Good Job

It’s a natural part of being human to seek recognition for a job well done.

We see this in a school’s merit system, rewarding community and good deeds as much as the honour roll rewards academic achievement. Grades are measured not just by academic skill, but also by behaviour and participation in class.

We see this in the workplace, with performance bonuses, and goal incentives, and even “employee of the month” awards.

We see this in relationships, in expressions of delight at a well-chosen gift or activity, in displays of affection, and numerous other ways.

Recognition might be a glorified way of clapping someone on the shoulder and saying “good job”, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important.

Lack of recognition is equally important. The quote is that “people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers”, or that “not every ex- is a bad person, there were just unmet needs”. What often goes unsaid is that no one just up and leaves on a whim; they’ve been trying to communicate their problems, and been dismissed or brushed off until they stopped trying.

People who feel undervalued or unappreciated don’t stay. At some point, they stop trying to be noticed. They stop trying to communicate with someone who has made it clear they don’t want to listen. Then they pack their bags and go looking for someone who will appreciate them.

Right now, as much as I appreciate the new Vocal updates, I’m at the point where I feel unheard and unappreciated.

I don’t disagree with users needing to be verified. Lord knows we’d all like a break from the bots and scammers. I’m not a fan of having my stats, subscribers and reads wiped off the map.

I could understand getting no reads while Vocal was down for the upgrade, but I’m on day five of no new reads, and all of my past reads seem to have vanished as well.

My Subscribers were restored about 3 days after the upgrade, but everything else is still stuck at zero, and I’m not the only one with that problem.

Add in the lack of a Pride Month challenge, repetitive challenges in the same two communities, and ringing silence when we try to contact Vocal, and I doubt that I’m the only person wondering if Vocal is still worth it.

I pay an annual fee of $99 USD, about $150 in my local currency, for Vocal+ membership that allows me to be paid for reads and access all the challenges. In five years of being on Vocal, I’ve earned barely enough in reads to cover one year of membership, as well as about $200 in top stories, tips, and Challenge placements.

When you break that down into actual earnings per year, it’s quite depressing.

The new updates aren’t bad; it’s nice to know the estimated read time of a piece, and the new text editing seems a lot more user friendly. But for all the people who rely on reads for the bulk of our Vocal income, I doubt I’m alone in saying that we would like them back, please.

Why else are we even here? It’s not for Challenge wins, as someone who has never even placed and can only occasionally hope for a runner-up or honourable mention. It’s not even really for the challenges; I used to enter every single one, but lately I’ve been feeling like they’re all the same, just like it seems to be always the same people winning.

At what point do I give up?

I left Medium when they decided that only the top percent of most popular writers would be monetised. I was popular enough to get a small amount per month under the old system, but I wasn’t in that top percent to qualify in the new one.

I’ve got most of the year left on my current subscription; what I do after that will depend heavily on what Vocal does until then.

If they address the common concerns and work to fix them, it may be worth staying. If all we get is more silence, it won’t be.

I value myself too much to stay where I am ignored.