimes I find those fun, too, and I find a steady diet of fun books is kind of like a steady diet of frosting. You need a steak once in a while, too. And broccoli. I'm one book away from posting my next set of five, which will bring me to 15. I was hoping to read 50 before my birthday in mid-April, and I'm about on track for that I think. I read less in the nice weather, because I spend more time outdoors, although last summer I spent a lot of time outdoors reading - so who knows! I only live a block from a park where I can sit and read, and have a backyard that's shady and cool in the summer afternoons, so we'll see how it goes.
How do I leave a comment on your blog?
This is the most common question, and it's surprisingly easy to answer. If you have a google account of any kind - Gmail, AdSense, YouTube, Google Documents, Google Friend Connect or, of course, Blogger, just log in at the top navigation bar, and when you comment below the post, it'll use your Google account information.
If you don't have a Google account and don't want one, that's okay too! Use Name/URL from the drop down menu, and enter whatever you like, whether it's the URL of your facebook page or some news story you like. I really don't care what you use for a URL, just as long as I know it's you (if you want me to know!) You can also comment anonymously, though sometimes the Blogger system will pick that up as spam. If it's a legit comment though, I'll de-spammify it. I swear. Even if it's bad - I don't mind criticism. Usually.
I'm still having trouble commenting. Help?
Really, there's nothing else I can do. I have removed all the spam blockers, including the prove-you're-a-human test where you have to type in those warped little letters. I have tried looking up other solutions, really I have. I don't know what the issue could be. It's possible my blog is just broken somehow, judging by how many people are having problems.
How can I get a job at Mahalo?
If you really are interested, this is the hiring link: http://mahaloteams.com/guide/
I'm not sure if they are actively hiring still, or if they are on hiatus with the new M4 software rollout. Hey, it's worth a try, though, right? The system is very buggy still right now, and there are a lot of issues being worked out, but if you're game to give it a go, go for it! At least if you've read my blog, you'll be going in with your eyes wide open! If I know you, feel free to say I referred you. If you are some stranger from Russia who came across this blog while surfing for large woolen hats or something, I'm gonna tell the bossman I haven't a clue who you are if he asks. But do drop me a line and tell me how you came across my blog in your search for winter headgear. Was it the crocheted laptop bag? Hm.How on earth will you have time to read 111 books this year?
Well, I dunno. I read before bed every night, and listen to audio books while I do housework, walk, and in better weather, while I garden. I read instead of watching TV to relax a lot of the time. Richard and I listen to audio books in the car when we're travelling together. It's about reading for pleasure this year, too, not just for enlightenment or education, so don't expect to see a ton of stuffy, academic books on my list. There will probably be a couple, because sometimes I find those fun, too, and I find a steady diet of fun books is kind of like a steady diet of frosting. You need a steak once in a while, too. And broccoli. I'm one book away from posting my next set of five, which will bring me to 15. I was hoping to read 50 before my birthday in mid-April, and I'm about on track for that I think. I read less in the nice weather, because I spend more time outdoors, although last summer I spent a lot of time outdoors reading - so who knows! I only live a block from a park where I can sit and read, and have a backyard that's shady and cool in the summer afternoons, so we'll see how it goes.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to work I go....
Mahalo version 4 (M4) came online late today. It's been about a week since I've been able to work, and I'd just started to enjoy the idleness. I was really very excited to start work again tonight when I got the email about the new software, and a new how-to page for guides being up and ready for perusal.
The first thing I did was go and claim titles. Most of the new titles are video how-tos, which I've talked about before in the how-much-do-I-hate-thee theme. I found five that weren't and snapped them up.
Then I went on to read the guide on how to build pages. It's somewhat more comprehensive than the last one, and definitely easier to understand and written more clearly. I'm unhappy with some of the changes and happy with others.
Creating in-links within pages has always been a bit of a chore. You have to open up a site specific google search, find stuff that exists on Mahalo, go to that page to check if it's a valid page or just a stub, then inlink it. It took a lot of time and was kind of tedious and boring. Now, once you highlight a term and click the inlink button on the new software, it will tell you by coming up blue if it's valid, red if the page doesn't exist, or yellow if it exists but is just a stub. Fast, clean, nice. I like it.
Entering references is now something you do within the system as well. You click a button, enter the reference url, and it puts in your link. This, on the other hand, I don't like. I write in word, and the previous html tags we used were just fine with me; I could type them directly into my text as I went, and after spell checking the document, I could copy and paste the whole thing into the Mahlo page. Now I'll have to either type directly into the Mahalo page, trusting my brain to spell check for me (never ever a good option) or will have to write in a word document, keep a list of references in notepad and try and remember where to stick them in. Both options seem awkward. If they could implement tools for bold, italic, numbers and bulleted lists and inlinking, why not add a spell check?? This seems to be a major oversight. I don't like it.
One of my complaints about Mahalo in the past was that your work was out there while it was in progress. Now, you can work on the page on the site, but it isn't published until you hit the handy-dandy "publish" button at the bottom of the page. Fantastic! Your in-progress nonsense isn't out there all naked and exposed. You don't have pages that are only quotations sections with weird videos languishing on the net (as happened with my Anita Blake character page that was in-progress while the system was offline being upgraded). This I really like.
Someone at Mahalo must have been reading about my experience with DMS, because now you have one chance to edit a page, and if it isn't up to standards, that's it. I have a BIG problem with this and you know I'm gonna tell you why. I have had several experiences at Mahalo with inconsistent copy editing. One person wants one thing and one person another. And sometimes, your work is copy edited by one person first and then a second will do the final check, particularly if your work straddles a week. In this case, you are very likely to have something thrown back at you. Secondly, I've had instances where the same person has sent me back for more edits after a first go-over because they missed something they wanted changed the first time. This is usually something I wouldn't have known about, because it isn't itemized on the gold standard pages. Unless they are stepping up their clarity on standards for pages and their consistency, this is bad, bad, bad. I do not like it. I do not like it in a boat, I do not like it with a goat. Frankly, it kind of ticks me off that they'd do this without a serious uptick in resources for writers.
The biggest changes seem to be cosmetic, and while I think that the new layout is cleaner than the old one, it takes forever to load and is constantly refreshing in my browser. I often have three or four Mahalo pages open at a time if I'm working on multiples of something similar. For example, the Fast Facts sections for books in a series will have the same sources. So, I'll have five open at once, and flip between them with the library of congress site open so I can put in one ISBN in each, and the author site open to tuck in publication details in each. Because of the constant reloading of ads, this is making my FireFox perform extremely slowly and making switching between tabs take those extra few seconds that add up to something lengthy at the end of a day. Additionally, the tabs at the top of the pages seem useless as the information also appears on the main page, and I'm not sure of their purpose. So, mixed feelings about this one.
