The HelpCenter™ for 11/01 - Have a Gather Question? or Need Help?

Welcome to Today's HelpCenter™ Discussion Post!

The original Gather help series -- assisting members since 2006.

Need a little help, or have a question?
Can't find something? ...or figure out how something works?

Ask other members!

Today's "Featured Question" will be published a little later this morning.

Thank You!

Thankfully this change shouldn't impact the publishing or uploading tool (hopefully). The coming update is one I'm actually looking forward to...as long as Gather took the time to get it right this time!

Good morning Berf!

Halloween is just another day for me. I used to enjoy Halloween when I lived in the city, but no one trick or treats out in the 'boonies'.  

How was yours?

Good morning Ed!

You ask a very interesting question and, coincidentally, plays a part in my upcoming "Featured Question" for today and tomorrow.

Is there something specific you are concerned about, or interested in?

In case you haven't read my comments on this subject, I'm not a fan of the program.

Ed,

Something unexpected came up today, but I will return as soon as I can (likely after 7:00pm ET) to respond to your question.

Thanks for your patience!  

Ed,

Obviously yesterday didn't work out too well for me...I'll respond to your question this morning though!

Thanks again!

Ed,

Since your question is fairly open-ended, I will likely have to split up a response across more than one comment.

First, from a participant's perspective, it will allow a writer to make up to $450.00 a month from Gather (or more, if you they are also allowed to participate under a pen name). However, their primary audience (where their wages come from) will be OUTSIDE of Gather. As a result, time spent building friendships and being social in the community will likely not be a priority or considered to be worth the time.

Also, it would be difficult to retain professional and personal integrity while ambulance chasing 'hot trends'. Almost every Socialwrite participant today (and that includes the numerous Gather staff members that have been engaging in this activity since the beginning of 2009) do not provide any content of unique value or substance. They reconstitute/compile information available elsewhere in order to ride the wave of search engine activity and bring eyeballs to Gather.

This often leads to content like this:

Many page views, with NO conversation (or very little). Some writers that approach the task as a job will do ok, as they can more easily set aside subjects they actually care about (and their integrity) in order to earn the maximum wage each month.

more…

From a community perspective, this program leads to more vacuous and duplicative content with little substance. Plus, what members experience today will only grow exponentially as additional writers are added to the program. So, look for more playboy photos, celebrity romance announcements and peephole videos coming to Gather.

In my opinion, this effort is an example of false economy. While you increase page views to the site making it appear very active, in reality the community stagnates. This is the equivalent of spending money and time advertising your dance club or fixing up the exterior to bring in more crowds but if your club is still lame, then you won't get anyone to return or stay very long. This is exactly what's happening today.

However, the coming site update may address this issue (to an extent).

There is also the conflicting missions to consider (publish content to get a lot of views, and also attract lonely people to the site to establish new friendships). These two missions work against each other in many respects.

Also, there is a significant disparity in how Socialwrite member contributions are presented on the site compared to everyone else. This pushes aside 'real' member content which also contributes to the stagnation felt in the community over the past 2 years.

I'm sorry about the delay in responding...but have I answered your question?

R B,

Good morning! ...I rarely open email notifications for new photos, so I haven't noticed the differences you mention. It is possible that there is a reason....like a caption added after the photo is published, or when publishing the member delays long enough in entering the caption and tags that the email notification is sent before the caption is finalized, OR just a glitch.

Of the options above, I would be inclined to thinks it is related to the latter two.

Have you noticed any common denominators relating to this problem?

R B,

No matter what the cause, it shouldn't be working as it is. Hence, there must be a glitch somewhere.

It would be interesting to see if timing makes a difference. For example, if you enter a caption quickly after uploading, or you allow yourself to linger on the page where you enter the caption. The problem may be dependent upon how much time it takes you to finish that page and save your caption and tags. If the email notification process is delayed, it may be able to pick up your caption....but if you linger, then it can't.

      ha ha ha

Thanks for stopping by everyone! ...I hope you're having a great weekend!!!  

I will be unavailable until approximately 7:00pm ET.

Please leave your question below, and other members will hopefully be able to help out in my absence. If not, I will respond to open inquiries and problems when I return.

Thank You!

NOTE: Due to an unexpected commitment this afternoon, I will have to publish today's "Featured Question" tomorrow.

Thank You!!

I have been away for a few hours and just returned. I'll respond to your problem shortly, and will check out your post too in case it is resolved by now.

Thanks!  

Marsha,

I would suggest the following:

Use an alternate browser and see if you have the ability to access your earnings page(s). If the alternate browser works for you, then use that browser to redeem your gift cards.

To fix the problem in your other browser, do the following:

• In the problem browser, SIGN OUT of Gather using the SIGN OUT link at the top of any page.
• Clear the browser's temporary internet files (cache and cookies).
• Sign back INTO Gather, making certain that the "keep me signed in" option is checked.

Good Luck!