A Difficult Decision: Six Years Later, It’s Time to Change

Friends, readers, and accidental internet tourists,

It is with a heavy heart and sober mind, I make the following official and permanent. I will no longer publish articles with the Yahoo network. My six-year body of work will remain available at my old account and I will continue to write and publish mainly here on the old blog.

There were many factors weighed before coming to this conclusion. This in not a decision that was rushed. It started back in May 2010 when Yahoo bought Associated Content (AC). The assimilation of the old AC into the Yahoo network took from then until now and was done in incremental steps. The changes along the way made Yahoo a site that no longer fits my publishing needs. We have grown apart.

Associated Content was a platform where any writer, with anything to say, could publish their work in a supportive environment. Yahoo changed that. They are interested solely in work that aligns with advertisements. It’s a simple case of following the money trail.

My writing was never about ad-alignment. The type of articles I write are either too introspective to find ads to fit them or are humor/satire for which Yahoo has no appreciation. Frankly, AC had no interest in them either, at least not from a monitization aspect, but AC tolerated them and provided a easily accessible platform with good exposure. In my opinion, Yahoo has reverted to site with such tight controls, there is just no sense in my continued use of their platform.

Other changes are just plain annoying. For example, the ability to instantly publish an article for which I was requesting no up-front payment was a bonus with AC. Yahoo is requiring all articles, regardless of payment terms, to go through their “editorial” review process unless you go through some bizarre qualification process of obtaining a certain rank within their contributing masses. I use “editorial” in the loosest sense and with quotation marks because they provide no editorial support. Yahoo content managers simply check the article for viability and give it a pass/fail.

Then there are the technical bugs that remain unaddressed and which make publishing with Yahoo a chore. For example, hyperlinks put in by the author are regularly mangled and even removed by their software before the article reaches the content reviewer. The article is summarily rejected for having dead hyperlinks. It is simply easier to write here, where I know I control the finished product and have more flexibility in the final format. Yahoo still doesn’t support simple HTML code like tables which I find handy on occasion.

I could go on, but I let it be sufficient to say, “We have grown apart.” The spirit of the site that was AC, the spirit which appealed to me, drew me in, and gave me 6 years of satisfying publishing experiences, is gone. The final, symbolic act was the leaving of Luke Beatty, AC’s founder, from Yahoo’s management. Though the changes that make Yahoo no longer a fit for me were already in place, Luke’s resignation was the virtual wax seal on the document of change. The spirit of the old AC site is finally and officially gone and now, so am I.

I am grateful for the opportunities AC, and to some extent Yahoo, afforded me during the last six years. It helped me find my voice as a writer. It helped me make contact with other writers, many I consider my friends to this day. It helped me reach out to a broad audience and interact with readers of all stripes. I will continue to nourish those connections I made. I will just do it outside the confines of Yahoo.

So now begins theBarefoot 2.0 wherein I concentrate on the writing and not the trappings and politics of the site that simply distract from the content’s message. I even have the skeleton of a book in gestation. Here’s to learning when to say when and knowing how to move forward gracefully. My greatest solace is knowing that my readers can still choose to enjoy my writing here or where ever life brings us. We’ll move forward together to hopefully better writing to come.

P.S. The only bitter taste left in my mouth is the forums. I guess because when I found the AC forums, they were little-used. I jumped in with both feet and energized that community. When I started using the forums, multiple people independently contacted me to express their appreciation for my participation, humor, and helpfulness, a trend that continued until my last post, but which is not appreciated by the new owners.

I feel responsible for making the forums the vibrant, fun community it was. Sure, I had my moments of deliberate trollishness, but those were calculated responses to obvious malcontents and trolls. I still take credit for ridding the site of at least two particularly nasty personalities who disrupted the harmony of the community. Under the new regime, I am told that I am the disruptive influence. I’ve seen the same accusation made toward a few others who did nothing than freely contribute their time to mentor new members and answer the many question left moldering by the paid staff. Frankly, that hurts.

I poured my heart and soul into the community forums and there is no clearer sign that it is time to move on than when the place you nurtured tells you your services are no longer required. Being able to read between the lines, I can see that the current staff is too busy trying to keep their jobs among the hundreds of layoffs Yahoo has initiated, that they are unable to actually do their jobs. That is my one and only sour grape. The rest of my time with AC/Yahoo was a positive and productive experience.

To Say, “Thanks!” an E-Scavenger Hunt with a Real Prize

Here’s the deal. I want to say, “Thank you.” Thank you for reading. Thank you for writing. Thank you for watching. Thank you for hearing. And most importantly, thank you for listening, really listening, and responding. So how do I say, “Thank you?” With a gift certificate, of course.

