Down Home, On The Farm

I'm writing this post to relate some truths about a big myth/controversy happening right now in online publishing. I'm doing this because I have read so many misconceptions and so many untrue spins in articles (written for reputable papers) that demonize and attribute this controversy incorrectly.
Rundown of the contro: Some websites have popped up on the Internets that produce pages upon pages of useless fodder ("content") only to make money off  the advertisements in the margins. Because they care not for what's on the center of the page they pay freelance writers next to nothing to write it, they don't edit it, it's crap, low-quality writing. What's even worse is that these sites produce their "content" based on what people are searching for, so they are search engine optimized and show up at the top of a page of search results, crowding out higher "quality" content that's pushed to the next page. Mon fucking deiu! Everyone is up-in-arms. Established freelancers are aghast at the low pay, and the scrubs who accept it. Everyone and their mother claims to prefer "higher" quality content to this drivel and everyone agrees these companies are greedy, money hungry a-holes taking advantage of the masses. The websites in question are referred to as Content Farms.


Journalists, in researching this tale of woe, take quotes from anyone they choose, to back up the story they want to spin. Earnings are either over or under shot, as are facts about usefulness of information and the type of information being presented. 


Guess what? Everyone is wrong. At least about one website that is taking the wrap for content farming in the same way that McDonald's takes the wrap for shoving unhealthy food down the throats of innocent millions. This website is eHow.com owned by Demand Media and run by Demand Media Studios (DMS). How do I know? Because I write for it. And before you jump to the conclusion that I'm doing this to save my writer's self esteem, check out the facts from someone who's actually swimming in the soup.

• eHow.com is one of several websites DMS provides "content" for. They are responsible for Lance Armstrong's website and Tyra Banks' website, USA Today's travel tips, Garden Guides and more. Neither of which is considered a "content farm." The platform for producing the content is exactly the same for each site and the margin space devoted to ads is approximately the same. Not all DMS writers write for all DMS sites but many of them overlap, writing for more than one, if their creditials allow for it; it should be clear that there is a media bias concerning eHow's content and format. 
• Content/writing quality: DMS puts forth very strict editorial guidelines,  which follow APA rules. Each piece of content (article) is fact-checked and edited for grammar and style by a freelance Copy Editor (CE). Each Copy Editor must have years of experience in the field before they're hired. Each writer at DMS must have years of experience, a graduate degree in an "expert" field and/or a journalism/English degree to be hired. They must provide writing samples and have a resume that provides their writing and/or editing experience. Writers for Armstrong's site have to have a medical degree and/or be certified in the field of health and fitness, in addition to proving their writing and research skills. Tyra writers must have a minimum of three years of fashion and beauty writing experience. Each writer must provide references and resources for each article, which the CE uses to verify his/her information and are posted at the bottom of every article on eHow.com, so the reader can verify the information for her or himself.  If a CE finds any fault, at all, with an article he sends it back to the author for a re-write. If the re-write isn't done to the editor's satisfaction, the article gets rejected and isn't published.
• Pay: This is slightly tricky, as there are many writers who don't have the ability to write and research at a speed that makes it worth their while to make decent (let alone full time) money doing this. However, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of writers who make in the ball park of $40,000 to $50,000 per year (gross) writing for DS. I can personally guarantee this is true. And I can also point out that being self-employed helps a lot when it comes time to pay the tax man. A 50K office job is going to bring home less money than a 50K freelance job. Bottom line. DMS pays twice per week, every week, via pay pal. Nice, considering other jobs make you wait two weeks for your paycheck. 
• The Concentration of Evil: DMS is a business, out to make a profit and does not ever pretend to be anything else. It is open about creating content that is generated by what people type into search engines. It provides full time freelancers with health benefits, each month it gives a $1,000 grant to a writer/filmmaker to supplement the cost of living while he/she pursues passion projects. More than once a year it holds a charity children's book drive, donating thousands of books to children's libraries. It offers rewards and incentives for high quality writing and editing. Bottom line is it pays a fair wage (to those who can hack it--which is the caveat for any type of self-employed work) and shows appreciation to its staff endlessly with written thank you's, work shops, conference calls and in person meet-ups paid for and hosted by the company.
• For a Writer: DMS gets you in touch with other writers, which is priceless, to share stories, tips and support in whatever your endeavors are. You have the opportunity to write your novel and work on it any time you choose. Being edited by professional CEs is priceless too, if you're just starting out. My mechanics and style has improved exponentially, not to mention my ability to self-edit. Not saying there isn't still room for improvement, but it's improvement I wouldn't have made otherwise.
• For a Reader: Your mother did not teach you everything about life that you need to know. And sometimes you have a nagging urge to know about something, such as Egyptian funeral rites, because it sounds interesting. Sometimes you want an idea for decorating your three-year-old's birthday cupcakes. This is the beauty of the Internet and the luxury of a site like eHow. You have instant access to information, for free, presented simply and succinctly that you can trust is factual...unlike Wikipedia...ahem, just saying. eHow's motto is "Trusted advice for the curious life." Take that literally. It's true. It doesn't try to be anything else. People who bash eHow articles simply because they're not from Harvard and overwrought with lengthy prose, are committing an error in logic. There is room for every presentation of information on the Internet, both long and short, both specific and general. It is not the Internet's responsibility (or DMS's) to figure out which type you're looking for at any given time and present only that to you.
• Miscellaneous: DS is NOT bringing down the salary of journalists. DMS does not produce content for any journalistic publications, not newspapers or magazines; it's simply paying writers to research information people are asking to know about, and then write about it. The New York Times is not going to hire an eHow writer before they hire someone with a graduate degree in journalism. So for those of you whose education level or experience level puts you above this kind of writing, don't worry, you're safely vying for the same three open positions as every other writer in your class.

1. There are real content farms out there. But, I'm tired of hearing eHow mentioned in every one of these articles without the real facts. And I'm tired of the omission of actual content farms. And PS -- I've never seen information on these other sites that is inaccurate. Honestly. So, even if they're raking in the dough on their ads, who cares? 
2. You ALWAYS have the option of using the advanced search in Google and omitting the term eHow.com. Poof! Presto! Your search results will include Wikipedia and real content farms.