Edited to add: both sites have changed their payment model from pay per thousand views to Google AdSense's revenue share.
In an earlier post here on Persona Paper, I wrote about upcoming changes to Writedge and Daily Two Cents. I said that I welcome the plan to change themes and that I look forward to it (it was a long time coming, IMHO).
But changing themes also means more work since writers who used videos on their Daily Two Cents and Writedge articles will now be forced to move these videos unless they don't mind losing them.
The Hassle and Inconvenience of Moving Videos
That's 1 reason to feel disappointed (yup, still not done moving the YouTube videos from my posts there. Still have a lot more posts to get through, so am glad to be making a bit of progress. It's also good that at least we get a bit more time to do this since they're planning to change themes on the 23rd of March 2015), but it's not all.Another Reason to Feel Disappointed With Writedge and Daily Two Cents
I just found out that they've already decided which theme they're planning to implement on the 2 sites. It's called the Hot News Viral theme, and I can't say that I'm all that fond of it at all.Actually, out of all the 3 choices, this was the one that I disliked the most (no offense meant to anyone, just my personal preference/opinion).
I know I'm not the only one who doesn't like this theme though since there were votes for the other 2 themes as well. It just so happened that this one won :-(.
Some of the Things to Dislike About the Hot News Viral Theme
Note: this is based on the preview of the theme that I saw here http: //demo.mythemeshop. com/s/?theme=HotNews.- No navigation bar or menu links - this refers to links to the other pages on the site. For example, on Persona Paper, at the top of the page, you can see links to "home", "rules", etc
- Fake infinite scroll feature - already wrote a post about this here on Persona Paper, so let's not get into that now. LOL
- No footer section - by this, I mean the columns that appear before the copyright section. You can put text (like disclosures and disclaimers) or links here. For example, on Persona Paper, you can see "site links", "ideology" and "legal" on its footer section
- Search bar - I don't know if this can be moved, but its current location is at the bottom of the site right before the footer section. Usually, you see search boxes at the top of the page, right? For example, the Persona Paper search box is located on top of the webpage
- No read more link on the "stories" and "other stuff" categories on the homepage of the theme preview. You can just see a pic, the post title, and a very short snippet
- The "latest" posts is located near the bottom of the homepage, and it's in 3 columns - there are read more links here, which is good. However, everything looks quite cluttered and messy thanks to the 3 columns. It looks like everything is being squished together, and the short snippet has the potential to look like 1 huge block or wall of text
- Back to top button - I actually like this, but its current position is too near the top of the page. I think it should be much, much lower
- The box - I don't know what to call this, but, if you see the theme, you will immediately notice this box with a gray/black border. All the content of the site is inside this box and it's on top of the background. Behind it, you can see 2 black bars (one on top and one on the bottom). It looks- eh, I don't really like how it looks
- Author information - I don't know if this can be changed, but, if I look at a sample post on the Hot News Viral theme preview, I can't see any author information, which is not good for a site that has multiple authors
So, what about you? What do you think about this theme? Like it? Dislike it?
(Note: this is just my personal opinion of this theme based on my preferences, so no offense meant to anyone who likes this theme. If you like/dislike this theme, feel free to say/explain why)
Here are some of the comments from this article, back when it used to be posted elsewhere:
LeaPea2417 wrote on March 20, 2015, 11:05 AM
Some of these sites are true scams. You have to be careful in studying which ones are good and which ones are not.
FreyaYuki replied to LeaPea2417 on March 21, 2015, 1:20 PM
Yup. It's best to read a site's terms and policies first and make sure they contain the standard or the usual words that you see in the TOS of legit sites.
j2jworkz wrote on March 20, 2015, 11:22 AM
I have been watching these two sites from afar, now waiting till they change the theme. Totally subjective, I think this theme is better than the current, but not my personal preference.
FreyaYuki replied to j2jworkz on March 21, 2015, 1:28 PM
I agree. It's definitely better than the current theme, but this new theme is definitely not my preference either. It still looks pretty bad when you compare it to the other 2 choices. It's kind of messy and cluttered.