But, as much as I’d like, I can’t give everyone a gift certificate. So join me in a game…a scavenger hunt…an e-scavenger hunt. Here is what I have in mind:

1. Number your answers to the 10 or 11 questions below.
2. Email your numbered answers to “teebarefoot at gmail dot com” before 11:59 PM CDT 30 September 2011.
3. Profit!

Sounds pretty easy because it is.

The Rules

The winner will be the person who answers the most questions correctly. If there is more than one winner, I’ll select randomly from the winning entries. One entry per email address, period. If I find you spoofing, you’re disqualified. Simple? Simple. The prize is a $50 gift certificate to SpreadShirt.com. You can use it in my SpreadShirt store, any of the thousands of SpreadShirt stores, or even design your own swag.

If there is a huge response to this game, I reserve the right to award more prizes if I feel like it or am drunk. The more winners, the more likely I am to give more prizes. So spread the word! Unlike other contests where more competitors means you’re less likely to win, this game is the opposite. The more winners there are, the more likely I am to award more prizes. Awarding additional prizes is totally at my discretion.

What you basically need to know are two URLs, my Yahoo page and my YouTube page. All the answers can be found in a video or written article at one of those two sites. I even broken the questions into two categories for you. The questions start off easy and get progressively harder. So good luck.

Here are the questions & clues
Videos @ YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/theBarefoot)
1. What is the name of my YouTube Channel?
2. In a video entitled Are you for real? I tell you my family name is from what geographical area?
3. In the video Lights, Camera, Non-action a pop-up annotation tells you what video editing software I use. What the name of that software?
4. According to one of my videos, if you wanted to donated $10 to the Red Cross, what word would you text and to what number would you send it?
5. 48 seconds into Word of the Week Wednesday: Moons I make a reference to a movie. What is the name of that movie?

Writings @ Yahoo (http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/14482/thebarefoot.html)
6. According to 33 Annoying Expressions that Killed Our Conversation, what two things will I do before I “agreeing to disagree?”
7. In the article Five Movies You Can Quote in Everyday Situations I reveal my favorite movie. What is the title of my favorite movie and what is the name of the leading actor or actress of that movie?
8. True or false? Driving with your pickup truck’s tailgate down improves your gas mileage. (Hint: The correct answer is in an article I wrote on gas saving tips.)
9. What is the name of the last check writer on earth?
10. According to Meeting My Maker & Buying a Pasta Maker & Fire, Lots of Fire what is the basis of Capitalism?

Bonus/Tie-Breaker
What is the full name of my imaginary institute? (Hint: I’ve used it in my writings, my videos, and even on a tee-shirt which I’ve worn in several videos.)

Employees and family members of The Barefoot mumble mumble Institute are ineligible.
Remember, the contest ends 11:59pm CDT 30 September 2011. Your entry needs to be received at “teebarefoot at gmail dot com” before then. If you can’t decode that email address, well, that’s really the first question, isn’t it?

Good luck!

The YouTube video introducing this contest. Chances are, you came to this blog post from the video. There isn’t anything in the video that will help unless you are unable to decode the cryptic email address. In the video, the email address for your contest entry is spelled out with “@” and “.” and other fancy symbols.

I’ve disallowed comments on this post to protect the integrity of the contest. Thanks for understanding. If you’d like to comment, please send me a Tweet @theRealBarefoot.

Yahoo Contributor Network – Publishing Options

Here are the various rights and payment options you may select when publishing with Yahoo Contributor Network (YCN). This at-a-glance matrix¹ should quickly clarify any questions you may have about publishing times, rights, etc. If you are new to YCN, your first three articles will be reviewed no matter what options you select. The following applies to your forth article and beyond. Note: ALL YCN content that remains on the site is eligible for performance or “per click” payment regardless of rights or other payments you may receive.

Payment→ / Rights↓	Upfront (plus performance) Pay	Performance Payments Only
Exclusive	Publishes after review4 All rights transfer to YCN Distribution is automatic2	This combination is dumb Always ask for upfront w/ Exclusives All rights transfer to YCN Distribution eligibility is automatic2
Non-exclusive	Publishes after review4 You retain rights including re-publishing Distribution eligible2	Publishes w/o review You retain all rights Distribution eligible2
Display Only	Invalid combination YCN does not pay upfront for previously published work	Publishes w/o review You retain all rights Distribution ineligible Can edit anytime Can delete anytime3

¹This matrix does not apply to items submitted under the News template. All news is reviewed regardless of the options you choose.
²Distribution outside the YCN network is the sole discretion of YCN. You will receive a small payment if your work is selected for sale.
³You will lose any pending payments.
⁴Review times (other than news) vary, but should not exceed 2 weeks. News is usually reviewed within 24 hours.