The new how-to page includes a list of recommended resource pages. This is a lot less helpful than having a list of banned sources, or having it the way DMS does (as I've mentioned before, if you attempt to enter a banned site, it automatically notifies you). The list seems short to me, and doesn't seem to cover a lot, but they did note that it's not a be-all, end-all list, which is okay. I suppose it's somewhat helpful, probably to new people who aren't used to finding sources. I may create a custom google search for those sites, as I have for DMS. Or just continue to use the DMS one for both sites (More likely, though Mahalo doesn't like some of the DMS recommended sites). So, mixed feelings about this as well.
Of course, since I haven't written anything specific with the new system yet, this is all theoretical as of now. We'll see what happens this week as I go to work. Hi ho, hi ho.... I'll let ya'll know what happens.
The first thing I did was go and claim titles. Most of the new titles are video how-tos, which I've talked about before in the how-much-do-I-hate-thee theme. I found five that weren't and snapped them up.
Then I went on to read the guide on how to build pages. It's somewhat more comprehensive than the last one, and definitely easier to understand and written more clearly. I'm unhappy with some of the changes and happy with others.
Creating in-links within pages has always been a bit of a chore. You have to open up a site specific google search, find stuff that exists on Mahalo, go to that page to check if it's a valid page or just a stub, then inlink it. It took a lot of time and was kind of tedious and boring. Now, once you highlight a term and click the inlink button on the new software, it will tell you by coming up blue if it's valid, red if the page doesn't exist, or yellow if it exists but is just a stub. Fast, clean, nice. I like it.
Entering references is now something you do within the system as well. You click a button, enter the reference url, and it puts in your link. This, on the other hand, I don't like. I write in word, and the previous html tags we used were just fine with me; I could type them directly into my text as I went, and after spell checking the document, I could copy and paste the whole thing into the Mahlo page. Now I'll have to either type directly into the Mahalo page, trusting my brain to spell check for me (never ever a good option) or will have to write in a word document, keep a list of references in notepad and try and remember where to stick them in. Both options seem awkward. If they could implement tools for bold, italic, numbers and bulleted lists and inlinking, why not add a spell check?? This seems to be a major oversight. I don't like it.
One of my complaints about Mahalo in the past was that your work was out there while it was in progress. Now, you can work on the page on the site, but it isn't published until you hit the handy-dandy "publish" button at the bottom of the page. Fantastic! Your in-progress nonsense isn't out there all naked and exposed. You don't have pages that are only quotations sections with weird videos languishing on the net (as happened with my Anita Blake character page that was in-progress while the system was offline being upgraded). This I really like.
Someone at Mahalo must have been reading about my experience with DMS, because now you have one chance to edit a page, and if it isn't up to standards, that's it. I have a BIG problem with this and you know I'm gonna tell you why. I have had several experiences at Mahalo with inconsistent copy editing. One person wants one thing and one person another. And sometimes, your work is copy edited by one person first and then a second will do the final check, particularly if your work straddles a week. In this case, you are very likely to have something thrown back at you. Secondly, I've had instances where the same person has sent me back for more edits after a first go-over because they missed something they wanted changed the first time. This is usually something I wouldn't have known about, because it isn't itemized on the gold standard pages. Unless they are stepping up their clarity on standards for pages and their consistency, this is bad, bad, bad. I do not like it. I do not like it in a boat, I do not like it with a goat. Frankly, it kind of ticks me off that they'd do this without a serious uptick in resources for writers.The biggest changes seem to be cosmetic, and while I think that the new layout is cleaner than the old one, it takes forever to load and is constantly refreshing in my browser. I often have three or four Mahalo pages open at a time if I'm working on multiples of something similar. For example, the Fast Facts sections for books in a series will have the same sources. So, I'll have five open at once, and flip between them with the library of congress site open so I can put in one ISBN in each, and the author site open to tuck in publication details in each. Because of the constant reloading of ads, this is making my FireFox perform extremely slowly and making switching between tabs take those extra few seconds that add up to something lengthy at the end of a day. Additionally, the tabs at the top of the pages seem useless as the information also appears on the main page, and I'm not sure of their purpose. So, mixed feelings about this one.
The new how-to page includes a list of recommended resource pages. This is a lot less helpful than having a list of banned sources, or having it the way DMS does (as I've mentioned before, if you attempt to enter a banned site, it automatically notifies you). The list seems short to me, and doesn't seem to cover a lot, but they did note that it's not a be-all, end-all list, which is okay. I suppose it's somewhat helpful, probably to new people who aren't used to finding sources. I may create a custom google search for those sites, as I have for DMS. Or just continue to use the DMS one for both sites (More likely, though Mahalo doesn't like some of the DMS recommended sites). So, mixed feelings about this as well.
Of course, since I haven't written anything specific with the new system yet, this is all theoretical as of now. We'll see what happens this week as I go to work. Hi ho, hi ho.... I'll let ya'll know what happens.
Monday, 24 January 2011
When you can't work...
In an unexpected twist, I actually didn't work much the end of last week. I did manage to produce about double my Q & A requirements, and spent a bunch of time staring at the screen and trying to think of more questions. While travelling with Richard on Thursday, I spent a nice chunk of time trying to research stuff in a library where the internet flitted on and off about every five to seven minutes. I got so enraged that I gave up on it and read instead. It was stormy in the mountains, so I don't blame the library per se. I did give Richard lots of dirty looks while he worked though. "Why is the network more important than MY internet?? Fix my internet!" were the topics of secret brain waves I was sending him as I glared over the top edge of my laptop screen. It didn't seem to affect him, though, which is probably a good thing. If he'd stuck around to fix the internet we might have been stuck there overnight in the storm, instead of going home to internets and hungry kitty cats.
We were given notice that the software was being upgraded on Mahalo, and that no further pages could be updated or created until Monday. Huh. We were never told if that meant we wouldn't get in trouble for not meeting our minimums, but since they carved four days out of our work week, I'm guessing we weren't. I was initially asked if I'd be interested in beta testing the new software, which I was actually kind of excited about. You see, I've told my husband now and again that I think being a beta tester would be fun. "No," he repeatedly assures me, "It's nothing but an annoying headache. You have to do repetitive behaviour until stuff breaks." I of course, light up at the idea of getting to break stuff. Not my stuff, of course, but someone elses stuff! This must be the sort of thing that annoys programmers like him, people like me who can't make it but delight in the idea of destroying his work.
Alas, I was never called on to test, and am spending the morning waiting to be told when I'll be able to start work for this week. The one problem in a situation like this is that you don't get paid when you're off doing fun stuff instead of being productive. I did get in a bunch of fun stuff though, like making half of a bright turquoise summer tank sweater out of sport weight yarn that I'm looking forward to wearing this summer. If I finish it by then.
