AC Strips Page Views

I sometimes write for Associated Content (AC). I’m not the most prolific writer, for sure. I’ve been there since December of last year and I’ve got 9 articles up (I think). So this last fiasco at AC hasn’t really affected me too much. Still, it’s an interesting development and something that should be watched very carefully.

Apparently when AC updated the Page Views (PVs) the last two weeks they somehow miscalculated. Somewhere along the line they decided to give many Content Producers (CPs) double the amount they actually received. They say they noticed this error when they were getting ready to do bonus pay outs this week. That resulted in many of the most prolific writers on the site losing hundreds of thousands (combined) in page views and who knows how many dollars. Of course, the forums are on fire right now.

There are some allegations of lying. Some CPs feel that AC lied about the snafu to save themselves some big bucks. After all, AC’s PR is getting pretty high so articles published there are in the top two or three pages in search results. That means that more people are going to click on those articles and more CPs are going to get a lot more PVs. And since the PV bonus is based on ad placement and clicks, that’s where the money comes in. The PV bonus is still in beta and so AC says they can take away PVs whenever they feel like it. How convenient that they would take away PVs when CPs start really making money. Of course, no one that is insinuating nefarious dealing at AC can prove it. All they know is that yesterday they had 100,000 page views and today they have 20,000 (not real numbers). That’s money down the drain.

Combine the stripped page views with the fact that AC seems to be going away from upfront payments- and have, in fact, changed their FAQ to state upfront payments aren’t usual – it looks like a lot of really good writers are going to be heading for the hills. Soon AC will be no better than any other PTW site that only pays based on page views and ad clicks (Helium jumps right to mind as an example). I don’t see how that can benefit the company as a whole in the end. They lose the really good CPs to the kiddies writing for pennies. Bah! Who needs it?

Since I’ve been sick I haven’t had much interest in writing articles simply because I have issues keeping focused. The last couple I’ve submitted have be for PV bonus only and haven’t really made squat (though I can say I’ve made more at AC than at Helium doing the same thing). I’m currently looking at other avenues for making money online. I am very disappointed to see AC going down the tubes like this, though. I was really hoping this company would remain legit and offer a steady income for folks like me. I can’t say for sure that AC will go down the drain, but it’s certainly not looking good right now.

Hopefully they can fix this PV snafu and calm the waters over there- and maybe even make upfront payments usual again. If that doesn’t happen, oh well. The great thing about Ye Ole Internet is that there’s always some way to makes pennies without leaving home. It’s just a matter of pinning it down before the well runs dry.

Technorati Tags: AC , content writing , AC strips pvs