Vocal Is Over-Saturated Now!! - -diagnose the problem

First, I never thought I’d have to write a piece like this.

But hey, from what I’ve seen, pointing out problems isn’t just accepted, it’s rewarded. And I really appreciate that, if you’re a founder or investor reading.

With respect to those authors that came before me here, pieces like this look like gripe-fests at first glance.

And I don’t believe in griping. Well, not anymore. Because that’s time I could spend making sure my talent is rewarded later.

So, when I noticed my month-over-month reads had fallen over 30% (and even as high as 52%), I didn’t blame this system.

For one, I started taking a day or two off here and there, which I hadn’t done since I began in August last year.

It’s actually a hard concept to grasp that this is not just a writing platform, or a place for contests… but a social media system. Perhaps particularly difficult for writers that don’t spend time on those traditional platforms.

I realized the most successful members have to play two “games” at once, and I had been focusing on the wrong one. Or others just get organic momentum by “flooding the zone.”

What do I mean by this? Well, like I try and explain to my friends as well… you can’t just post something whenever and have it receive the same attention as other times. Also, it’s frequency of posts (not just popularity) that push you up the algorithm.

And I don’t just know this from having used social media frequently. My parents are doctors, who became authors too. They paid for training with a professional. and then hired me to do their SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

I wouldn’t say I became a professional or anything, but it’s enough to see from a thousand-foot tall view.

I’m grateful for the several Top Stories I’ve earned, and the consideration for more opportunities.

But when even the last one or two Top Stories have netted me much more moderate engagement compared to the others, something is different.

And I think I’ve compensated my thinking for any variation in engagement on my part. Two-way street, you see.

This isn’t about me, though. Or any individual writer. We all could tell you exactly which story we think should have won an Honorable Mention… and why.

But knowing about the thousand-foot view, once egos are sorted out… you try and help newcomers. But I experienced two who have trouble with English (in the comments, at least - and I understand there’s a reason for the discrepancy).

They have to try and navigate this platform more complex than what they understood… and they either can’t understand the social media game, or confuse it with the rules of a video platform.

But it’s A] The 10,000 foot view admins must have, and the gargantuan task it contains. And B] the elusive social media “game.”

But as this has grown so far, so fast — even since I’ve been here — there is one term we should fear above all others: “over-saturation.”

Instead of me defining it… (if you don’t know already) try and think about what you think it means, in this sense.

I’m to the brim with Déjà vu here… so please tell me if I in fact read that there’s about to be a “new comers” community added.

I trust the admins would think of that idea before me. But if you’re reading and you hadn’t… please get on it yesterday!

Those people aren’t gonna hang around if they experience it as a confusing mess that doesn’t gain them anything.

I also deal with a translation service at my day job. A service to our organization, to be clear. So I would hope the first order of business is to make a new welcoming email once that’s up and running.

I would want one bolded sentence in English explaining that their first story is required to be published there. That that’s for the good of understanding how to participate going forward and presenting yourself to a small group first.

And translations of it under in every language you can.

*** Also, keep notifications in this community behind a wall. So those ones don’t fill up all of our notifications. Maybe also limit the amount of exclusive story notifications that appear in everyone’s notifications. ***

If I may be so bold (and apparently I may), I hope you admins will add someone to the team that has this type of knowledge. At least part time.

Because from over here, I see a ton of lost newbies and even those middle of the road accomplished not fully understanding how they got there and feeling the dread sense of coming impasse.

Again, not a professional on either side of this, so I don’t have the solution. But I pray to god, spirit, goddess — the algorithm — that you admins do.