I never understood how people could get bored if they didn't work. When I wasn't working I was never, ever bored. I have so many interests and hobbies and things I want to learn and books I want to read and ideas and theories I want to test out that I'll never be able to get it all done in my lifetime. It's just impossible. Even if I never worked again I couldn't do it. I'd need at least three or four lifetimes. Maybe five if I throw in all the languages I want to learn. And of course there are new books I want to read coming out all the time, so maybe it'd be impossible for me ever to "finish" everything I want to do. I'm resigned to it, have accepted it, but it doesn't mean I can't try.
I have so much on the go that sometimes I fear one thing won't be finished before I start another. I'm one of those annoying scrapbooking people, but I'm perpetually around a year behind. Right now, due to a burst of productivity sometime in October or so, I'm only about 9 months behind, but it's starting to catch up on me again. I have an altered book about love on the go as well. It hasn't been worked on much since summer. Then there's the cross stitch, I'm currently working on two huge projects - a dragonfly scroll for the bedroom and a Theresa Wentzler mermaid. Not sure where that will go, but probably in the bedroom. I'm resolved to frame it immediately though. I used to let stuff languish unframed and unadmired in drawers, before I learned that was a ticket to losing them and ever appreciating them.
I have finished a couple of things lately though. One is a bag for my laptop, to make traveling with Richard easier. I bought this bulky, pink yarn over a year ago intending it for a tote that never happened. The problem with buying yarn on the internet is that sometimes it's just not what you thought it was. I thought this was a soft pinky-orange blend. When it arrived, neon and with bits of green, I was appalled, but I kinda like it as a quirky laptop bag. I worked it up in one day, just kind of going with the flow and designing as I went. It works well enough - the strap is stretchy so I can sling it crosswise across my body (and if I don't, I can deal with the laptop banging my knees!). It's just so bright. I worry taking it into libraries that librarians will start shushing it.
We were given notice that the software was being upgraded on Mahalo, and that no further pages could be updated or created until Monday. Huh. We were never told if that meant we wouldn't get in trouble for not meeting our minimums, but since they carved four days out of our work week, I'm guessing we weren't. I was initially asked if I'd be interested in beta testing the new software, which I was actually kind of excited about. You see, I've told my husband now and again that I think being a beta tester would be fun. "No," he repeatedly assures me, "It's nothing but an annoying headache. You have to do repetitive behaviour until stuff breaks." I of course, light up at the idea of getting to break stuff. Not my stuff, of course, but someone elses stuff! This must be the sort of thing that annoys programmers like him, people like me who can't make it but delight in the idea of destroying his work.
Alas, I was never called on to test, and am spending the morning waiting to be told when I'll be able to start work for this week. The one problem in a situation like this is that you don't get paid when you're off doing fun stuff instead of being productive. I did get in a bunch of fun stuff though, like making half of a bright turquoise summer tank sweater out of sport weight yarn that I'm looking forward to wearing this summer. If I finish it by then.
I never understood how people could get bored if they didn't work. When I wasn't working I was never, ever bored. I have so many interests and hobbies and things I want to learn and books I want to read and ideas and theories I want to test out that I'll never be able to get it all done in my lifetime. It's just impossible. Even if I never worked again I couldn't do it. I'd need at least three or four lifetimes. Maybe five if I throw in all the languages I want to learn. And of course there are new books I want to read coming out all the time, so maybe it'd be impossible for me ever to "finish" everything I want to do. I'm resigned to it, have accepted it, but it doesn't mean I can't try.
I have so much on the go that sometimes I fear one thing won't be finished before I start another. I'm one of those annoying scrapbooking people, but I'm perpetually around a year behind. Right now, due to a burst of productivity sometime in October or so, I'm only about 9 months behind, but it's starting to catch up on me again. I have an altered book about love on the go as well. It hasn't been worked on much since summer. Then there's the cross stitch, I'm currently working on two huge projects - a dragonfly scroll for the bedroom and a Theresa Wentzler mermaid. Not sure where that will go, but probably in the bedroom. I'm resolved to frame it immediately though. I used to let stuff languish unframed and unadmired in drawers, before I learned that was a ticket to losing them and ever appreciating them.
I have finished a couple of things lately though. One is a bag for my laptop, to make traveling with Richard easier. I bought this bulky, pink yarn over a year ago intending it for a tote that never happened. The problem with buying yarn on the internet is that sometimes it's just not what you thought it was. I thought this was a soft pinky-orange blend. When it arrived, neon and with bits of green, I was appalled, but I kinda like it as a quirky laptop bag. I worked it up in one day, just kind of going with the flow and designing as I went. It works well enough - the strap is stretchy so I can sling it crosswise across my body (and if I don't, I can deal with the laptop banging my knees!). It's just so bright. I worry taking it into libraries that librarians will start shushing it.
Monday, 17 January 2011
The Angry, Angry Author
Today has been a major "angry author" day. I'm not kidding, from the time I woke up this morning, all I've had is interaction after interaction that makes me incredibly angry. Maybe it's the planets in the wrong alignment that have me reacting this way, because I feel like I'm overreacting by being angry (and my poor husband seems to be very very sure I'm overreacting). Then I realized - hey! I have a blog! I can go vent about it!
First thing I woke up to this morning was a note that if I want to be paid for my blog entries, I need to have three more in today for the current month. Buh? It's only the 17th, how can that be? Well, see when Mahalo says "month" they mean "four random weeks that have nothing to do with a calendar month". Only, they don't actually TELL you that. Yesterday ended week 28 of the Mahalo "year", and apparently was the last day of a Mahalo "month" as well. It makes me kind of feel like I'm living in an alternate universe with a different way of spinning around the sun. This probably wouldn't have bothered me if someone had maybe told me ahead of time. But then again, maybe that's asking for a little too much. I mean really, I'm sure "psychic" is a requirement of all writing jobs, no?
So okay, whatever, I can deal with randomly numbered months. But then I learn that the work that I did during the hourly paid IRC shifts has to be finished on our own time. For free. Going in, I was told to get three done an hour, which was pretty much impossible because they were all a wreck, but I was told time was the most important factor. So, okay, I did what I could to update the pages in twenty minutes each.
Turns out, the goal is actually to bring the page up to current Mahalo gold standards. It would have been really helpful to be told this beforehand. It also would have been helpful to be told that any further edits would have to be done for free, which I'm pretty sure is illegal. The parts I'm told that I have to edit are the parts that the original author of the page completed rather than my own work, so it's not as though my updates are a problem, it's that they want me to work as an editor. Without getting paid. All told, it's going to take me a minimum of four hours (probably more like six) to do these edits. And I have to make all my other minimums this week, but I cannot take any more IRC shifts until I finish all the edits on my previous shift work. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage this without becoming bitter and resentful. Oh, wait! I'm already bitter and resentful so I guess it doesn't matter.
