Why do you answer my 23 questions a day verses spending time writing pages/doing tasks earning M$ and QC for the same amount of time?
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M$6 Answers
The only time it was looking like Tasks might become interesting and worth doing according to what motivates me was when Corrie said he was starting a new Task category based upon something along the lines of interpreted knowledge, but evidently that fizzled out.
That being said, even if it's an interesting question, I've learned to see it as a waste of time to bother answering if others have already answered to a reasonable-enough degree, because if one's answer is just one good answer among a set of good answers, then it's the luck-of-the-draw which gets selected as Best, because of how Best Answer selection is so highly (and sometimes mysteriously) subjective, which means it becomes a gamble, and I HATE gambling! (I studied statistics, and I know the odds, and I know how the longer one gambles, the more one is guaranteed to loose).
That being said, it should be stated that for me, the primary motivation is not the tips. The tips aren't worth the time it takes to do an answer. Where I live, a person can make twenty times the money per unit of time doing *anything* compared to what can be earned from Best Answer tips...
Nor is it for me a "competition" to see who will get Best Answer. I hate hate hate competing with people who are not enemies. As far as I can tell, there's nobody bad on Mahalo. In fact, I have to withdraw and level-out sometimes, because I start liking them to an extent that's not rational given that I don't know who they really are.
For me, competition is a watered-down version of war, and I only do war with enemies, in which case I go total so that it doesn't happen again (which means, if you're wondering how I did in sports, the answer is, not too well... the coaches said I had to be convinced that there had to be a reason to defeat the other team to get me to play, i.e., they had to tell me that the guys on the other team would steal our girlfriends if they won, whereupon they said I got too rough).
If people are not real enemies, then my nature is to seek conciliation.
For example, if it was up to me, answers would get a Gold, Silver and Bronze rating.
That's still a bit "competitive", but believe it or not, on a higher level it's actually a conciliation between those who thrive on competition and who therefore love the current "first past the post" Best Answer system, versus those who think that all good answers should be given Good Answer status, whereupon a new category of Task is created, worked by Team Members with proven digesting skills, wherein a Team Member claims a Question with a set of Good Answers, and they digest all those Good Answers into a Perfect Answer.
In other words, for me, the motivation is neither the tips, nor the competitive thrill of Best Answer (in fact, as explained, for me the Best Answer jazz is something I have to choke through)...
Rather, it's because I want to have a better life in a better world, and in my experience, the world runs better and becomes a better place in which to live when the people I'm sharing the planet with know more, and especially when they understand better how to *interpret* what they know, which means it's a waste of time to do an answer if it's not going to be read, and it won't be read if it's not selected as BA, which means I've learned to not bother answering unless there's a good chance that the answer gets BA, because that's the only way it will get read by people other than the Asker.
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M$I did a page and it was ok. I do not feel confident with it yet, although I plan to do more, if I happen to catch something of interest.
I really like Mahalo, but I have a life and cannot dedicate myself to being on it all the time to "catch" the good stuff when it shows up (page topics and tasks). I gave up on this. So I'm just hanging out and answering questions I find of interest. Sometimes this is for hours a day, sometimes just minutes.
I've earned some money from BAs, but I also buy in so I can give others tips.
Mahalo is a LOT of high maintenance work, and even though it's supposed to be a community site, it's really an office site. But I like the people a LOT, so it's worth the hassle.
It's also very satisfying (immediate gratification) to answer questions and give people input on something they're intersted in at the moment.
It's also nice that there is a very strong underlying culture about being respectful, even in disagreement, and even when debating politics and religion. ;-)
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M$
Because it's fun. I like to write and give people advice, I guess, and help them learn what they want to know. And I love doing pages but with spring coming my time is going to be even more limited here. But that's OK, I'll be out in the fresh air and sunshine a lot more!
"Questions are about as time consuming as answers"
That is false, answers are way much more time consuming than questions.
What Mahalo needs is people who know how to answer. Questions-anybody can do it.
Take for example "why the sky is blue?" A small kid can ask it- to answer it however requires some physics knowledge.
I'm glad Mahalo introduced tipping less than 1$, I can tip more answer now
Dave,
Questions are not necessarily better or easier as far as rev share goes, for the following reasons:
1. With well over 4000 questions, you have a rev share you say of ~M$3/day. With about one quarter as many best answers as you have questions, I have ~M$4.50/day rev share.
2. Question rev share is limited to M$100/Q, while BA rev share is limited to M$200/BA.
3. Finding worthwhile questions requires not only time, but also the right kind of creativity which you have far more of than others here. Answering questions requires time, and skill which can be developed, but almost anyone can do it.
