What's Up With Helium?

Censorship or Changes: Helium.com Must Take Responsibility for Minor Members.

As we explored in the previous post, Helium.com is a wonderful place to write to a variety of topics. There are a myriad of titles to post to organized through a large selection of interests. And while thousands of writers post multiple articles, stories, poems, reviews, etc. every day, you will find that some of them are including borderline language and unsuitable subject matter with not-so-admirable overtones. Unsuitable for whom? For adolescents.

Yes, Helium.com is a site that allows membership and full privileges to minors. What this means is that either Helium.com or the member authors should provide some sort of self-censorship or policy with respect to what they post or what is posted. Granted, Helium.com employees have been known to remove a posting now and again for a variety of reasons, however, it does also post questionable titles to its member base in pursuit of submissions that, simply based on the topic, give tacit approval for purely adult material. While we are not referring to outright offensive material necessarily, it is worth pointing out that much material is getting onto the site that is not objectively suitable for young readers/writers.

As we covered previously, in order receive the full benefits of the Helium.com program, authors read the postings of others and rate them. What is not being carefully weighed or accounted for is that young people may be offered unsuitable content to read and rate. So what should be done?

One solution may be to allow the site to continue to pursue a broad demographic membership base, but develop some sort of pre-posting screening process to weed out submissions using what may be considered "adult-only" material, such as articles on sadomasochism, lewd and lascivious behavior, unadulterated lust and concerted pursuits of adulterous encounters. In this solution, Helium.com would also have to censor itself somewhat on the topics and titles it is soliciting. Or at least be sensitive to what it offers up, given the presence of minors.

Another solution might be to retract or change the membership rules and move the under 18 membership to a new, but similar, site that is either just for them or structured as mentioned above in the first solution.

Creating a Helium.com site for minor members is actually preferred by this author. It will provide a host of benefits. Not only will it provide a writers site for a specific demographic (13 to 18), it could offer very specific topics and titles that address every day and common themes for today's teens. As an outlet to express themselves on topics very close to them, it allows those in the same demographic to read what others like them are going through and allows the group to share experiences and perspectives - without having to wade through the ramblings of hundreds of responses by adults on each topic.

This solution would also offer a very specific demographic to advertisers looking to reach the teen audience. Helium.com could stand to benefit from such a site, should it catch on in huge numbers.

Last, it raises other segmentation opportunities for Helium.com.  Could/should they segment their Website offering in other ways?  Should there be, for example, a site for proven and proficient writers that, through some achievement or certification process, has been granted a Helium Gold or Helium Silver status? Would it be better to offer Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced level opportunities to members so they could be with their writing peers? Would this in turn help Helium.com gain more visibility to higher-quality writing as an offering to outside content bidders? Would it provide an opportunity to offer writing improvement services or Webinars to those looking to become better writers?

There are many things to consider with respect to how Helium.com should conduct itself and what it should offer in the future, but regarding our main point here, the site should consider corrective action against hosting unsuitable content for minors. 

It's just the responsible thing to do.

What's Up With Helium?

What is Helium.com and Why Does it Matter?

In the age of the Internet, the enigma that is at once a global library, newspaper, television, radio, messaging device and virtual amusement park, you see the reality and result of broad "other-worldly" access. Readers, writers, designers, producers, entertainers, buyers, sellers, hobby enthusiasts and content managers are empowered to define, build, launch and discover a plethora of possibilities or opportunities. 

People driven by each (or many) of these areas of interests typically converge in the form of "like-minded" on-line communities.  And for those connected to the new age publishing industry, it is no different. One such convergence and community is a Website called Helium.com, the site this blog is dedicated to cover.

In its highest, most altruistic form, Helium.com is an enabler of the written word to inform, educate, inspire and entertain. The volume of scribing it captures empowers its second level of being—a publisher for authors and a provider of content to business constituents.

As a publisher, Helium.com hosts articles, poetry, features, reviews, expressions and opinions on a variety of topics, products and themes from its member base of contributors. As a content provider, it offers two core services: an enormous library of content on a large variety of topics for which other publishers may negotiate rights, and it offers a platform for content seekers to request submissions from writers on specific topics of interest.