But, yeah, people have different opinions. I just hope that readers and visitors will actually like the theme so traffic on those sites can increase at the very least since it's pretty low at the moment. If this new theme can bring us more traffic, then it wouldn't be so bad and you can just learn to live with it. LOL.
crowntower wrote on March 20, 2015, 3:49 PM
I never write on those site... I think there i a bit of disappointment, but I guess changes of those things is not a major problem, as long as they are still paying and good to all of its member. God bless.
FreyaYuki replied to crowntower on March 21, 2015, 1:30 PM
Yeah. If the theme can bring more readers and traffic, then it wouldn't be so bad. They do pay, but they've recently lowered the amount you get and traffic is low there at the moment, so have't got a payout recently. I hope the new theme can at least breathe life back into the site.
crowntower replied to FreyaYuki on March 23, 2015, 9:00 AM
Do you earned from it? I visited the site and read how it works... and I have read that your post every in every views... but what if no one view your post? How can a blogger can earn from it?
FreyaYuki replied to crowntower on March 24, 2015, 11:22 AM
Yes, the sites pay. You can earn something if your post gets views. But they recently lowered the amount that you get per thousand views and traffic is kind of low there at the moment so I haven't been all that active there.
Maybe the new theme can help with the traffic problem. You're also allowed to add your own affiliate links to your posts. You get 100% of the revenue if someone uses your affiliate link to buy stuff so that can help with earnings too.
luisga814 wrote on March 20, 2015, 10:57 PM
I am not familiar with those two sites. Actually, after my failed accounts in Bubblews and PAA, I concentrated here in PersonaPaper only.
FreyaYuki replied to luisga814 on March 21, 2015, 1:33 PM
Ah, I see. Good luck then. I actually found the other 2 sites before this one.
CalmGemini wrote on March 21, 2015, 1:08 AM
I am not writing in these two sites. I read your well researched post above. As I have said earlier I do not like the infinite scroll feature. The theme too. But one thing. There is the site C P G Gallery where the format is good and it is easy to navigate and write there.
But there is only one complaint from its members. They are not receiving any payment. Well,what about these too sites? Do they pay?
FreyaYuki replied to CalmGemini on March 21, 2015, 1:42 PM
I don't write on CGP Gallery but have also heard of non-payment issues there. As for these 2 sites, they do pay. However, they recently lowered the amount that you can get per thousand views and the traffic is low there at the moment, so it can take a while to reach the payment threshold.
Haven't got payout there recently, so I'm not very active there at the moment. Am hoping that the new theme can help bring in more traffic and revenue, in which case it wouldn't be so bad.
valmnz wrote on March 21, 2015, 6:02 PM
I did join up once but never made any contribution. If there's ever a case of an inactive user, that's what I am there, and intend staying that way. But I do enjoy reading your posts about these other sites.
FreyaYuki replied to valmnz on March 22, 2015, 9:56 AM
Thanks. I'm not very active on either site for now since traffic there is kind of low at the moment. They even lowered the amount you get per thousand views. I do hope the new theme can help increase the traffic.
agvulpes wrote on March 23, 2015, 7:49 AM
I also joined the site and have never posted at either one. I don't think I have the time or the inclination to try after reading that they have lowered the rates!
It is getting tough, on all sites to make a dollar. At this stage I am doing best over on HP!
FreyaYuki replied to agvulpes on March 24, 2015, 11:18 AM
I haven't posted much on either site too since they lowered the rates and since traffic there is pretty low at the moment. I hope the theme can help increase traffic at least. I'm trying to be more active on HubPages too though my account is pretty new, so I only have a few hubs at the moment.
MelissaE wrote on March 27, 2015, 9:25 PM
Thanks for the info as I just registered an account with Writedge.
*Notes:
- This was previously published on Persona Paper on March 20, 2015, 9:52 AM
- Image is by GraphBerry (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
