Chipped Polish

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Pay equality

Posted by Lizzie on Sep-5-2008

There’s a lot of talk about women’s issues this election cycle. Thanks to Hillary Clinton, and now Sarah Palin, we’re back in the spotlight. In that vein, Congress is pressing for a revote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which failed to pass previously. McCain has come out again it:

“I am all in favor of pay equity for women, but this kind of legislation, as is typical of what’s being proposed by my friends on the other side of the aisle, opens us up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems,” the expected GOP presidential nominee told reporters. “This is government playing a much, much greater role in the business of a private enterprise system.”

I’ve recently engaged in a half-hearted IT job search - in anticipation of my eventual graduation from the Tech program. There seems to be a little available, but I’ve heard that women are not treated favorably in the IT industry. It would please me, and thousands of other women, tremendously if this actually became law. Would I know that my male counterparts were making more than me? Probably not. But this act would give me recourse should I find out about a pay discrepancy after the fact. As a woman hoping to work in a male-dominated field, I would feel just a little better knowing I had a safety net.

There was some talk that this law isn’t necessary. I beg to differ. I worked with a company (unrelated to the tech field) that cut me a mystery check. When I inquired to what the purpose of the check was, I was told that it was to make up for a pay difference between me and my male counterparts. I had no idea that the men were making that much more per hour than I was, but there was a lawsuit and the settlement agreement was that this company would pay the hourly difference to each female for whatever period of time they agreed to (I think it was 3 months, even though I’d been there for over a year at that point). I left that company not long afterward, but my eyes had been opened. The reasoning for the lower pay was that women are mothers and so are prone to miss work because of their sick children. Men, on the other hand, are more reliable and should be rewarded. Really?

At a time when a major political party has nominated a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” to be vice president, there should be no more “she should get less because she’s a mom”. This woman is seeking a job while parenting 5 children (and potentially helping parent a grandchild) so the reason listed above would apply to her and her pay should be cut significantly. Right? No. Wrong. Her husband will be able to tend to the children while she runs for office and he can tend to the children while she continues to govern Alaska (except that he’s got a full-time job plus an extra job on the side in the summer, but that’s not this issue). It’s only fair that the rest of American women enjoy the same equality in pay as the women who govern them.

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04

Experiment Failed

Posted by Lizzie in irritations, work from home 

Updated below.
I was trying to do that pay per post thing. I found a couple of different companies that offer that, so I signed up and signed up and signed up. Then I was rejected, rejected, rejected. One place didn’t bother to reject me, they just ignore me. :) Well, of course I was rejected. Chipped Polish is a baby in the blogosphere. A new beginning so to speak. No one has linked to us yet. Duh! I have another blog that has a lot more history (3 years worth!) and linkage, but I can’t bear to monetize that one. It’s very different and my readers there like it that way. So, I’ll just scratch that idea for now and go back to what I was doing before I had that bright idea.

“You are not worthy!”

I did manage to do some bloghopping the other day, looking for potential new neighbors. I have discovered that things in the money-for-blogging corner of the blogosphere are a mite different than what I’m used to. And it’s a little disconcerting, to say the least.

For instance, I ran across a blog with no comments and a very short blogroll. I was a little surprised by that because I found this blog on one of the sites that rejected me. Anyway, read the content and it was a little “meh”, so I decided to hop through to one of the blogs on her links list. At the bottom of the list was a link to instructions on how to get on her links list. Of course, I followed it. I need a little help here, can’t you see. Then my little bubble popped and that was when I really decided that blogging strictly for cash was not for me.

This blogger announced that she had a PR 5 blog, which was almost the top of the Google shebang. She then went on to say that if one had a blog that was a PR 3 or better then please contact her for inclusion on her humble links list. But if one had a blog below PR 3 don’t even bother linking her because she did not want her link seen on such a low-level blog.

WTF?

So, what would happen if someone with a new blog- like me, perhaps - were to link to her? I have no idea. But I’m 100% sure she didn’t get her PR from getting linked to for content. My other blog (non-monetized, free from ads, blah blah blah) is small, but it has a decent link score. And it gets plenty of comments. I’m sure, though, if I were a member of a particular site where it was customary to link to other members, that site would be a lot bigger. It’s not, though, because I don’t want it to be. That does sound arrogant of me, doesn’t it? I’m not ashamed, though. There used to be time in the blogosphere where links were exchanged out of courtesy and where bloggers helped their younger, less fortunate comrades get up higher in the ranks. That’s still true for portions, I suppose. That attitude, plus excellent content, helped those bloggers get higher rankings/authority/linkage. Imagine if a few of the more prominent bloggers refused to link to anyone in the beginning, or more aptly, if they didn’t have the content to draw in the readers and still refused. Ha!

Content is KING!

I have learned from the good bloggers what is most important and why being a snob gets you nowhere. For niche blogs (which this started as, but has failed miserably at) it’s important to have information that others want and in a way they can absorb. It’s not hard to copy content ideas from those guys. The harder part is taking it and putting your own mark on it. If you aren’t writing about website optimization, then find something that you’re passionate about and write about that. If I, as a passerby, fall asleep while reading what you wrote, then the Big Guys would probably suggest you rethink what you’re writing about. Yes?

I guess if you’re posting just to meet the requirements for a pay per post thing, it doesn’t really matter what your content is, as long as your PR is high. But can that really be satisfying? Isn’t it important to have organic links and regular visitors? I used to think that it was and sadly still do. I don’t think I can write without thought of pulling someone in so that they want to come back. I’m old school like that. I can’t ever imagine telling someone who’s writing I may enjoy that I won’t link to them because their PR isn’t high enough. There’s something really wrong with that attitude.

