On Broken Wings

Salute to Misty Rae for her phenomenal, sincere (https://vocal.media/journal/vocal-gave-me-my-wings) post about Vocal.Media that I pen this missive. I want to go on record and ask if anyone else calls fellow writers on this platform “Vocalists”?

If not, I would like to be the first to call everyone with content on this site by that title. Now, I would like to say that unlike Misty, I plan to remain as a Vocal+ Member and participate in Challenges and reap other benefits.

I have only placed three times and never won a Challenge. But I’m going to keep fighting until I do. My main concerns with Vocal lie in their subjectivity and their inability or failure to achieve an atmosphere of objective truth.

I enjoy the site. Don’t miss what I’m saying. The aforementioned Challenges, the earnings, from reads, tips and pledges have netted me more money than any site I have dabbled in over the nearly two decades I’ve been making money online through content combined.

So, this is not a gripe over me not getting enough money. I’ve benefitted as a Vocalist not just with money. I have made online friendships and found people in the news who have read my stories. I’m thankful for that.

What I don’t like is the fact that Vocal.Media is unprincipled in the way it picks and chooses what words can be said. I grant they can use whatever content that suits them. I had written three stories with a slur in the title. I then used other terms and my account was “repurposed.” Is Vocal picking and choosing subjectively? Do they prize some words over others and do certain words remain permissible while others are beyond the pale?

It started by saying it was deleted then the ghostly shell still hovered around. Currently, I have my site intact and I am still able to make money. (This is a key fact!) So, as of this writing, I am still unable to post comments on my own or other writers’ posts.

Also, Vocal is intermittent with its story approval process as sometimes it is ready with a photo and link, other times it disables this function.

Vocal.Media is still in its formative stages nearly seven years after its inception. If I had to grade the platform, I’d give it a solid B. It’s not excellent but it’s definitely streamlined so much that by principle, I can make a small fortune with my smartphone.

The ability to know the reality of how Vocal.Media works is what still escapes me. There have been articles and videos discussing the triumphs and travails of the site. I may be walking on well tread ground but I’m blazing a trail when it comes to not exposing Vocal.

This is not a pooh pooh regarding Vocal because they have done far more good than bad and can be forgiven of their few sins. It is still growing and evolving. So, I will still have my plus sign next to my profile picture.

Misty said that “Vocal gave [her] Wings.” I think that the same is true for me only, Vocal then crippled my wings. Then they repatched them and expected me to fly the same way. This is what has made me creatively frustrated…and I like it. The site still allows virtually all content at any time of the day.

Has anyone else noticed how quickly stories are edited? What took hours even days now happens in minutes. I can’t just lambast a site that boasts this feature.

In all, the site definitely needs to be improved. With its focus on supporting creators, it remains a bastion amongst a wasteland. As it stands, however, I’ll keep flying on broken wings.

Originally published on Medium