I have noticed Gather is really pushing towards "popular" content, and by "popular", they seam to mean writing about pop culture and current news stand events.
So, here's my big push...
What would we all do if Michael Jackson came back from the dead, and married Miss America at the Super Bowl this weekend?
Do you think it would effect the outcome of the game?
And better yet, will Pepsi cave, and advertise anyway?
Another money pushing thought... will Phil Harris be well enough to attend the Grammy's with Caressa Cameron?
And will Beyonce win a grammy? Will Kanye jack whoever wins in place of Beyonce?
Will Taylor Swift be the youngest entertainer of the year for the awards? And will she wear red again, or blue?
And what about Carrie Underwood and her engagement... will she marry her man side by side with Michael Jackson and Miss Virginia/America?
Who do you think Simon will smack this year first on American Idol? A doppelganger of Paula, or will he go for Kara? And will the winner win a grammy next year, or will it take him a few years? Will Pants on the Ground be the breakout hit of the show?
Will Rhianna steal the show again? Or not show up? And will Chris Brown finally get the beat down he deserves?
And will Haiti have another Earthquake? But even more important... Will Jessica Simpson donate some of her shoes to the homeless in Haiti?
Will Toyota send their recalled cars over for non-mobile homes? Seems the best use for them, really.
Will Rip Torn get arrested because he was in jail and unable to send his pocket change to Haiti?
Will the government pay to have our 2009 taxes done?
Will the government give people their jobs back? Or will people still be jobless for another 6-12 months?
Will the job market ever recover, so people can afford to spend $5 on a small coffee at Starbucks? Or will all the little baristas be out of a job next?
Will Angelina Jolie marry Brad Pitt, and will Jennifer Aniston be their Old Maid of Honor?
Nail biting good times!
And the most important question of all... will I earn more than 2 points over night tonight? A year ago, I was earning $100 a month here at Gather. I haven't even been able to scrape together $25. I'm almost $10 shy of it at just over 1,000 points. And worse yet, it's taken me just over a month to get that.
So, with the lack of posting, the push for non-original, copy & paste entertainment news, and few people commenting, is it even worth the effort to be here?
I used to say it was, because I enjoyed the community itself. But, it feels like Gather has chocked the community out of the social network. I have almost 2000 friends, and it's not uncommon for my feed to sit stagnant for hours. I typically have 2-3 posts from the night before still in my morning feed.
Points are done, so quite a few people left. Content is down, pushing more people away. And Gather takes the time to post "trending tags" every day, which circle around entertainment news.
I miss the old Gather.
Let me specify- this isn't about the points. This is about having a place online that I enjoy being, and interacting. The points used to be a perk, a bonus. Now? They feel like one of the only reasons I stay.
EDITED:
Ok, honestly, every time a new "trending topic" comes to mind, I am editing, and adding crap to this article. But, aside from that, an update of sorts.
In the 30 minutes or so this has been posted, my points jumped by 5 whole points. That may seem tiny, but like I said earlier, there have been recent days where I've earned 2 points over 12 hours.
I think it's safe to say, that Gather rewards the brainless crowd followers.
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Comments: 51
I've taken to removing people from my friends list that post trending topics day in and day out. Here and there doesn't bug me, but when the same people post 10 articles a day about the same crap, and the entire article is copy & pasted... get off my feed!
There are two articles on my feed that are both excat word for word
If people posted their OWN thoughts on the matters, I doubt it would bug me as much, but it's all just mindless copy & paste now.
They won't be getting any page views from me.
OTS: Thanks for the suggestions on my article. :)
I don't look at those posts at all, either. I have even begun removing "friends" who post them, so I won't even have to see them.
I'm just getting upset that Gather has taken what was once a really good community, and turned it into crap.
I am glad that I got my lifeboat together over the past several months and know where to find many people elsewhere.
I commented frequently on what caught my eye, no just to go through and reply to comments others made.
And again, comments aren't even my point. My point is that Gather is encouraging mindless, copy & paste posts found on TMZ and Yahoo News, and it's choking the life out of regular, every day posters who talk about their lives, or things they want to do, or movies they saw.
Now? The site has just gone so far down hill :(
I'm sad that so many people have left (closed their accounts) and many others haven't signed in for months. What did Gather expect when they kept slashing and slashing the points?
There are dozens of Socialwriters, each making as much as $500 a month. That is where the cut of advertising revenue available to share with members has gone.
I read a comment by Tom some months ago saying Gather needs 5 million views per month to survive. At that time, they were getting about 1.5 million views. Do you have any idea how many of those cr*p posts would have to be published here to get that kind of activity? If they continue down that path, Gather will never be the same again.
I've made some really interesting & good friends here, and treasure that, but the site itself is just going down hill.
How's the foot been feeling this weekend?
I get overdosed with the celebrity news just from my feed, and I skip right over it. If I wanted to read an article on so-and-so's love life, I'd read the original boring article about it.
There are times I think my feed isn't working, because there won't be a new post for hours. It used to be that when I missed a day or two, I couldn't catch up, but now that's not a problem at all, because very few people post something worth reading.
I still come though, because I still like reading things written by a few people, and I've made connections with other moms here and I do enjoy that.
My grumble is this - when I write something that isn't "trending" hardly anyone comes to read it. I had a great interview with Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly which any TV buff will know as Cagney & Lacey. Not a trending topic - just two great actresses recalling old times as they prepared to perform together for the first time in years. Hardly anyone read it and I believe I had one comment. But a video of some idiot on American Idol gets hits through the roof. As a writer and a fan, I find that depressing.
Gather wants the community to have fresh content, lots of participation, readers and comments - that's what all social sites want. So if it seems they push the "trends" its because that's what people respond to. If a huge number of people on Gather starting talking about bagpipes - then bagpipes would trend - then what? We stop talking about bagpipes?
The trouble with all social sites is that it is a giant watercooler. People are going to gravitate to what everyone is talking about, be it Lady Gaga, Jay Leno or the latest celeb rumors. If you want people to write original, interesting material, then the majority of people have to read and comment on that material. It's a two way street.