Third, someone with access to my spreadsheet deleted one of the pages I did this week. Why? I have no clue. But today was the deadline for payday. When I alerted the management to the issue, I was told to replace it, and since my page scores were high, I'd be paid through for it as it would surely be fine as it was. That I appreciated, and it definitely made me feel (slightly) better, but I'm curious as to why someone would delete the page. It seems really weird. It made me wonder if they do that regularly and writers don't catch it, and then just don't get paid for all their pages. Suspicions, I have them.
Next, two of my DMS articles came back for rewrites today. One, I was pretty sure would come back. So why did I submit it? Cause I got too close to the deadline and didn't have a choice - it was submit it, and get it sent back, or let it expire and waste the work I put into it. So, I'm not upset about that one. I'm upset about the one that was rejected by someone who obviously shouldn't have chosen the article to copy edit.
The article title was "How to make a Beaded Choker Necklace" and that's what I wrote. I got back edit requests, including asking me to explain what a choker necklace was and what made it different from long necklaces (really? REALLY?), what memory wire is (okay, maybe not everyone knows that), to put in every step that it was a choker necklace I was making (uh, really NO WAY, I'm not going to say "Open the jump ring with your flat nose pliers. To make your choker necklace. Slide the pendant onto the jump ring, and close the ring with the pliers. To make your choker necklace. NO WAY). Lastly, they asked me not to use references that led to commercial, bead selling websites. BUH? My resources were three books. No websites. I don't know if the copy editor was just having a bad day or is just not very bright, but they peppered their notes to me with their own grammatical errors which made that inner editor in me snicker madly.
I may finally have my first article to sell on Constant Content! I don't think there is any way to write an article that satisfies what this copy editor wants without writing an article I'd be severely embarrassed to have my name associated with.
What's an angry writer to do?
First thing I woke up to this morning was a note that if I want to be paid for my blog entries, I need to have three more in today for the current month. Buh? It's only the 17th, how can that be? Well, see when Mahalo says "month" they mean "four random weeks that have nothing to do with a calendar month". Only, they don't actually TELL you that. Yesterday ended week 28 of the Mahalo "year", and apparently was the last day of a Mahalo "month" as well. It makes me kind of feel like I'm living in an alternate universe with a different way of spinning around the sun. This probably wouldn't have bothered me if someone had maybe told me ahead of time. But then again, maybe that's asking for a little too much. I mean really, I'm sure "psychic" is a requirement of all writing jobs, no?
So okay, whatever, I can deal with randomly numbered months. But then I learn that the work that I did during the hourly paid IRC shifts has to be finished on our own time. For free. Going in, I was told to get three done an hour, which was pretty much impossible because they were all a wreck, but I was told time was the most important factor. So, okay, I did what I could to update the pages in twenty minutes each.
Turns out, the goal is actually to bring the page up to current Mahalo gold standards. It would have been really helpful to be told this beforehand. It also would have been helpful to be told that any further edits would have to be done for free, which I'm pretty sure is illegal. The parts I'm told that I have to edit are the parts that the original author of the page completed rather than my own work, so it's not as though my updates are a problem, it's that they want me to work as an editor. Without getting paid. All told, it's going to take me a minimum of four hours (probably more like six) to do these edits. And I have to make all my other minimums this week, but I cannot take any more IRC shifts until I finish all the edits on my previous shift work. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage this without becoming bitter and resentful. Oh, wait! I'm already bitter and resentful so I guess it doesn't matter.
Third, someone with access to my spreadsheet deleted one of the pages I did this week. Why? I have no clue. But today was the deadline for payday. When I alerted the management to the issue, I was told to replace it, and since my page scores were high, I'd be paid through for it as it would surely be fine as it was. That I appreciated, and it definitely made me feel (slightly) better, but I'm curious as to why someone would delete the page. It seems really weird. It made me wonder if they do that regularly and writers don't catch it, and then just don't get paid for all their pages. Suspicions, I have them.
Next, two of my DMS articles came back for rewrites today. One, I was pretty sure would come back. So why did I submit it? Cause I got too close to the deadline and didn't have a choice - it was submit it, and get it sent back, or let it expire and waste the work I put into it. So, I'm not upset about that one. I'm upset about the one that was rejected by someone who obviously shouldn't have chosen the article to copy edit.
The article title was "How to make a Beaded Choker Necklace" and that's what I wrote. I got back edit requests, including asking me to explain what a choker necklace was and what made it different from long necklaces (really? REALLY?), what memory wire is (okay, maybe not everyone knows that), to put in every step that it was a choker necklace I was making (uh, really NO WAY, I'm not going to say "Open the jump ring with your flat nose pliers. To make your choker necklace. Slide the pendant onto the jump ring, and close the ring with the pliers. To make your choker necklace. NO WAY). Lastly, they asked me not to use references that led to commercial, bead selling websites. BUH? My resources were three books. No websites. I don't know if the copy editor was just having a bad day or is just not very bright, but they peppered their notes to me with their own grammatical errors which made that inner editor in me snicker madly.
I may finally have my first article to sell on Constant Content! I don't think there is any way to write an article that satisfies what this copy editor wants without writing an article I'd be severely embarrassed to have my name associated with.
What's an angry writer to do?
Sunday, 16 January 2011
111 Books in '11
In 2008, I began a project to read 100 books that year. At the time, I lived in Grande Prairie, where the library was awful and cost far too much for a membership (I'm told it's better now, but then it was abysmal) so I'd been buying books through discount online booksellers, and had a huge book stash. I wanted to push through it, and by the spring of that year I was well on track to reach my goal, and then some. I was excited, I was reading tons of fantastic books, and I was having a great time doing it.
Of course, at that point, our house burned down and my entire library went with it. Between the two of us, my husband and I, we lost hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books. Probably around two thousand. We had walls of books in our living room and bedroom, boxes of books hiding under tables and in closets, and stashes of books hidden away in the oddest places, like the breakfront and the bathroom cabinets. It was heartbreaking, and like many things that stopped after the fire, I stopped reading. By the end of 2008, I had read perhaps a half dozen additional books and barely would have hit the halfway mark on my goal.
Over the last couple of years though, I have started reading again voraciously. I devour books. Some only take me a day. I wish I had more time to read, and I'm wary that taking too much time writing will distract me from my reading. Reading keeps your brain growing, and it's not something I ever want to stop, so I've set a goal for myself - 111 books finished in 2011.
