Where's all the points?

I've been a member of Gather for a few years now and can't remember a time when points were so slow to "Gather". I'm trying to post more articles but wow... just a few trickling points in my account for all the work I'm putting into it. I wonder why. I wonder if there's anything on this site where the owner(s) tell us anything about how points are awarded these days.

I also have been working on Squidoo - here's my archive - and have earned more over there. I'm not saying leave Gather for Squidoo, because I do absolutely love this site... but is there anything we can do as end users to make this site more profitable?

Right now I see Squidoo as a primary income site and this one as secondary. If I get a gift card every three or four months here I'm lucky... and especially with the points slowing to a trickle, I'm beside myself, wondering what I can do to make this work for me.

Besides money, there's other things here -- friendships, for example. But the payment is a nice perk and it has been quite a while since I've seen one.

Comments: 18

Love from Darlene! Oct 9, 2009, 8:11pm EDT

Gather has got to give us some answers, very soon!

Krystal Harwell Oct 9, 2009, 8:12pm EDT

i would like some!

Linda A. Oct 9, 2009, 8:14pm EDT

think the down economy has hit Gather too. Those not working mean increased traffic here...

Linda M. Oct 9, 2009, 10:31pm EDT

Darlene... seems Gathergurus have never been forthcoming with news on what exactly earns points. The mysterious algorhythm thing on the internet is enough to drive people crazy, trying to figure out how things work.

Krystal - get in line!! ;)

Linda... you're very right, maybe Mrs. Gatherguru lost her job so Mr. Gatherguru has to take from us to meet household expenses... or something like that.

Anyhow, all we can do is keep plugging away at it and hope that the points are more generously distributed in the future.

Love from Darlene! Oct 10, 2009, 4:30pm EDT

I am going to keep plugging away, if I see daily progress with some points than I know their is Hope with Gather.

reply to this comment

Carrie Marie P. Oct 9, 2009, 8:32pm EDT

I have noticed the same thing. Thanks for link at Squidoo. I'll have to check your posts out. :)

Linda M. Oct 9, 2009, 10:34pm EDT

Enjoy Squidoo, Carrie! It is a lot different than Gather... but I call it all "content writing" these days. I lost my job a year ago so content writing is taking on new importance. The thing is, I earn more on other sites... but I LOVE Gather - always have - and wish that the economics of my situation could allow me to spend more time here.

reply to this comment

vickey w Oct 9, 2009, 11:20pm EDT

I have noticed too, how hard it is to get points.... Several have posted that we dont get points for commenting anymore... just on writting articles... etc...so I am thinking why, do I bother taking the time to comment....
I am thinking of not commenting and just going to articles , viewing the article and leaving a rating... It would be alot faster... and going elsewhere... I would miss some of the people but I need to try and make some money...

Linda M. Oct 9, 2009, 11:55pm EDT

Woah... I never realized there were no points for commenting these days! I will have to experiment with that to see what effect commenting might or might not have. If there are no comment points that will seriously change the way Gather works to help people connect.

reply to this comment

d2the4 .. Oct 9, 2009, 11:45pm EDT

I find it frustrating to spend so much time here for so few points. Does anyone play games over at VideoSquares.com? The points come pretty fast there, but I don't know if they're good about sending out payments as I haven't ordered any rewards yet.

Linda M. Oct 10, 2009, 5:10am EDT

I've never heard of VideoSquares. I'll check it out.

reply to this comment

Tanya P. Oct 10, 2009, 2:18am EDT

This article was written to explain the changes made to the points system back in June:

Gather Updates Points Program

This group was made for posting articles that should help us understand how to bring in readership and up our points, based on the changes made:

Earn More Points

Hope these links are helpful to you!

Linda M. Oct 10, 2009, 5:10am EDT

Thanks very much, Tanya! I very much appreciate the links!!!

Tanya P. Oct 10, 2009, 4:49pm EDT

You're welcome. Hope it helps and you start building those points again!

reply to this comment

Connie C. Oct 10, 2009, 7:46pm EDT

Check out the Friday edition of Today on Gather and you will find tips on making more points

Linda M. Oct 11, 2009, 4:12pm EDT

Thanks for the great column, Connie!

reply to this comment

Lune Wolfsong Oct 12, 2009, 9:49am EDT

Gather's all about the traffic that comes to our articles. No traffic = very, very few points. Because articles that draw search engine traffic are worth more now than they were before, I'm making the same points as I ever did, with less effort. I've actually been averaging around the same amount here monthly as I have been Squidoo, until this most recent payday when sales vaulted my Squidoo earnings a bit higher.

reply to this comment

Digital Diva S. Dec 5, 2009, 11:35pm EST

I've been here for a long time too and it is slow. Much slower than before. I don't think there is anything you can do to increase it. If you figure that out let us know.

reply to this comment

Where's all the points?

Comments: 18

Join the Conversation

You might also like

More by Linda M.