Hopefully, this clarifies the publishing options. You may also review an expanded tutorial of this information in a companion video at YouTube.

No Rest for the Wicked and I’m as Wicked as They Come

On paper, it looks like I have a month to add two new features to a software application at work. In reality, I have four or five days. There is another project looming that will require my full attention starting Thursday or, if I’m lucky, after the Memorial Day break. No worries. I have a magic keyboard that always writes perfectly compiled software on the very first attempt. You believe that, right? Would you like to purchase this bridge?

That introduction is simply to let you know that work will not let me be away. The conundrum is, my wife wants to get away. She wants – brace yourself – to spend time with her mother-in-law. I know! Crazy, right? Who wants to spend time with their mother-in-law? In my wife’s case, she does have a spectacular mother-in-law. My mother happens to live six hours away in Arkansas.

Being the kind, loving, generous, kindhearted, unselfish, altruistic, thesaurus-owning, husband I am, I’ve agreed to drive the twelve hour round-trip just to drop her off. There were three conditions. One, I get to spend the night so I’m not too tired. Two, I get to spend a little time with my mom during the lay-over. Three, there are no guarantees I’ll be back to pick her up. OK, that last one I just made up…in my imagination…my fertile, fertile, imagination. Give me a moment to compose myself. I’m having a tearful moment with my imagination.

Ah, sorry, I’m better now. So, where was I? Oh, yes, my wife will get to spend three weeks with the best female role model over 70 in the world, soaking in family stories and sage wisdom, and I will get to spend the next three weeks as an over-worked bachelor with zero bachelor benefits.

I’m not making any promises, but I may have some surprises for her when she returns. If I work it into my busy schedule, of course, I’ll blog about it and make a video or two.

Speaking of videos, I didn’t have the time or constitution to vlog today. I’ll catch up when I return Sunday or Monday. Watch for them on my YouTube channel. I was inspired and able to write an little piece and publish it on Associated Content today. It’s entitled Meeting My Maker & Buying a Pasta Maker & Fire, Lots of Fire. It’s an imagined conversation with God, wherein the Almighty divulges the meaning of life to your humble servant. I hope you enjoy it.

Stay safe and I will attempt the same.

Yahoo! Buys Associated Content

Yahoo! bought Associated Content. These are my thoughts on what it means for the average Associated Content member (content producer).

Link to video at Youtube.

Good luck to us all and may God have mercy on our souls. According to Yahoo itself, they plan to close the AC web site after the 3rd quarter.

Associated Content Tip of the Day: Web Writing Ground Rules

Here’s today’s web writing tip/article. Web Writing: The Ground Rules that Make a Good Web Article
This is what makes a good web article be it for AC, Mashable, or even C-Net magazine.

Web content has rules. Let’s get right to this. The primary rules of web writing are:

Titles must be search-engine friendly
A well-constructed article title in cyberspace means the difference between 10 people stumbling on it and 10,000 people actively finding it. Good titles include key words and key phrases. They have low competition, but still use common terms that the average information seeker would type into a search engine. Don’t use Oryctolagus cuniculus when you can use “rabbit.”

This and at least five more rules for web articles. These are the rules. There are no exceptions. Give it a read.

Associated Content Officially Announces Daily Page View Updates

We enter a new epoch of the Associated Content page view beta era. Over the last two years, AC has steadily decreased the time between page view updates until it is now happening daily. Technically, it’s been happening daily for a couple of weeks now, but in a move very unlike AC, they waited to make the official announcement until they we’re sure they could pull it off.

Here is the message AC sent out Thursday, 5 March 2009:

Associated Content now updates every Content Producer’s estimated page views on a daily basis. This means you’ll have consistently up-to-date information about how your content is performing. This is something our Community has been requesting for a long time, and we’re thrilled to be able to offer it to you.

Keep in mind that these numbers are only estimations until we’ve had a chance to verify them. We verify all page views at the end of the month before processing Performance Payments, and adjust the numbers when necessary. If you have questions about changes made to your page views, please send a message to admin@associatedcontent.com. And if there is an issue that prevents page views from updating daily, we will resolve it as quickly as possible.

We hope you’ll enjoy receiving daily insight into the popularity of the content you publish on AC!