The rules of my little quest:
-Every book counts if it's finished, no matter how light or silly or fun.
-If you hate a book in the first chapter, stop reading so you don't waste time on books you aren't loving.
-Re-reading counts too. So do audiobooks, if they're unabridged (the only way I roll with audio). I'm re-reading The Gunslinger series by Stephen King with my husband as he travels for work (and I travel with him). I've read the whole series in book form before the fire, then listened in unabridged audio once since, so this is number three for me, but it'll still count. We're just starting book three.
I'll keep track here, though don't expect reviews. Feel free to ask questions though. I'm not using GoodReads like I did the first time, because then I'd have to look at the books I'd already entered into my library there that I don't have any more. It's like seeing pictures of old friends you've lost, and it makes me too sad.
So, away we go!
Books Finished in 2011
1. Spider bones Reichs, Kathy
2. Blood games Laymon, Richard
3. The next big thing Edwards, Johanna
4. The opposite of me : a novel Pekkanen, Sarah
5. One rainy night Laymon, Richard
In other news, I finished my first IRC shifts at Mahalo this weekend. I'd been putting it off all week because it made me incredibly nervous. I'm not sure why - no, I take that back. I know exactly why! It's the time pressure. When I'm working on a per-piece basis, I can take my time and make sure something is right. The goal during an IRC shift is to update three pages per hour. There was just no way to do that and bring the page up to the correct current standards. I was totally overwhelmed by the process. When I was in my first shift, though, I was reminded that the real goal is to get through them in 20 minutes, not make them perfect, so that was my focus. It was apparently the wrong focus, but I'll get back to that.
Even with working fast, using google news, and fitting as much current information in as I could, I still only managed to average three updates per two-hour shift instead of three per hour. I suppose in time it may get better, but for now this will definitely continue to be the most stressful part of my time at Mahalo. I would show you some pages, but they're all awful. I just couldn't get enough done on any of them to share!
Of course, at that point, our house burned down and my entire library went with it. Between the two of us, my husband and I, we lost hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books. Probably around two thousand. We had walls of books in our living room and bedroom, boxes of books hiding under tables and in closets, and stashes of books hidden away in the oddest places, like the breakfront and the bathroom cabinets. It was heartbreaking, and like many things that stopped after the fire, I stopped reading. By the end of 2008, I had read perhaps a half dozen additional books and barely would have hit the halfway mark on my goal.
Over the last couple of years though, I have started reading again voraciously. I devour books. Some only take me a day. I wish I had more time to read, and I'm wary that taking too much time writing will distract me from my reading. Reading keeps your brain growing, and it's not something I ever want to stop, so I've set a goal for myself - 111 books finished in 2011.
The rules of my little quest:
-Every book counts if it's finished, no matter how light or silly or fun.
-If you hate a book in the first chapter, stop reading so you don't waste time on books you aren't loving.
-Re-reading counts too. So do audiobooks, if they're unabridged (the only way I roll with audio). I'm re-reading The Gunslinger series by Stephen King with my husband as he travels for work (and I travel with him). I've read the whole series in book form before the fire, then listened in unabridged audio once since, so this is number three for me, but it'll still count. We're just starting book three.
I'll keep track here, though don't expect reviews. Feel free to ask questions though. I'm not using GoodReads like I did the first time, because then I'd have to look at the books I'd already entered into my library there that I don't have any more. It's like seeing pictures of old friends you've lost, and it makes me too sad.
So, away we go!
Books Finished in 2011
1. Spider bones Reichs, Kathy
2. Blood games Laymon, Richard
3. The next big thing Edwards, Johanna
4. The opposite of me : a novel Pekkanen, Sarah
5. One rainy night Laymon, Richard
In other news, I finished my first IRC shifts at Mahalo this weekend. I'd been putting it off all week because it made me incredibly nervous. I'm not sure why - no, I take that back. I know exactly why! It's the time pressure. When I'm working on a per-piece basis, I can take my time and make sure something is right. The goal during an IRC shift is to update three pages per hour. There was just no way to do that and bring the page up to the correct current standards. I was totally overwhelmed by the process. When I was in my first shift, though, I was reminded that the real goal is to get through them in 20 minutes, not make them perfect, so that was my focus. It was apparently the wrong focus, but I'll get back to that.
Even with working fast, using google news, and fitting as much current information in as I could, I still only managed to average three updates per two-hour shift instead of three per hour. I suppose in time it may get better, but for now this will definitely continue to be the most stressful part of my time at Mahalo. I would show you some pages, but they're all awful. I just couldn't get enough done on any of them to share!
Thursday, 13 January 2011
My A is way bigger than my Q most days...
One of the things that I do as a guide for Mahalo is answer and ask questions. There is a Q&A section on the Mahalo site proper, but as a guide your questions and answers take place on other client sites, who use the Mahalo software for Q&A, and bring us in to populate it and make it look interesting.
The unfortunate thing for me is, the more interesting the site, the less likely we are to have to write a lot of questions and answers for it. The more complicated the subject matter, of course the higher our weekly minimum is on that site.
I prefer the Mahalo Q&A personally, and even though I'm not getting paid to ask and answer questions there, I'm still doing it - for the tips. People can tip you for your answers, and if your answer is the best, you get paid by the asker (anything from a penny to a few bucks, you can see how much they're offering for an answer up top, and others can add to the pot by voting a question as interesting). The questions there are much more interesting, and I'm racking up "best answer" awards to the tune of about $10 a week, not bad for the little time I spend on it and the fun I have. It's taken over the time I might have once spent on the Lush forum, only now I get paid for all my sage advice (No, he's not going to ask you to marry him if you've been living together three years and neither of you have ever discussed marriage), historical accuracy (No! Actually the Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in states that had seceded from the Union, the 13th Amendment is what really ended slavery...) and witty rejoinders (dude, you have to go find those yourself on the site, I'm sure they're there)!
The problem is, you get paid in Mahalo bucks, which aren't real currency. They used to pay them out on paypal, but not any more; now you can only use them to ask questions on the site, buy stuff in their store, or donate to charity. I'm thinking I'll be saving up for an iPad myself, or mayyyybe a Kindle, if I can stand to save up for long enough. It's more likely that I'll blow it on an Amazon.com gift card. I would buy some Mahalo swag just for fun, but I'm holding on to this hope that eventually all my witty (ahem) answers will win me the Q&A person of the week award, in which case you win a whole swag package - mug, hat, beach towel, iPod cover. I don't know what I'd do with the iPod cover. I have a nano, of the little square variety that no one makes covers for any more, but that's a different story altogether.