On the flip side, if you post a question and it gets rev share, you will get it 100% of the time. If you post an answer, it may not get BA in which case you get no rev share. However, it appears that on average, rev share per BA is about 4 times higher than rev share per question.
The bottom line, asking questions for rev share is no easier/better than getting rev share from answering questions.
You should ask questions. I looked at your rev shares stats and it seems questions could be a niche for you because of limited time commitments.
Questions are about as time consuming as answers. However, rev share earnings could be greater because of volume. I'm earning about $3 a day in rev share. After 5,000 questions, I know that Cars and Company questions produce income because people are looking for vehicles and jobs. I'm thinking about asking city questions because people are relocating and mobile due to job situations.
Pros of answering your questions:
1. Interesting.
2. Challenging at times.
3. Provides tip (assuming I get BA, which is most of the time for me when I post an answer on one of your questions). This tip varies from M$0.02 to M$15.
4. Provides potential for rev share, which at this point for me has climbed to an average of M$4.50/day (with ~1100 BA's). This statistic is for all my BA's not just from your questions.
5. Can be done in a relatively short amount of time.
Cons of answering your questions:
1. Can only answer what you ask.
2. Others compete for the same questions, especially if the tip is high.
3. Sometimes you ask follow-on questions in comments that exceed the scope of the initial question.
4. Rev share is only there if I get BA.
5. Even assuming I get BA, rev share is hit or miss - only a few % of all questions get any rev share.
Pros of building pages:
1. Can suggest topics I want and usually get assigned a task for what I want to write about.
2. Get PM revenue without uncertainty of BA or not.
3. Much higher percentage of my pages get revenue than is the case for my BA's (~90% vs. ~5%).
4. PM revenue in principle is unlimited, unlike BA rev share.
5. Get task tip guaranteed, without BA/NBA uncertainty.
Cons of building pages:
1. Takes much more time per task than per answer.
2. Mahalo requires periodic updating of pages, so this is not a true residual income situation.
The result of all the above is that while I've only built ~90 pages, I've answered over 1700 questions. I've found that my attention goes more or less to tasks in waves. When I have more patience and/or time, I write more pages. When I have less patience and/or time, I mostly answer questions, both yours and those of other askers. However, in the interest of full disclosure, I rarely answer any of your M$0.02 questions unless the answer is one I think it is really important for me to tell you. In fact, I only read your M$0.02 questions on occasion, and frequently just skip over them. This is especially true when I'm short of time and there are many interesting questions with higher (even default M$0.10) tips.
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M$
I've posted over 100 dollars in Questions, in Car and Transportation and Highest tip. Make sure to watch for those high paying questions by sorting on "Highest Tip" in Car and Transportation.
I'll try and hold off the selection for two days
I've been doing so, but @pixelsilva and @edwardclint are tough to beat to them. Once either one of them answers you tend to select them as BA in less time than it takes me to see if I can post a better answer. That's ok, since their answers are usually very good. However, if you leave the question open for at least 2 days before selecting BA (especially with M$2, M$6, or M$15 tip) that'll increase the chance I'll post a competing answer if I think I can post a better one than they have.
No Dave. My point is that if you hurry to select BA within 24 hours assuming you have one acceptable answer, you may lose out on better answers that might come in a day later. I definitely would not recommend your letting your questions go to voting. One of the things I like about answering for you is that you make sure to select BA/NBA yourself, which is what Mahalo is supposed to be about. However, sometimes I don't have time within the first 24 hours to even notice a new question, let alone answer it with a worthy entry. Thus, I ask if it does not make more sense to wait 48 hours before selecting BA, unless you have an answer that is exactly what you were looking for, and you doubt anyone can do better.
You have won a $15 dollar question, so don't self-defeat yourself. I'm looking for the best answer!
Should I let the automatic Best Answer select the winner? The winner would be based on member vote.
Mahalo has become less about people actually asking questions they need answers to and more about rev share, tipping, earnings, grabbing the best content, ratings, maintaining or losing, increased requirements and lower rewards.
I find myself spending more time on sites where the questions are sincere and people actually gain benefit from a good researched answer and I don't mean financial.
If Mahalo continues down this path I'm afraid the Great Pumpkin will not come to visit this year!
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M$
Immediate pay jobs
Hopefully immediate pay jobs
Play money jobs (Mahalo included)
Dave's questions
:D
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M$
I'm going to be asking questions about cities in America starting tomorrow. I think the questions will be very popular as large number of people have become more mobile and want information on the city. What do you think people want to know about cities that they move too?
