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I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

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Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

#31

Post by danielweber »

salimmadjd wrote: post #6

Good for the writer. I have written for Hufpo once before and soon I realized how their model works: 1 - get free content from the writers. 2 - get free marketing and traffic from the writers (who tell their friends and follower about their article they've just posted on the Hufpo) Most of the articles you write are all hidden in some sub-pages that no one but your friends or google seo would ever find. edit: formatt…

Also for a "Who's Who" or a "Poetry Collection." Here is Dave Barry's classic on when he got offered to be part of the latter: http://www.miamiherald.com/2007/07/22/165002/poetic-license-... from 1994, despite the URL

Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

#32

Post by jebus989 »

The same guy contacted me and I've submitted a couple of pieces since. He was very upfront and clear about what was being offered, i.e. submit the things you're writing anyway to us, and subject to editorial discretion they may be featured on some hugely-trafficked section, else just archived on "the blog".

For doing this they offer you a small profile with various links: to your amazon books, your website, twitter, an RSS feed as well as the "exposure" and (ever decreasing in value) bragging rights of writing (well, blogging) for the Huffington Post. You give them doctored versions of the blog posts you're writing anyway with a slight risk of hurting your own SEO.

I think everyone is privy to their business model but IMO it's win-win unless you're in a position where others are already keen to pay for your work.

Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

#33

Post by exelius »

joekrill wrote: post #26
exelius wrote: post #13

I agree with the writer's points that HuffPo seems like a pretty bad deal for the writer; but honestly how different is that from HN? Ignoring the fact that HN makes no money; the product they offer is obviously desirable or people would stop visiting. Therefore, it is worth something. A large portion of the top content on HN comes from peoples' personal blogs. While these blogs often run ads, I seriously doubt those…

I'm not exactly sure how HuffPo works, but my understanding was that they host, display, and provide the content as their own. Which is completely different from HN, which simply LINKS to the content itself. So the author/whoever is free to generate their own ad revenue or whatever else they'd like from their content. And HN does none of that. How is that even remotely the same? Plus: > Ignoring the fact that HN make…

> Isn't that kind of a huge point?

Yes; but the point is that HN has value. They just choose not to monetize it through ads. It's not noble or anything; it just means that YC feels HN is more valuable as a platform for getting out info about their companies without ads.

Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

#34

Post by gambiting »

Not related,but I would like to mention this regardless:

>>No party will suggest the rational solutions: if hard work makes us rich, let’s tax inheritance at 85%, so the children of rich men have to work hard too. But no: that would never do

I never understood this argument. I am not rich by any means,but why would my children have to pay 85% on things that I want to leave them?? It's idiotic - I worked hard to earn those things,why would the government want 85% of their value?? On what basis and logical reason? To make my children "less lazy" by doing so?? They can mind their own children - I will mind mine.

Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

#35

Post by autokad »

Borogravia wrote: post #16
sixQuarks wrote: post #7

I can understand the frustration of the author, however, HuffPo is not a government or social entity. It IS part of the free market. I am a huge proponent of the free market, however, that does not mean the free market will be perfect. In the short term, there are fits and starts and cycles that everything goes through, but it is only through the free market that we will progress over the long-term. Writers are unfor…

No, I think the author has every right to be insulted and angry over the presumption that he should work for free. Just saying "well, that's the way it is" is intellectually lazy, and portraying a dominant middleman like HuffPo as a healthy part of a genuinely free market is simply wrong.

i disagree. the huff has a business model weather you like it or not. clearly the value proposition doesn't fit what the writer wants, but can you blame huff for asking? thats like being insulted because the ugly guy at the bar asked you out. what ever feelings you have from it are justified, but this writer goes and blogs online about their 'experience' wanting sympathy and traffic.

so yeah, the writer wants your business and what they offered was them complaining that they had a job offer that did not pay.

Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

#36

Post by jebus989 »

jarrett wrote: post #27
exelius wrote: post #13

I agree with the writer's points that HuffPo seems like a pretty bad deal for the writer; but honestly how different is that from HN? Ignoring the fact that HN makes no money; the product they offer is obviously desirable or people would stop visiting. Therefore, it is worth something. A large portion of the top content on HN comes from peoples' personal blogs. While these blogs often run ads, I seriously doubt those…

What are Huffington Post's intellectual property terms? That could be a big distinction between Huffington Post and HN. On HN, nobody signs over any IP, nor does the copyright holder necessarily grant a license of any sort. (If you doubt that, consider the fact that I can submit anyone's URL to HN. So submitters aren't assumed to have any authority over the IP.) With periodicals, though, there usually is a contract w…

With HuffPo, you retain ownership of your work and are free to publish it anywhere else.

Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

#37

Post by autokad »

mrottenkolber wrote: post #29

I can not stress this enough: NEVER work for free. Don't do unpaid internships. Also try to avoid selling yourself under value (hint: you are probably worth at least twice you could imagine). Ever had someone accept your demanded rate without negotiating? You know you must ask for more next time. Besides owing it to yourself, working for less than your right wage will harm your industry.

im just kidding, but if they are working for 0 and you said they are worth twice as much as they imagine (0), aren't they still worth 0? :P

reminds me of al bundy, no phone calls today, but tomorrow twice as many!

Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

#38

Post by rjaco31 »

gambiting wrote: post #34

Not related,but I would like to mention this regardless: >>No party will suggest the rational solutions: if hard work makes us rich, let’s tax inheritance at 85%, so the children of rich men have to work hard too. But no: that would never do I never understood this argument. I am not rich by any means,but why would my children have to pay 85% on things that I want to leave them?? It's idiotic - I worked hard to earn…

You want to give money/goods to your children so that they have a easier life and need to work less to get the same decent life as anybody.

This is totally valid, up to a certain point. Let's take the other extrem, when a child could inherit enough to get a better life without working than someone working his whole life. There is absolutely no need of such a concentration of wealth.

That's why inheritance should have a strongly progressive taxation rate.

Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today

#40

Post by 0xdeadbeefbabe »

spindritf wrote: post #5

the class of people who own the world and control all the assets may finally begin to see the error of their ways Their ways? Arianna Huffington didn't cause the current epidemic of narcissism making people willing to write for free to stroke their ego as he aptly noted. She also didn't inherit HuffPo so all that talk about socialism and inheritance tax is just more signalling on the author's part. Which is why they…

But she is causing it, as are people selling fixie bikes, and barbers who give the bros their haircuts. It's funny that people don't call her Huffington more often, as if she were engaged in something more noble than say Hefner.
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