So, as a guide, you get paid $0.75 for each question or answer. That isn't too bad, considering that I can knock off ten in an hour and still have time left over. Although I'll admit that that is because until now, I've only asked or answered things I could manage without researching. Unfortunately for me, I've pretty much run out of ideas for one of the business sites. I don't know much about entrepreneurship. I'm going to have to start listening to Dragon's Den episodes and pulling stuff Kevin O'Leary says out of context to make it into a question I think. As for answers, there's little hope for me. I'll have to start googling, and lose that extra time left over in the hour. Of course, if anyone out there has a bunch of questions needing business advice, let me know!
The unfortunate thing for me is, the more interesting the site, the less likely we are to have to write a lot of questions and answers for it. The more complicated the subject matter, of course the higher our weekly minimum is on that site.
I prefer the Mahalo Q&A personally, and even though I'm not getting paid to ask and answer questions there, I'm still doing it - for the tips. People can tip you for your answers, and if your answer is the best, you get paid by the asker (anything from a penny to a few bucks, you can see how much they're offering for an answer up top, and others can add to the pot by voting a question as interesting). The questions there are much more interesting, and I'm racking up "best answer" awards to the tune of about $10 a week, not bad for the little time I spend on it and the fun I have. It's taken over the time I might have once spent on the Lush forum, only now I get paid for all my sage advice (No, he's not going to ask you to marry him if you've been living together three years and neither of you have ever discussed marriage), historical accuracy (No! Actually the Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in states that had seceded from the Union, the 13th Amendment is what really ended slavery...) and witty rejoinders (dude, you have to go find those yourself on the site, I'm sure they're there)!
The problem is, you get paid in Mahalo bucks, which aren't real currency. They used to pay them out on paypal, but not any more; now you can only use them to ask questions on the site, buy stuff in their store, or donate to charity. I'm thinking I'll be saving up for an iPad myself, or mayyyybe a Kindle, if I can stand to save up for long enough. It's more likely that I'll blow it on an Amazon.com gift card. I would buy some Mahalo swag just for fun, but I'm holding on to this hope that eventually all my witty (ahem) answers will win me the Q&A person of the week award, in which case you win a whole swag package - mug, hat, beach towel, iPod cover. I don't know what I'd do with the iPod cover. I have a nano, of the little square variety that no one makes covers for any more, but that's a different story altogether.
So, as a guide, you get paid $0.75 for each question or answer. That isn't too bad, considering that I can knock off ten in an hour and still have time left over. Although I'll admit that that is because until now, I've only asked or answered things I could manage without researching. Unfortunately for me, I've pretty much run out of ideas for one of the business sites. I don't know much about entrepreneurship. I'm going to have to start listening to Dragon's Den episodes and pulling stuff Kevin O'Leary says out of context to make it into a question I think. As for answers, there's little hope for me. I'll have to start googling, and lose that extra time left over in the hour. Of course, if anyone out there has a bunch of questions needing business advice, let me know!
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Fear and Loathing in Grammar-land
I have a few spelling and grammar bugs that get to me. One is when people type "loose" when they mean "lose". Another is misuse of the term "literally". Really? Really friend? Your ass literally froze off? What are you sitting on while you type???
Okay Katie, breathe, breathe....
Anyway, we've all run into those forum posters who correct some poor distracted person's misuse of the apostrophe or "teh" typos. I have never, ever in my life, seen that run as rampant as it does on the Demand Media Studios forum for writers. I just watched a thread about the rejection appeal process get completely hijacked by an "imply vs. infer" dogfight. I guess that's what happens when you throw a bunch of writers and copy editors into a pit.
So, speaking of rejection appeals... Everyone fears the rejected article, especially me. Especially since at DMS you only have one chance at a rewrite before something is rejected. For many writers at DMS, rewriting isn't even an option; they would rather let the rewrite expire than risk having a rejection on their record. (By the way, I'm not so nervous, as I haven't had any rejections, and my rewrite requests have always been really simple. My last one was "This is twice as long as required, please remove half the content". Ack! But an easy fix.)
When I first started at DMS, one of the other writers there gently guided me toward a site called Constant Content. It is the preferred site, it seems for reselling rejected orphan articles. I registered immediately in grave fear that I would soon have multiple articles on the market. I haven't taken a job there or sold an article there yet, but I may soon.
Along with allowing writers to put articles up on the site for purchase, Constant Content allows site owners to put up writer-wanted listings for content articles they need. These often pay extremely well - I've seen $100+ articles listed on a fairly consistent basis. The trouble is, you're essentially writing on spec. You write the article, and so do the other twenty people who saw the ad and want the bucks, and you all submit. The client chooses the one that suits their needs the best, and pays that person. The others are left to possibly re-list their articles back on Constant Content, or just suck it up and accept the loss.
If I really needed another source of income, I might try some of the articles. Some have really sparked my interest, especially those on Photoshop techniques, since Photoshop is one of my favourite "toys" but I have been struggling - since I've been sick off and on since Christmas - to meet my minimums at Mahalo and write the titles I really like over at DMS before they expire (once you claim a title, you have to write it within the week or it returns to the queue for someone else to claim). Not to mention that this week, I started a new phase at Mahalo.
I left training four weeks ago. Once you're done with training, you move into a separate group of spreadsheets which, unfortunately for me, had wayyyy less options in the way of titles. Most are video How-To, like "How to say tomato in Korean" and things of that ilk. I thought they would be easy and fun until I did two of them and found myself scratching my head trying to figure out how on earth to meet the minimum word requirements of a page based on a twenty second video of someone repeating a Korean word. All of the other titles were cities, so I've been learning an awful lot about relatively obscure American cities. Like that Gainesville, Florida has the largest bat house in North America, or that Duluth was founded by some French fella named du Lhut. Apparently no one could spell his name. Too French I guess. Or hey, didja know that there is a museum devoted entirely to the history of the RV in Elkhart, Indiana? You can learn more about Elkhart here: http://www.mahalo.com/elkhart-in if you're so inclined.
So now, after four weeks, I start doing updates. This is hourly paid work, and you're required to do at least three 2-hour shifts per week. Guides get paid $8.50 an hour and senior guides get $10 an hour, which isn't terrible for work from home shifts. And you get to write about stuff like what happened on the Bachelor that night or who wore what to the Golden Globes. It's a little more fun than writing about the downtown revitalization project in Greenville, SC, but if you're so inclined to READ about it... http://www.mahalo.com/greenville-sc
Okay Katie, breathe, breathe....
Anyway, we've all run into those forum posters who correct some poor distracted person's misuse of the apostrophe or "teh" typos. I have never, ever in my life, seen that run as rampant as it does on the Demand Media Studios forum for writers. I just watched a thread about the rejection appeal process get completely hijacked by an "imply vs. infer" dogfight. I guess that's what happens when you throw a bunch of writers and copy editors into a pit.
