Posts with the label Online Publishers
Showing posts with label Online Publishers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Online Publishers. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Populis Create Review: Sudden Mass Firings and Deactivations
Populis Create Unexpectedly Deactivating Accounts due to “Low Quality” and Inactivity: A Review of Populis Create's Unscrupulous Behavior
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| Create at your own risk... |
Today many freelancers at Populis Create received an unwelcome surprise in their emails: a message stating that they were being fired due to inactivity or lack of quality. Writers were skeptical about the statement alluding to the lack of quality, since many wrote hundreds of articles for Populis Create with very few of instances of editors requiring rewrites. A writer reported, “I don't really believe it as I wrote 200 articles for them without a single one being rejected”. Some writers only had rewrites because of requests by editors to change the images. Due to PANDA -- Google’s dramatic algorithm change to boost high quality, expert sites and lower the ranking of scraper sites and content farms -- many online publishers and content mills such as Demand Studios are letting go of writers at a moment’s notice giving freelancers little time to find another freelance gig that could replace the substantial loss in income. Populis Create, ironically touted as the Demand Media of Europe by Techcruch, is now following the same steps of Demand Media which recently used the Writer Development Program and Writer Evaluation Program to frivolously and hastily "fire" a large percentage of their writers -- many that were unintentionally dependent on them -- for "low-quality".
Why the Abrupt “Firings”?
Many speculate, due to the recent decline of titles, slow editing times, late payments, significant queue decreases, persistent site malfunctions and unanswered applications, that Populis Create is experiencing financial difficulty. Even content power houses such as Demand Media, whose stock quote has been slashed by almost 65% due to PANDA, are showing signs of decline. Therefore we can assume that smaller content farms, who inequitably bore the brunt of the algorithm changes, are struggling. However Populis Create just acquired Mokono for 8.2 million Euros and in 2010 their total revenue was a massive $83 million which shoots down this theory and adds more confusion. Most likely Populis Create is simply trying to cut expenses without any regard for the livelihood of their writers. Others believed initially that the firings may have occurred as a result of their location; however this theory is inconclusive since many writers from South America and the UK were fired also. Another deactivated writer from UK confirmed that the firings superseded location. “I just wanted to let you know that is most definitely not restricted to US/Canadian writers. I am a UK writer and received that same email too.”
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| Access Denied! |
One of the most unsettling concerns among deactivated writers, was that Populis Create originally locked out the freelancers from their accounts without any assurance that they would receive payments or bonuses for September. This type of behavior is unacceptable, unprofessional and borders as scammy. A professional business would had informed writers about their payments in an organized fashion.Writers are also requesting the permission to check their earning statistics. The lack of access to their accounts makes it impossible to make sure that they are being paid accurately and honestly. A writer tried to contact editors and Populis Create staff directly about the payment issues. However the email to the editor was undeliverable, perhaps another deactivated freelancer, and Populis Create has conveniently ignored her inquires. The writer hopes that they behave professionally.
Contradicting Messages, Most of Them are Disappointing
Some writers that are still with Populis Create received this disheartening message:
“Hello, we have detected some abnormalities in the articles submitted in the month of September. For this reason we are forced to perform some extra controls on all articles submitted during that period and we'd like to inform you that as a result the evaluation time will be significantly longer than usual. For articles submitted from the 1st of October, the evaluation times will be as per usual. We would also like to inform you that we changed the limit on the number of assignments you can take. The limit is now set to 5 and it also includes the submitted articles that are in evaluation, as well as the returned articles. You will find new assignments every Monday.”
Many interpret this message as an excuse to not pay out hard earned bonuses. Another writer received a vague message about payments:
You will receive payment for outstanding articles via Paypal today. You will also receive bonus on a staggered basis (any bonus that was earned in the first week of September will be paid this week, any bonus from the second week of September will be paid next week etc.). Do let us know if there are any discrepancies (but we don't anticipate any as we do have a record of all your statistics).
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| Not quite understanding Populis' hidden messages |
However the message did not specify whether it was just for approved articles or pending articles. A former freelancer for Populis Create explained the sordid details. “BTW, the way they're paying bonuses I'm guessing means they're also screwing their writers. For instance, if you write 150 articles a month you should get a bonus of payment for 30 extra articles. But, the way they're doing it, you'll probably get paid just for the articles that week so....if you have 33 articles one week and 32 the week after, instead of getting paid for an extra 13 articles, you'll only get paid for an extra 12 total (6 from your first week and 6 from your second - as the extra 3 and 2 won't get added into your total because you've got to have written 5 to get paid for an extra one.”
Populis Create sends out another conflicting message about bonuses causing more distrust, rumors and distress. However the questions about the status of pending articles were clarified.
Bonus payments will be staggered, but please be assured that you will receive the full amount by the end of October. We have asked for clarification from our payroll department, and the system we are using is a little more complex than the example previously given in our earlier email - but as stated, you will receive the full amount by the end of the month. Pending articles will be checked and edited as normal. If approved, you will receive payment for these through Paypal in the usual way. However, you may experience longer than normal editing times for any articles written and submitted in September. This is due to the fact that abnormalities were detected and we are performing extra checks on all articles. Articles submitted from 3rd October will not be affected.
A Bright Future for Fired Populis Create Freelancers and Current Populis Create Freelancers?
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Many writers for online publishers and content
mills are grasping for the next opportunity,
only to watch them fold under the pressure from Google &
ruthlessly discard writers
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In addition to the mass firings, the remaining writers have now noticed an unannounced pay cut. The newly released titles only pay 6 euros instead of 6.66 euros. Let’s hope that Populis Create acts with integrity and that the laid off freelance writers are able to weather the abrupt loss in income. Unfortunately Populis Create has permanently lost the trust of their most vocal freelancers. Many content farms and online publishers are plagued with “title droughts”, pay cuts, rampant lay-offs and no traffic, therefore finding another content mill that can consistently replace the income may prove difficult. As more and more sources of work at home writing gigs decrease, content writers are more vulnerable than ever and subject to the unpredictable whims of the content mills they freelance for. Solely earning money from unstable and dishonest content farms & online publishers is becoming riskier by the minute.
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