"Helium is a site for writers to share their knowledge and skills with the general public," offers M. J. Joachim, an avid Helium.com contributor since 2007 with just under 300 entries posted. "It is a community of people who work together to make the  world a better place through the words they express and share. Ultimately, for a writer, Helium.com is whatever you want it to be," she continued.

One of the greatest benefits of Helium.com, from a writer's perspective, is the enabling Web platform that allows writers to do what writers aspire to do—write and share their writing with the public. 

Writers select from a variety of channels and topics easily accessible for review on the site. They submit their entry and, in an instant, see their efforts posted to the site. But there are a couple of added bonuses for lovers of the craft - community feedback and the possibility of cash earnings.

The community rating/feedback feature allows other members to subjectively review and rank a written piece against another entry for the same topic. The result is a linear, numerical ranking that represents the communities collective voice on how the entry compares to the other submissions. Writers are encouraged and incented to conduct ratings often, but they cannot rate their own entry. Of their own writing, they often find one of their pieces ranked first on one topic and 578th on another. 

The  number of entries on a topic varies depend on the number of items submitted for that topic. And while the inner-workings of how the rating scores are computed is not crystal clear to many, empirically, the system lets writers know how others perceive their work vs. the group of topic entries. Upon receiving the ranking result, or non-verbal feedback, writers have the option of "leapfrogging" or reworking their entry and submitting a revision to the ranking community for consideration. If metric-based, communal feedback is a gift, Helium members have numerous presents awaiting them. But, at the end of the day, some are in it for pay.

An additional benefit to writers is the possibility of making a few dollars for their efforts. For the casual contributor, it might mean upwards of $10 per month. But for the voracious contributor, it could mean hundreds. The volume of writing pieces submitted by a writer each month equates to a certain monthly writing level (depicted by a number of "stars"). Likewise, the number of ratings a member completes equates to a member rating level. 

Writers are compensated by Helium.com for their volume of monthly content contributions and the pay rate is determined by the writers writing level. But a writer must maintain a minimum of one monthly rating star to receive the monthly allocation. All entries, over time and outside of monthly tracking, get compensated based on the number of page views it receives. Helium.com also offers periodic writing contests with multiple titles under one specific topic for prize money. In addition, it frequently offers special titles that will award a monetary prize for the top selected entry.

All this is very interesting for writers and content seekers, but what is it about this Web-based publishing technology, and the writer-centric community around it, that makes this site matter?

Why Helium Matters

Ultimately, this site matters and makes a difference because it is accessible and non-preferential. This site is for everyone. It is not discriminate. There is no separation or hierarchy driven by the site or its employees related to writer experience, outside achievement or success, and the site itself does not determine - or categorize by - writing quality. From the established novelist, to the professional journalist, to the English teacher, to the student and all amateur writers, anyone can become a member and contribute content. It creates a level playing field for all who partake in the writing craft. 

"Helium matters because writers and writing matters," suggests Joachim. "People are meant to be in communion with one another. We are social beings. Even though we might work alone, we still rely on each other the the writing community as a whole."

To learn more about Helium.com and what it has to offer, visit www.helium.com.

 

"What's Up With Helium" Blog Introduction

Welcome.

This weekly blogspot is dedicated to the writer's community and Website of Helium.com.

Here you will find musings, factoids, tidbits, rants, helpful hints, opinions, praise, doubts and support relating to one of the more interesting and robust – yet at times peculiar – writer's communities available on-line—Helium.com.

If you have not yet engaged the site, you should to give it a test drive. As a writer, you will appreciate the banquet of topics that await your voice and talents.

If you are a current or former member, you'll want to check in on this blog from time to time for a "What's Up with Helium" update to keep track of the latest scoops, experiences, challenges and opportunities. 

Why? Because you have an opportunity to be a contributor to this space. 

Spattering coverage and needle-drop perspectives from this blog would constitute a weak attempt at this task and provide little service. In order to cover the Helium site, community and activities with a broad brush and a deep dive, we need to do this together. 

Share your thoughts and let us publish as a blended voice for/with/to/at/about/ the writer's community to which we are linked.  

Got a topic that should be covered here? If so, please submit via the "Comment" tool, or write to dantedemiura@yahoo.com and include "Helium" in the subject line.

Thank you for your participation and support.  

Up Next:  What is Helium.com and why does it matter?  (Coming soon)