I'll be offering $1 questions for information about the following cities:
Nagoya Japan,Scranton, New York,JC Raulston Arboretum,City of Albany Oregon,North Ogden City Utah,Juniper Idaho,Wilder Idaho,
Melba Idaho,Jefferson County NY,Jefferson County CO,Aspen Colorado,Ann Arbor MI , Westminster CO Sandy UT ,Newton, MA , Bellevue WA ,Henderson NV ,Carrollton TX ,Santa Clarita CA ,Parsippany-Troy Hills NJ,Gilbert AZ ,Richardson TX ,West Bloomfield MI ,Olathe KS ,Eagan MN ,Plano TX ,Eden Prairie MN ,
Fairfield CT ,Boise ID ,Scottsdale AZ ,Overland Park KS,Cary NC,Columbia/Ellicott City MD,Sugar Land TX,Naperville IL,Fort Collins CO,Austin Tx ,Firestone CO,Nyssa Idaho,Lander Wy,
Bigpiney Wy,Beulah Wy,Hulett Wy,Laramie Wy,Lusk Wy,Medicine Bow Wy,Pinebluffs Wy,Pinedale Wy,Riverton Wy,Gillette Wy ,Sheridan Wy ,Sundance Wy,Thermopolis Wy,Torrington Wy,
Wind River Wy,Yellowstone Wy,Jackson Hole Wy,Gillette Wy ,
Casper Wy,Cheyenne Wy,Evanston Wy,Athens GA,Savannah GA,
Altanta GA,Springdale Ut,Price Ut,Kanab Ut,Moab Ut,Cedar City Ut,St. George Ut,Logan Ut,Park City Ut,Sandy Ut,Orem Ut,Provo Ut,
Ogden Ut,Salt Lake City Ut,Dublin Ireland,Coleman Texas,Somersworth NH,Rochester NH,Portsmouth NH,Nashua NH,Manchester NH,Lebanon NH,Laconia NH,Keene NH,Franklin NH,Dover NH,Claremont NH,Berlin NH,McMinnville Oregon,Keizer Oregon,Lake Oswegon Oregon,Albany Oregon,Tigard Oregon,Corvallis Oregon,Bend Oregon,Medford Oregon,Gresham Oregon,Salem Oregon,Eugene Oregon,Portland Oregon,Anaheim California,New York City Metro,Los Angeles California,Preston Idaho,Malad Idaho,Mackay Idaho,New Plymouth Idaho,Hauser Idaho,Grangeville Idaho,Glenns Ferry Idaho,Garden City Idaho,
Franklin Idaho,Emmett Idaho,Eagle Idaho,Driggs Idaho,Downey Idaho,Council Idaho,Burley Idaho,Idaho Falls,Kellogg Idaho,
Ketchum Idaho,Jerome Idaho,Hailey Idaho,Coeur d'Alene Idaho,
Carey Idaho,Caldwell Idaho,Kuna Idaho,Merdian Idaho,McCall Idaho,Moscow Idaho,Mountain Home Idaho,Nampa Idaho,
Payette Idaho,Pocatello Idaho,Rexburg Idaho,Rigby Idaho,
Salmon Idaho,Sandpoint Idaho,Shelley Idaho,Soda Springs Idaho,
Shoshone Idaho,Stanley Idaho,Sun Valley Idaho,Twin Falls Idaho,
Weippe Idaho,Weiser Idaho,White Bird,Wilder Idaho,Ashton Idaho,
American Falls,Aberdeen Idaho,Boise Idaho,Dietrich Idaho,Wilmington NC,Alpharetta GA,Wadsworth Ohio,Woodworth Lousiania
But, if I can get beyond my low attention span and stick to it, pages/tasks are the way to go. Pages allow you to cover a subject with more depth and insight, without worrying that someone has answered your question while writing. Since they have a longer lifespan and generate residual income, it is a better investment of time in the end.
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M$
You made me think of another reason why I am page-challenged. I'm actually a good writer, but I tend to first write in very much the same style as what it is I've been reading/researching. I need to do this and then "sleep on it" to really get to the point where I'm doing my own "writing" and not just regurgitating someone else's (which is plagiarism of a sort). 72 hours is just not enough time for me to research, write and re-write without feeling an uncomfortable pressure. I'm here for the fun of it, not the pressure of it. I like doing pages. I like doing the research. I think I do a decent job with text, pics and videos (based on my BAs), but it's not pleasurable when it has to be complete in 72 hours (because I have a life outside Mahalo, not because I need that much work-time).
I earned about 6 dollars today in rev share. Do you know this question is not searchable on Mahalo.
You have won a ton of best answers for my questions. Go count them.
Your answers always reveal an element of clarity.
Omicron, I hope you'll change your mind to include one of your motivations for answering questions as being:
Even if they aren't BA, or don't get even almost voted BA, I will generally read them and usually squeal with enjoyment at the concepts. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. :)