I'm starting to suspect there's a new cheapo 'hamburger' writing tool available. As you may remember, at contentBoss we collect and analyze articles from pretty much all the major article directories using our inhouse tools. What we've noticed recently is an upswing in heavily-footprinted material that bears the same class of syntax errors as stuff produced by 'thebestestspinnerizer'. The articles trend to be quite short, between 300 and 400 words or so, and generally fall into a few main categories, such as 'How to...' or '3 Top Tip to...' (fill in the blanks). We're guessing its some kind of cheap templating system, and it must be commercially available because of the large spread of authors. The footprint from this stuff is simply gigantic - even though it's all spun (spun badly, I should point out). There are syntactically equivalent 'giveaway' blocks of text running throughout the articles which is what alerted us to it in the first place, and the search engines must be having a good old belly laugh at whoever is trying to get this stuff indexed. What it does mean, I guess, is that there will soon be another rash of 'hamburger' writers, offering 300 word articles for $1 or less. Just thought you'd like to know, seeing as there are lots of threads on the forum about trying to RAISE price per article. BTW, if anyone has any idea what the tool is called, shout out loud - I could do with a laugh this am.
What does that have to do with attempting to raise prices? If it is the crap you described it has no impact on real writing. In short the ones going for drivel like that would never have purchased real articles anyway.
To raise prices you have to provide a reason to purchasers, and that usually means establish a price break, based primarily on quality. Every new entrant into the category of 'purchaser' will need to be so educated that the quality gap exists, because otherwise the temptation will be to start out trying the cheapos, and either work their way up the food chain or quit in disappointment. I should know, I used to buy a *lot* of articles. If you truly believe that the bottom end of the market doesn't affect your end, why are you so keen to start some kind of article union, and set minimum prices, and such like? Just curious. BTW, I know what the program is now, but as no one seems to be interested aside from you Kravester, I'll keep it quiet.
Ah, You finally got that one Content Boss, that is one I mentioned a month ago. I was invited to test 4 weeks ago. And now it has been out on the market by the same person Jon Leger, who made tbs program. There are 17 standard templates, that constantly change in wording each time. Most of the titles start with "how to" or "the three best ways to". Then you just fill in the blanks, most of the articles are short 300-400 words. The original takes a person with able fingers under 4 minutes. Then there are options to make more of these simplistic articles. This is I said could be used against cheap content buyers, with then a 10 minute quality adjuster. This would satisfy them. That is why I said the red sea has already parted, and the untrained writers and untrained buyers could easily both be washed away. --------hopes this helps----------
Yep, DYA, see what you meant now. We only spotted it because of the gigantic footprints. Anyone using that tool might as well be wearing clown shoes. Personally, I'm afraid it will INCREASE the quantity of burger joes, not decrease it...
Content Boss: You are correct, but think the complete opposite. Buyers of the lowest priced content are also uneducated. That could mean, firing it back would result in extra red "sloppy joe" exploiters. They, also will never be educated enough to realize any form of value, that a higher quality of writing provides.
Watching this market for a couple of years, I noticed that prices are converging in two different directions. The Cheap articles are getting cheaper than ever. Now with $1, tomorrow you'll find a $0.2 writer. The expensive articles are ever getting expensive. Quality blogs are looking for higher quality articles. There is competition and they want to be the best and attract quality readership.
I read you post with some interest. Didn't respond because I had no input. I see these tools as both good and bad for real writers - the education of buyers becomes both easier and harder. Easier because it doesn't take a grammarian or even native English speaker to see the difference between the crap they produce and something well written. Harder because so many are playing the Google game of striving for more content and not caring about quality as long as it's indexed. In the long run, I don't think it truly impacts the "professional writers" as the folks who would use this tool are generally not going to take the time to quality adjust. It could become interesting if "professional writers" ever embraced these tools and really took the time to correct/edit.
"I noticed that prices are converging in two different directions." Omar, excellent point. I have noticed this pattern emerging as well over the last couple of months. and I finally managed to put 2 and 3 together over the weekend. My feeling is, the convergence is between spinners and human writers. I had the pleasure of watching contentboss in action a couple of days ago, and the results are nothing short of spectacular, imo. They are basically generating articles at 20 cents each. My peers on the other hand, have been steadily increasing their prices, knowing full well that good original content is in short supply. In the long run, contentboss and other similar spinners will single-handedly eliminate all mediocre and one-trick pony writers out of the market. mark my words.
You are right on this. Both Contest Boss and I saw the means to an ends on the horizon. Forget the other article spinners, as I have proven above their limited use. However I have an added dimension, which I am not going to reveal here. I am sure Content Boss will contact me if interested, that will add in another unique factor in ruling above anything a normal lower end writer can produce. Plus it will be ideal for not flooding the market, with sheer multiples, but with individuality. I have tested it on a semi-manual/machine basis. All I can say is look out writers that do not want to take writing seriously, as a profession. Their days are already numbered. If i combine my extra ingredient with a powerhouse like Content Boss, future unskilled writers will not enter until they can properly write. Targeted goal: Get better pay recognition and rates for those learning, and those truly believing they are underpaid. It will become a true two-party system, but with the bottom at a good pace being washed away. Restoring dignity to writers that deserve it is my intention.