Alexandre CostaScrum Master| Integer Consulting - Pictet technologiesLoures, Portugal
In an vast community where the volunteer mindset is very strong and I am sure that every day a lot of volunteers contribute with articles of several types to the network. Do you think is necessary spend resources in articles from paid contributers to leverage our knowledge? Is this in line with a nonprofit's motto of PMI or has it become a business for some few? Saving Changes...
Which is funny is: this site do not have 10 years on line...I think the person is talking about the fact that, except for Knowledge Self, you have to pay in a way to publish an article here. Perhaps she/he made a mistake.
Sergio, Alexandre
At least one article is dated October 16, 2000 closer to 20 years.
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Jan 16, 2020 6:26 AM
Sergio Luis Conte
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projectmanagement.com did not start operating from 10 years ago. Before projectmanagement.com and the use of the PMI logos this pages belongs to a company callen ganttsomething. But at the end, no problem, I will not discuss that.
I'd agree with Vincent that it would be more transparent (not necessarily ethical) to identify certain articles as being "paid for".
As someone who used to write "for pay" for a different site, I can attest that this takes away a lot of the intrinsic motivation for writing quality articles. After a few years of doing that, I stopped but am still continuing to do my own (unpaid) weekly writing...
Kiron,
I think it is not ethical to others who make a true effort, spend personal time and don't get the same visibility!
And I think the same might be true for Webinars.
That from an organization that praise on transparency on project management. Saving Changes...
George FreemanThought Leader | Author | Architect| Florida, United States
Jan 15, 2020 5:02 PM
Replying to Alexandre Costa
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Vincent,
My question is based in true facts and is a result from an exchange of emails with a person with responsabilities in the social network and perform a function in the social network. The explanation that was gave to me was the following ( and I quote):
"We have two types of content authors on the site; paid contributors and volunteers. Our paid contributors have been with the site for 10+ years, have quality work and are given the theme of the month ahead of time".
Reading this sentence is easy to know who are the paid contributors , because only that one's know the theme in advance and write articles aligned with the current theme presented and every time it changes.
Alexandre.
Alexandre, let me speak from my experience:
The editors on this platform have the full capability to enlist authors independent of the number of years they have been engaged on the site. I understand that is the quote given to you, but that doesn’t fit my understanding and experience.
Here are my impressions:
- The door is wide open for anyone to submit a “featured article” (reference my posting above). If it meets the guidelines and has value for the community, then it will be published.
- Themed paid articles (e.g., home page theme, driving strategy newsletter) are opportunities that are given by invitation only. However, authors who regularly submit quality articles will have a greater opportunity to be noticed by the editors, and from there, get noticed and possibly be asked to contribute at a different level.
My experience with “Knowledge Shelf,” “Featured Articles,” and “Webinars” has been great. I’ve learned a lot from those experiences, and I strongly recommend it to everyone. The editors are easy to work with, and the doors are truly wide open.
As it relates to the fee that is paid for themed content, let me say this, the fee is a token and is (in my opinion) used as a hook of responsibility. Believe me, if you are contributing to themed articles, then your first, second, and third reason for doing so is NOT money, because it does not financially add up.
Everyone generating content on this site (e.g., Themed Articles, Featured Articles, Knowledge Shelf, Webinars, PMC, Wiki’s, Downloads, etc.) is doing so for personal reasons. Maybe it’s A) Giving back to or learning from the profession, B) Promoting Self for future opportunities, C) Addiction to gamification or a combination of all of these. However, none of these reasons are: “I’m going to make a living off of generating content for PM.com.”
Bottom Line: If my semi-funny, counter-intuitive content can get published in these different channels, then anyone can do it – and they should. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Jan 15, 2020 9:36 PM
Replying to Vincent Guerard
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Sergio, Alexandre
At least one article is dated October 16, 2000 closer to 20 years.
projectmanagement.com did not start operating from 10 years ago. Before projectmanagement.com and the use of the PMI logos this pages belongs to a company callen ganttsomething. But at the end, no problem, I will not discuss that. Saving Changes...
Scott TheusSenior Project Manager and Agilist| BWX TechnologiesEuclid, Oh, United States
To be completely honest, I'd rather have content that PMI pays for than either poor content or no content at all. I'm not a PMI member because I have a certification to keep up, I'm a member because I want to learn, and to some small degree, share what I've learned.
If that means the PMI pays certain authors to write articles on topics of current interest to the PM world population, then that is fine with me,provided they also accept volunteer submissions from members. I view the articles as part of the benefits I pay for with my membership fees, and consider articles from paid expert to be money well spent. Saving Changes...
Community Tech Platform Owner| ProjectManagement.comUnited States
Hello everyone, thank you for your feedback. As with many organizations we do commission content to drive the initial conversation on the site and to meet the needs of our editorial calendar/team. That content is not only for the front page but throughout the site. We often highlight non-commissioned content on the front page of the site regularly. This area is not just reserved for commissioned content, but content that will help start conversations and discover additional valuable user-generated content throughout the community. As stated in our Content Submission Guidelines (which can be found here, https://www.projectmanagement.com/pdf/Subm...lines2016.doc), submission is not a guarantee of publication, we reserve the right to refuse any submission. Decisions to publish or not publish content within the online community is never personal.
As a side note. ProjectManagement.com was founded in 1999, back then we were known as gantthead.com. In 2014 the site was acquired by and became a part of the PMI family.
If you have any specific questions for the editorial team, please feel free to reach out to them at [email protected].
This thread will be closed, thank you! Saving Changes...
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