So, speaking of rejection appeals... Everyone fears the rejected article, especially me. Especially since at DMS you only have one chance at a rewrite before something is rejected. For many writers at DMS, rewriting isn't even an option; they would rather let the rewrite expire than risk having a rejection on their record. (By the way, I'm not so nervous, as I haven't had any rejections, and my rewrite requests have always been really simple. My last one was "This is twice as long as required, please remove half the content". Ack! But an easy fix.)
When I first started at DMS, one of the other writers there gently guided me toward a site called Constant Content. It is the preferred site, it seems for reselling rejected orphan articles. I registered immediately in grave fear that I would soon have multiple articles on the market. I haven't taken a job there or sold an article there yet, but I may soon.
Along with allowing writers to put articles up on the site for purchase, Constant Content allows site owners to put up writer-wanted listings for content articles they need. These often pay extremely well - I've seen $100+ articles listed on a fairly consistent basis. The trouble is, you're essentially writing on spec. You write the article, and so do the other twenty people who saw the ad and want the bucks, and you all submit. The client chooses the one that suits their needs the best, and pays that person. The others are left to possibly re-list their articles back on Constant Content, or just suck it up and accept the loss.
If I really needed another source of income, I might try some of the articles. Some have really sparked my interest, especially those on Photoshop techniques, since Photoshop is one of my favourite "toys" but I have been struggling - since I've been sick off and on since Christmas - to meet my minimums at Mahalo and write the titles I really like over at DMS before they expire (once you claim a title, you have to write it within the week or it returns to the queue for someone else to claim). Not to mention that this week, I started a new phase at Mahalo.
I left training four weeks ago. Once you're done with training, you move into a separate group of spreadsheets which, unfortunately for me, had wayyyy less options in the way of titles. Most are video How-To, like "How to say tomato in Korean" and things of that ilk. I thought they would be easy and fun until I did two of them and found myself scratching my head trying to figure out how on earth to meet the minimum word requirements of a page based on a twenty second video of someone repeating a Korean word. All of the other titles were cities, so I've been learning an awful lot about relatively obscure American cities. Like that Gainesville, Florida has the largest bat house in North America, or that Duluth was founded by some French fella named du Lhut. Apparently no one could spell his name. Too French I guess. Or hey, didja know that there is a museum devoted entirely to the history of the RV in Elkhart, Indiana? You can learn more about Elkhart here: http://www.mahalo.com/elkhart-in if you're so inclined.
So now, after four weeks, I start doing updates. This is hourly paid work, and you're required to do at least three 2-hour shifts per week. Guides get paid $8.50 an hour and senior guides get $10 an hour, which isn't terrible for work from home shifts. And you get to write about stuff like what happened on the Bachelor that night or who wore what to the Golden Globes. It's a little more fun than writing about the downtown revitalization project in Greenville, SC, but if you're so inclined to READ about it... http://www.mahalo.com/greenville-sc
Monday, 3 January 2011
Mahalo Very Much
Mahalo. It's Hawaiian for "thanks," and is also the second place I went to for freelance writing.
It works a little differently at Mahalo. You can't just write an article here and there - you apply for a job as a Guide, or a Walk-through Writer, or some other things I don't know that much about because I don't do them. I know one has to do with writing questions and answers full time and another has to do with forum post writing.
I applied to be a Guide, and once again, acceptance came fairly quickly. You take a reading comprehension test first, which is very much like the ones on the ACT and SAT, at least back when I took them. Easy peasy. 100% for me, just like on other standardized test ones I've taken. You're then given a piece to read about writing Mahalo pages and another test to take. This one, I'm told, I finished in record time, but then I got two answers wrong, so I might have rushed a little too much. Still, I found it pretty simple.
The things I found less exciting included, of course, the lower pay, though once you're out of training your pay does go up, and there are different things to do at different pay rates at that point as well, just to break things up. I didn't like that the images on the pages were scraped from Google, though I know lots of websites who do that now, it just gives me the guilties because of the number of friends I have who are photographers that live for those licensing fees. Or, I should say, ON those licensing fees. And of course, I'd prefer it if every rule were documented as feeling like I'm flying by the seat of my pants makes me all crazy. Lastly, you don't get a byline for your pages on Mahalo. I understand that to some extent - they're meant to all look similar, and have a consistent feel, but I do like feeling credited.
What I did like was getting to see what everyone else is working on. At DMS, you're locked in your own little world to a great extent. Oh, there are ways to see other people's finished articles (go to the forum, click on their name, which takes you to their profile, which shows the last five articles they've published through DMS), but you can't see works in progress, which I found to be a good teaching tool. I'd go through work marked "redo" and "done" to see what I thought needed working on, which helped me self-edit a bit more too. At Mahalo, you claim titles from a common spreadsheet, and so you know who scooped the articles you wanted, too. But there were always plenty of interesting titles, especially while I was in training, so that wasn't much of a problem. Also, at Mahalo you know who is copyediting your work, and have the opportunity to ask questions. This is a huge advantage. You have unlimited rewrites, another huge advantage. You're not going to get an outright rejection after one rewrite attempt. Once you're out of training, you do have minimums you're required to complete, but you can take as long as you need to in the training sessions to get the hang of things.
While the pay is not as high, it's consistent at Mahalo, and I don't see a big need to have another major agency that I'm working for. However, I was clued in by another DMS writer about a third company to sign up for just in case I ever have a rejected DMS article, and that's the one I'll write about next.
It works a little differently at Mahalo. You can't just write an article here and there - you apply for a job as a Guide, or a Walk-through Writer, or some other things I don't know that much about because I don't do them. I know one has to do with writing questions and answers full time and another has to do with forum post writing.
I applied to be a Guide, and once again, acceptance came fairly quickly. You take a reading comprehension test first, which is very much like the ones on the ACT and SAT, at least back when I took them. Easy peasy. 100% for me, just like on other standardized test ones I've taken. You're then given a piece to read about writing Mahalo pages and another test to take. This one, I'm told, I finished in record time, but then I got two answers wrong, so I might have rushed a little too much. Still, I found it pretty simple.