Now you can watch your article’s progress in near-real time. What will you do with this information? Make a graph? Put it in a spreadsheet? (You’d do that with the PV Report Converter, by the way.) Twitter it?

Honestly, I think it’s a nice feature/service. It shows that AC listened and responded to their CP community. I just don’t obsess over page view counts as much as some, I guess. I like that when I do check, I can be confident that I’m seeing yesterday’s numbers. I don’t have to look around for “date of last update” and do math in my head. That’s cool, but it doesn’t make a difference in what or when I’m paid for those views.

So, whether you’re a compulsive count checker or a slacker like me, we can both enjoy the new daily updates. Now if, after two years of having the page view program, AC could just stop calling it a beta, I’d be even happier.

Associated Content to Start User Verification

As is becoming standard practice on my sites, Associated Content will be offering, nay, insisting that you verify your account via phone or text message. Their blog post, User Verification Launching Next Week, says this will start next week. It also outlines some pretty stiff penalties for those who don’t verify their accounts. The stiffest is losing all your bonus money.

Don’t let this slide folks. Read the entire blog post and beat the rush.

Associated Content Tip of the Day 26 Feb 2000: Promotion Techniques

Carol Bengle Gilbert dropped a great resource today with her Tutorial: Guide to the Basics of Content Promotion. Not only are the contents of the article spot on, the construction of the article is a template for effective web writing. You could read just the first paragraph and walk away with important knowledge.

Content promotion starts with the first strike of the computer key. Write content that facilitates promotion, and it will promote itself. The guide will show you how to make sure your content is doing its own self-promotion as well as introduce you to some helpful content promotion
tools to give your article a boost.

You’ll have to click the link to read the rest of all her great tips. My recommendation is read it, bookmark it, and read it about once a month. This is the kind of advice that never gets old.

Blog Spring Cleaning: Maintenance and Other Things

I just completed some long over-due work on the blog. Nothing exciting, just stuff that needed doing. It’s getting a little busy on the sidebars so I wanted to take a moment and point out a few things.

1. I joined Twitter. My five latest Tweets are on the left. I know you’re blown away. You can see my full profile/tweet-list by clicking the “I’m a Twit. Follow at Your Own Peril.” link on the left. I told Michy it was a bad idea for the world to be exposed to my unfiltered brain like this.
2. I joined Facebook. I didn’t include any sidebar links though.
3. I added RSS feeds for the blog to the right sidebar. Everyone wants a different option for following so, if you like RSS, there’s your monkey.
4. I changed the graphic for the subscribe feature. To the person who unsubscribed citing “Too many updates,” come on! I only post here 3 or 4 times a week. Compared to 99% of the blogs out there, I’m a pathetic loser. Won’t you come back? I have candy.
5. To my 3 new subscribers, “Welcome!”. You know who you are.
6. The Plagiarism Today link on the right is unchanged, but worth mentioning because it’s a great little blog.
7. The blogroll got a haircut. There were a lot of dead links in it and I added some blogs I found via Twitter. Note the links to John Cleese and Levar Burton. Burton is droning on about giving up smoking. I quit drinking last September and you don’t hear me pissing and moaning about it. Of course, you’ll probably pry my pipe out of my cold, dead, cancerous hands, but still, man up, Levar!
8. I shrank my RSS feed from Associated Content down to the last 5 article just because the blog layout is getting too busy. Still, I appreciate everyone who reads my rantings at AC. Y’all are the best. Rodney recently told me he like my off-the-cuff stuff the better than my polished pieces. When I pumped out Stupidity About Town and saw the comment responses, I had to agree with him.
9. I trimmed the Associated Content blog page down to just the add-on tools list and the tips articles. Give it a look because the new Payment Helper is there and it’s tax time. If you have a good tips article about AC, drop the URL in the comments of the AC page here and I’ll look into adding it to the list.
10. I put my new, cool AC badge on the left sidebar. Everyone at AC is calling this the udder badge, but I’m in the top 1000 again so I put it on the fridge.
11. I’ve noted that my HTML for Dummies series has been well received. Footnotes, Superscripts, and Hard Spaces is getting the lion’s share of the hits. If you have specific questions or would like to see a particular topic covered, just leave it in a comment.
12. For the person who asked about the top-right image and why it says, “Bob Says Slack Off,” You’ll just have to click the blessed head of Bob and explore. The Church of the Subgenius welcomes all. (Not for the faint of heart or anyone under 18.)

Other than adding a few new images, that’s the spring cleaning. Hope all is well on your street.