Could Vocal Be More Engaging For Its Readers?

While messaging with Keila, she and I came up with a myriad of new ideas that Vocal could potentially implement if they wish to draw in a larger reader base. Part of this is to make reading engaging and that the readers might potentially earn some form of compensation for reading as well.

Now, it’s important to clarify that all Vocal Creators (well, more or less to the extent) are readers. So, having a Vocal Creator account does make a big difference.

1. A creator icon: Vocal Creators already have their little profile pictures in little circles on their profile pages and in the comments’ section of stories. Plus, if You’re reading somebody’s story in the bottom left a banner will have the Vocal Creator’s profile picture and name along with the comment bubble, heart icon, share, and tip buttons over on the right side of the corner. What would the creator icon do? (Sidenote: Justin Maury and Jeremy Frommer have been visibly seen with their icons floating around on Vocal Media’s platform asking people if they would like to invest in Vocal Media’s regulated crowd funding and if one has watched their webinar. A creator icon badge seems highly plausible.)

1.a. A creator icon would be like another circular creator profile picture that stays on the right-hand side of the creator’s story. When one begins to read a creator’s story the creator’s icon would be encircled in a red circle. As a reader accumulates read time and scrolls down the story, the creator’s icon badge would eventually have that red circle turn to green.

1.a.i. To accompany this visual effect there could be an auditory sound like that of a cash register that would take place when the reader’s scroll length and read time have accumulated into a full read for the Vocal creator. KA-CHING! This way readers can ensure that they’re supporting their authors to the bare minimum of the fullest extent possible.

1.a.i.1. If somebody has a Vocal account, they would be able to adjust the auditory effects within their settings. For free readers that don’t have a Vocal account that just like to read from a web browser if they would like to remove the audio effect, they would have to turn down the volume on their device (laptop, computer, mobile phone, tablet, etc.). Ergo, hopefully creating an effect for more readers to create Vocal Media accounts as to have access to the settings. If not, Vocal could just have a sound icon button that people could toggle.

1.a.ii. A visual effect would take place when a reader has bestowed a complete read unto a Vocal Creator’s published work. Initially there would be a default “Thank You for reading” message that pops out of the side of the creator icon. A Vocal Creator would be able to edit this message to fit their own personal style. Here’s a few examples listed below. The possibilities are endless.

1.a.ii.1. Thank You for reading and bestowing upon me the generosity of Your time and energy. You have my gratitude.

1.a.ii.2. You like to read? Ha! NERD!

1.a.ii.3. M-M-M MONEY! MONEY MONEY!

1.a.ii.4. Why would You spend Your time reading this when You could’ve been doing something else worthwhile with Your life?

1.a.ii.5. Yo, dope, thanks for reading. Make sure to like and subscribe.

1.b. A creator banner: Instead of another creator icon that would be the Vocal Creator’s profile pic, Keila had the idea of a banner. Now, when I, Thavien, think of a banner, I think of a tapestry in the hall of a caste hanging that displays a story or a family crest. However, in the days of the internet banners can run either horizontally or vertically on a website’s page. The banner would be like a bookmark. The bookmark would reside on the right-hand side of a Vocal Creator’s story.

As a reader continues to accumulate read time and scrolls down a person’s published work the banner would have a green sliding bar that turns the changes the bookmark from red to green. Like the creator icon the banner itself could also be accompanied by the same auditory and visual effects.

1.b.i. The banner/bookmark could also potentially be decorated. It could be an image that’s inserted, a line of text that the Vocal Creator wrote up, or just a complex combination of colors. Like a ribbon in a contest, it could have gold trim as well around its edges. The possibilities for self-customization are only limited to one’s imagination!

1.b.ii. The bookmark could appear as a different notification in the top right corner for a Vocal Account Owner. The bookmark notification would indicate stories that the person hadn’t finished reading entirely via scroll length and/or read time. The Account Owner would be able to clear this queue of unread stories at their leisure. A Vocal Account Owner would also be able to add other stories to their list via the bookmark button. In a sense, it would be a lot easier to find stories that one would want to read instead of having to heart every story that they come across.

2. An accredited commentor badge: To become an accredited commentor a person would have to meet a few requirements.

2.a. An accredited commentor needs to create a Vocal Media account (duhhh). They don’t have to publish stories if they wish to comment or to become an accredited commentor.

2.b. An accredited commentor would need to meet a specific word length for their comments.

2.b.i. Vocal could have a template of questions that would relate to the author’s published work. The questions must be answered uniquely.

2.b.i.1. Spamming the same word repeatedly to meet a word count will not count. This will result in punishment.

2.b.i.2. Copying and pasting another Vocal Commentor’s comment will not count unless more is considerably added to said comment. Replying to said commentor’s comment will not bring about punishment. Plagiarizing a commentor’s comment will bring punishment. There is a difference between quoting to continue a discussion and highway robbery.

2.b.i.3. Using unattributed artificial intelligence will not count. Generating an artificial intelligent response to comment on a person’s story and/or reply or utilize somebody else’s comment will result in punishment.

2.b.i.3.a. The punishment will be Vocal stamping a flag on a Creator’s profile page, with a message warning other people about the actions that said person’s account has made. A Vocal Creator may make an appeal to Vocal, but the Creator and Vocal MUST HAVE CLEAR COMMUNICATION. Spammy and scammy behavior will be frowned upon. Consider it to be like a scarlet letter. For example:

2.b.i.3.a.i. Thavien Yliaster has already had his commenting privileges revoked twice before due to not being the most positive commentor. He does not pull his punches. He can and will offend You regardless of Your desires, or if You just act like an asshole in general. 🖕🏾

2.c. An accredited commentor’s comment would need to generate intrigue and interest amongst other Vocal commentors/creators. The more substance within the comments that are generated the more potential revenue that they can generate for an accredited commentor. The more that people tend to get engaged the more people could get paid.

2.c.i. Vocal could also include a heart system or emoji reaction system for comments. Discord has a lovely model for example as it allows somebody to include more than one emoji as a reaction. So, if somebody wants to spell out a word, then they would have the free range to do so.

3. An accredited reader badge: This badge would display on somebody’s Vocal Account. If somebody just desires to read, they should feel free to do so. They will not be compensated as much as a Vocal Creator and an accredited commentor would, but reading could still help them. The accredited reader badge would help Vocal Creators identify their main audience base as well.

3.a. An accredited reader/commentor/creator (yes, all three) could potentially earn more money via positively promoting somebody else’s work and properly @-ing Vocal Media’s account for the appropriate social media platform that it’s residing on (Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, etc.). Though, that blurs the line from reader to promoter. In hindsight a promoter is more aligned with a commentor.

3.a.i. The main concern with accredited reader accounts would be people making numerous spam accounts and scrolling their stories and commenting on their own stories (which has already been shown to be a problem), but also Vocal being harvested for financial incentives by content farms. It would make sense that several companies that make content would also make more accounts and/or have their employees not just make their company’s content, but also consume their company’s content. You might see this occurring today on popular platforms such as YouTube and You might even see this currently taking place on Vocal in the place of artificially intelligent generated stories being published on the platform.

What are Your thoughts, opinions, and experiences? Let us know in the comments below. WARNING! Spammers and scammers are not welcomed.

Thavien's Token:

This discussion and its finer points were talked about between Keila Aartila and I. Initially she was going to publish it, but she decided that I should after having worked out some of the details and formatting. This topic arose after reading Keila Aartila's article "A Proposal for Vocal to Consider."

Keila Aartila's article was inspired by Misty Rae's article "MVGA - Make Vocal Great Again."

Keep it chill. ✌🕊