Next you're tossed into Guide training. Here, you're paid $7 for every Mahalo page you complete. There's more work to be done than there is for DMS articles, and the pay is lower. There are also fewer titles to choose from - if I recall correctly, in the training document there were about a thousand titles. The plus was, there were lots more I was interested in writing! Oh sure, the athlete ones I didn't much care about, but bands, authors, plants... there were lots of other things I could get into, which makes the writing much more fun. For example, here's a page I did in training: http://www.mahalo.com/sum-41
The issue I had with training was the inconsistency. The How to Build a Page guideline doesn't cover everything, and depending on who edits your work, you may get told to do things differently. As I mentioned previously, I'm a rules girl who loves to stick by guidelines, so this gave me a minor breakdown. After freaking out to my training editor, I finally just had to accept a fact: Redo what you're told to redo and shut up about it. Yes, one person may prefer it one way and another person a different way, but you're only going to drive yourself crazy if you worry about it. You have to accept here that your writing isn't just going to go through on the first round, like at DMS. There are some things, of course, that were consistently expected, and I found that following my gut intuition when expectations conflicted seemed to serve me best.The things I found less exciting included, of course, the lower pay, though once you're out of training your pay does go up, and there are different things to do at different pay rates at that point as well, just to break things up. I didn't like that the images on the pages were scraped from Google, though I know lots of websites who do that now, it just gives me the guilties because of the number of friends I have who are photographers that live for those licensing fees. Or, I should say, ON those licensing fees. And of course, I'd prefer it if every rule were documented as feeling like I'm flying by the seat of my pants makes me all crazy. Lastly, you don't get a byline for your pages on Mahalo. I understand that to some extent - they're meant to all look similar, and have a consistent feel, but I do like feeling credited.
What I did like was getting to see what everyone else is working on. At DMS, you're locked in your own little world to a great extent. Oh, there are ways to see other people's finished articles (go to the forum, click on their name, which takes you to their profile, which shows the last five articles they've published through DMS), but you can't see works in progress, which I found to be a good teaching tool. I'd go through work marked "redo" and "done" to see what I thought needed working on, which helped me self-edit a bit more too. At Mahalo, you claim titles from a common spreadsheet, and so you know who scooped the articles you wanted, too. But there were always plenty of interesting titles, especially while I was in training, so that wasn't much of a problem. Also, at Mahalo you know who is copyediting your work, and have the opportunity to ask questions. This is a huge advantage. You have unlimited rewrites, another huge advantage. You're not going to get an outright rejection after one rewrite attempt. Once you're out of training, you do have minimums you're required to complete, but you can take as long as you need to in the training sessions to get the hang of things.
While the pay is not as high, it's consistent at Mahalo, and I don't see a big need to have another major agency that I'm working for. However, I was clued in by another DMS writer about a third company to sign up for just in case I ever have a rejected DMS article, and that's the one I'll write about next.
Friday, 31 December 2010
Meet the Bitch: My Inner Editor
She really is a bitch. She's precise and cranky and perfectionistic. I don't mind so much, cause I need her to be that way when she's editing what I write, but that Inner Editor, she can scare people away.
And that worries me, because I just handed off a manuscript to a great friend, one of the sweetest, kindest, loveliest ladies I know, and Miss Inner Editor had been having her way with that script. She ran out two pens doing so. She likes ink, Miss IE.
The first time I let Miss IE loose on a friend, it changed our relationship forever. When I let her loose on my husband's writing, his reaction broke my heart. I've tried to tame her, and I can rein her in at first, but that godawful honesty gets in the way sometimes.
I love to read as much as I love to write... maybe even more... and I tend to even get Miss IE's ire up when I'm reading badly written prose. She was rewriting passages of Twilight madly, frantically, as I read that series. Lately she's been getting all giggly over reading "Mahalo" being thrown around in a book I'm reading - "Spider Bones" - which is taking place in Hawaii. It shouldn't be funny, it's just where I work, but for some reason, Miss IE is tickled by it.
So, you're wondering how things are going at Mahalo, are you? Me too, kind of. I've been having issues with being sick with an unbelievable sinus infection, and it's made meeting my minimums a sketchy prospect at best. So far I'm managing, though I find myself sometimes inwardly cussing at my outer editors - the ones on the site. It's not really their fault, it's an issue where they may not catch everything they want me to change on their first read-through, and then on the second read-through, after I've made the changes they did ask for, there are more changes to be made on the second go. Confusing enough for you? Yeah, me too.
It's just frustrating, when I think I've fixed something to still have more work on it. It makes my hourly wage go down (which is averaging at Mahalo something like $4 an hour I guess, counting revision work). I haven't been sleeping much, which isn't helping the sinus infection, and have had a two day migraine, so I'm probably just cranky about it all. These are two of the pages that required double revisions: http://www.mahalo.com/trenton-nj and http://www.mahalo.com/toledo-oh It was purely a matter of something no one had on the gold standard guide page, but that appeared on the gold standard page itself. What I mean by that is, we have a page that lists what you have to do for each type of page, then an example. You obviously can't follow everything on the sample page, because every city (or author or movie or whatever) is different, but you kind of have to figure out what's wanted. If you can't, you'll be revising it once the editor lets you know!
And that worries me, because I just handed off a manuscript to a great friend, one of the sweetest, kindest, loveliest ladies I know, and Miss Inner Editor had been having her way with that script. She ran out two pens doing so. She likes ink, Miss IE.
The first time I let Miss IE loose on a friend, it changed our relationship forever. When I let her loose on my husband's writing, his reaction broke my heart. I've tried to tame her, and I can rein her in at first, but that godawful honesty gets in the way sometimes.
I love to read as much as I love to write... maybe even more... and I tend to even get Miss IE's ire up when I'm reading badly written prose. She was rewriting passages of Twilight madly, frantically, as I read that series. Lately she's been getting all giggly over reading "Mahalo" being thrown around in a book I'm reading - "Spider Bones" - which is taking place in Hawaii. It shouldn't be funny, it's just where I work, but for some reason, Miss IE is tickled by it.
So, you're wondering how things are going at Mahalo, are you? Me too, kind of. I've been having issues with being sick with an unbelievable sinus infection, and it's made meeting my minimums a sketchy prospect at best. So far I'm managing, though I find myself sometimes inwardly cussing at my outer editors - the ones on the site. It's not really their fault, it's an issue where they may not catch everything they want me to change on their first read-through, and then on the second read-through, after I've made the changes they did ask for, there are more changes to be made on the second go. Confusing enough for you? Yeah, me too.
It's just frustrating, when I think I've fixed something to still have more work on it. It makes my hourly wage go down (which is averaging at Mahalo something like $4 an hour I guess, counting revision work). I haven't been sleeping much, which isn't helping the sinus infection, and have had a two day migraine, so I'm probably just cranky about it all. These are two of the pages that required double revisions: http://www.mahalo.com/trenton-nj and http://www.mahalo.com/toledo-oh It was purely a matter of something no one had on the gold standard guide page, but that appeared on the gold standard page itself. What I mean by that is, we have a page that lists what you have to do for each type of page, then an example. You obviously can't follow everything on the sample page, because every city (or author or movie or whatever) is different, but you kind of have to figure out what's wanted. If you can't, you'll be revising it once the editor lets you know!
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