And so I have to rethink my goals here. I don’t ever want to become the kind of blogger that snubs her nose at the “lesser mortals” because of their page rank.

Update:
I want to make it clear that I did not request a link from the above mentioned blogger. I was taken aback because the blogger specifically requested that no blogs with less than a Page Rank of 3 link to that blog. It was that request that I found arrogant and snobbish- and I stand by that opinion.

I’d also like to note that my other blog has some links, but has no Page Rank. Also, that blog does link to this one. Why that is important I’m not sure, but I thought I’d clear up that misunderstanding too. I am not begging for links nor do I feel entitled to anything. I know that I have to work hard and plan to do so. This post was an observation I made as a newbie to this particular area of the blogosphere. My opinion regarding that observation hasn’t changed with this update. (Oct.13, 2007)

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    1. Does Google Page Rank Foster an Attitude of Stinginess? - eMoms at Home - The Internet Home Business Blog for Moms & Dads Said on October 4, 2007 @ 2:00 pm:

      [...] But I got to thinking recently about the whole link-loving thing. I guess sometimes I forget how hard it seems in the first few months of blogging to get attention, traffic and those coveted links. Certainly, on my “Overdue Link Love” posts I try to spread the luv around. But then I read a post today by a woman I don’t even know, named Lizzie. And it moved me. [...]

    2. Meg Meyer (2 comments.) Said on October 4, 2007 @ 11:06 pm:

      Hey Lizzie,

      No worries, girl. Write what you want, about what you want and be clear about the result you want. It’ll work itself out.

      I’ve visited some of those sites with high PR. Many of them have such crappy writing, I’ll never go back.

      Did the sites that rejected you for paid blogging mention why?

      Just curious. I know when I was a new, and impatient “professional” blogger (as opposed to one who wrote for friends & fun) it seemed like an eternity to get approved by Pay-Per-Post, but once I understood why they rejected me, I was able to do a minor fix and get in.

      If I can help you, in any way, let me know.

      Sincerely,

      Meg Meyer
      http://www.centerofmuse.com
      http://businesscoach.bellaonline.com

    3. Lizzie Said on October 5, 2007 @ 8:11 am:

      Hi, Meg!

      Thanks for coming back. :)
      I was rejected because I’m still too new. My PR is abysmal and no one’s heard of me yet. I think I was rejected by everyone except one that I found out later may or may not actually pay. :) I’m not too concerned about that though. In time, in time. I was just impatient.

      But I was just floored that someone would actually say “Don’t bother linking to me if you are below a PR 3.” Amazing! I would understand about a spammer site doing the trackback thing, or something. But to reject honest links? Bah!

      So, I’m going to stop worrying about making money (from here anyway) and concentrate on the writing.

    4. Wendy Milonas (1 comments.) Said on October 5, 2007 @ 8:20 am:

      Don’t give up! Hang in there!

      If you write quality content and build up a large amount of return traffic, then you’ll make money off of the ads on your site.

      If those other blogs and ad programs don’t want you then forget them! There are too many other good quality programs available.

      Keep on heading for your goals, please don’t let a couple shallow people/companies influence your decision.

    5. Lizzie Said on October 5, 2007 @ 10:39 am:

      Hi, Wendy!

      Thanks for taking the time to comment.

      I’m not giving up. Just rethinking. Looking more distant than “right now”, I guess. I believe I was going about it all wrong and that little incident just brought me back to reality.

      By the way, I love your site. You do excellent work. I’ll most certainly be visiting you again.

    6. Quality Content…is it worth it? | Women In Business Said on October 5, 2007 @ 10:55 am:

      [...] I’ve been reading a few posts lately about sites only linking to other sites that have great Google PR. (for those of you who are new to this whole web thing, I’ve included a glossary here) Wendy Piersall shares her opinion on that very subject here, and Lizzie shows how PR silliness can make you want to quit trying to monetize your blog here. [...]

    7. Meg Meyer (2 comments.) Said on October 5, 2007 @ 11:03 am:

      If PayPerPost is one that says you are too new - They require a 90 day history & no gaps over 7 days. It used to be 20. So, just keep a good schedule & you’ll be in there.

      I’ve had some good $$ posts from them & they pay 30 days after you post. And they have ops that don’t require PR or Alexa rank. It’s a good, regular source.

      I keep trying more monetization sites, just to see. But PPP seems to work best for where I am now.

      If you find one you like, give a gal a heads-up, k?

      Meg

    8. Lizzie Said on October 5, 2007 @ 4:42 pm:

      If you find one you like, give a gal a heads-up, k?

      Absolutely! I don’t know if any will like me yet, but I’ll definitely let you know.

    9. Neena (5 comments.) Said on October 5, 2007 @ 11:10 pm:

      Hi Lizzie,
      Welcome to the blogosphere! I feel your pain - it is definitely hard to get started. They say content is king, but perseverance is also important. Hanging in there is the hard part.

    10. Kate (1 comments.) Said on October 7, 2007 @ 9:11 am:

      Hi Lizzie, I find your blog via e-moms.

      I think it’s terrible that someone could be so rude about linking to you, after all, everyone has to start somewhere. I’ve added you to my blogroll - under writing, hope that’s ok.

    11. Lizzie Said on October 9, 2007 @ 7:51 am:

      Hi, Neena and Kate! Welcome and thanks for stopping by.

      Neena,

      I’m definitely going to keep truckin’. I’ve just rethought my goals regarding my blog.

      Kate,

      Thanks for the add! Of course it’s ok. :) I really appreciate it. I’ve added you as well.

    12. Made some money and found a new doc | Chipped Polish Said on October 12, 2007 @ 4:51 pm:

      [...] Experiment Failed [...]