I guess everyone should have seen this coming, especially after the way Mahalo has been "revoking" (I prefer the word "stealing") pages from writers over the past few months. Mahalo has no regard for its contributors. All of the Mahalo writers have created thousands of pages and have made Mahalo a lot of money, and now all that content will be taken away from those same writers. And under the new policy, if you are one of the (dare I say "lucky"?) few who gets accepted as a Mahalo Guide, you will be paid $1,000 per month (plus possible bonuses) and will be required to produce 25 new pages every week - and what happens when you don't make that quota? Say you write 20 pages - do you then get paid nothing for that work?
My first thought when I read Jason's announcement was that it was a move in the right direction. And I mean that in a sense that profit will be equal amongst the writers, and that writers can focus on writing pages that they are passionate about rather than focusing on what will generate the most Ad Sense revenue. However, when you calculate the numbers, you see that it really isn't that profitable. When you consider the amount of time that will have to be devoted to writing 25 pages and spending 12 hours doing updates, and answering/asking 10 questions a week, it seems more like Mahalo will be turning into a "human powered" sweat shop. I wonder if Jason can write 25 pages a week?
Anyway, here is the announcement that Jason Calacanis made on Mahalo Answers:
Important and Exciting Announcement from Jason for Mahalo Contributors!
A message to the Mahalo Community,
Our goal at Mahalo is to build a high-quality content and community destination – one that delivers information our consumers can trust. To do this, we need talented, motivated writers.
For the past year, we have experimented with a writer-compensation method that shared revenue from our pages. While the revenue sharing system seemed entrepreneurial and fair in theory, after careful examination including getting your feedback, we've concluded that it failed in practice.
We heard your feedback about huge variation in writer compensation that was not directly tied to quality, and about the confusing nature of Mahalo dollars. In short, the system created a happy few and a frustrated many.
So, starting on July 1st, we are moving to a more traditional flat-rate payment system, with incentives based on quality and traffic.
Here's how it will work:
1. On July 1st, Mahalo will stop revenue sharing on topic and "how to" pages, and shelve the concept of vertical and page management. Revenue sharing on Mahalo Answers will continue.
2. All Vertical Managers will be offered Guide or Senior Guide roles based on their tenure and performance as Mahalo consultants to date. Guides will receive $1,000 a month for their content and Senior Guides will receive $1,300.
3. Page Managers and Go Team members will be given the ability to apply for one of 50 new Guide positions, paying $1,000 per month.
4. All Guides will be responsible for 25 new pages, 12 hours of updating (i.e. on the GoTeam), and 10 questions or answers weekly. You will be able to do this work whenever you like so you can easily schedule it around your other writing obligations!
5. NEW FEATURE: We're moving payments of Guides to – wait for it – weekly! The week after you perform your work you will get your PayPal payment. This was one of the most requested features from our writers and we're thrilled that our new flat-rate system will make this easy to implement.
6. NEW FEATURE: Mahalo Dollars will be removed from page management and creation. You will not have to worry about the conversion ratio anymore! Mahalo Dollars will be limited to Mahalo Answers where folks love them and the fun stuff they can buy with them. You've told us that real writers wanted to be paid in real dollars and we've listened. No more conversions! Everyone will have 31 days to cash out their Mahalo Dollars (cash outs can occur anytime in July – no cash outs as of August 1st).
7. Mahalo Dollars will only be used in the Mahalo Store going forward. No more cashing out for real dollars (gift cards and donations will still be available).
8. NEW FEATURE: A group traffic incentive of $100 each will be shared between Guides for every month that Mahalo breaks the previous month's traffic.
9. NEW FEATURE: A group revenue incentive of $100 each will be shared between Guides for every month that Mahalo breaks the previous month's revenue numbers.
10. NEW FEATURE: A quality incentive will be given to a selection of pages and Guides each month based on our Community Team's judgment.
There are going to be many questions and comments on these changes I'm sure. The small number of folks who had the killer revenue pages are going to be disappointed, and the majority of folks who were not breaking $500 a month are going to be excited.
We understand change is hard, but our intention is to build a system that creates a vibrant, fun and profitable experience for everyone. I'm sure there will be some issues we have not anticipated, and you can expect us to pivot, as all start-ups must, if something isn't working. Mike Bracco and I will be discussing these changes in a town hall meeting today, Wednesday, at 11AM Pacific time (2PM eastern).
0 comments:
Post a Comment