Vocal Member Reads and Hearts

There is a parallel story going on in Vocal Member reading and appreciation groups as compared to to the platform itself. I think this merits a story.

It stems mainly because authors need to get out of their echo chambers and share feedback. Knowing how the reader felt about a piece is extremely gratifying to the author. As of now, Vocal does not offer a comment section, and it would be of great benefit to the platform if it does. Writers will find ways to get that feedback, but an inbuilt comment section would benefit the company immensely.

There are several vocal member groups social media.

Frankie Martinelli is the admin and moderator of the The Vocal Creators Group. I belong to this one. It's private and comprises of 3.1K members.

Vocal Media rewards members who start groups with $5.00, and the admin in this group has successfully gotten 3.1K members. That is no mean feat. The group growth is organic, but what an asset it is to the platform! Think about the hits, the bounce rate, and the advertising at no cost! The administrator deserves a huge shout-out.

What are the benefits in belonging to a group like this?

It should be said that biggest beneficiary is Vocal Media. I am sure this factor will pop up now and then in this opinion piece. My intent is to assess whether members derive benefits from all their hard work in pushing a platform forward. I wonder if this is why they do not have a comment section enabled for each write.

The privacy of the group, thanks to the bigger facebook theater is a draw. Writers spill their guts, and a promise of privacy is always a good thing if they want to share only with kindred spirits. One thing members should be aware is the fact we're all operating under the assumption of privacy control.

The platform doles out a "king's ransom" of $5.00 for reading and hearting 15 pieces of works by other members. Pardon the sarcasm, I'll continue looking for member benefits based on knowing what we know and why we still continue to write.

Breaking out of the Ivory Tower

I've been a member of Vocal for a little over 2 months. This platform I feel, has this in-built low cost scaling by using its own members. We are all foot soldiers doing the work in growing the platform. Yet, we continue to put out our heartfelt work for several reasons.

Writers often sit in a bubble of their minds and clack on their keyboards. They often hover between savoring a mediocre work with irrational exuberance or self-flagellate erroneously on a well-written piece. This echo chamber needs to break, so the writer can flow out of the box. The individual writer is the harshest self-critic. A smidgen of appreciation, a constructive feedback, and a patient read makes a huge difference. A dose of reality is always a good thing.

Writers Vocal loves to love

It is easy to feel "unloved," in the beginning. It pays to pay attention to understanding how a platform such as Vocal works. Despite prizes in prestigious publications, a writer still can have angst when a platform does not love back. My issue is the effect of the built-in angst on the member.

An influencer with a piece on promoting a commercial product has gotten much love from Vocal. The "winners" of challenges are at the mercy of appointed judges' opinions and exposure. As mentioned in my earlier post on Multiprompting, not all members are influencers.

Vocal Media comes with plus points. However, it has room for great improvement. Let me paraphrase louder. The platform has several merits, but it must work on improving the conditions for the members. I had recommended a few solutions in my embedded write-up on multiprompting.

The writer always takes it upon self and not the platform. For this reason, a healthy questioning of the platform, suggestions to make it better are always a good thing.

My recommendation for members is not to take rejection personally. The member group offers genuine feedback, suggestions to polish, and appreciation. It is accepting and comforting to belong.

There is an added advantage in promoting work within the community.

As I waited for this write-up to be approved, Vocal has added a subscriber counter in the stats menu. They could also add a heart-counter along with that.

I'd like to think of Vocal Media as a work in progress, and by listening to the members, they make a good platform great.

Honor System

As I read and provided feedback and appreciative hearts to other members, I noticed they were doing the same. There is an inbuilt honor system within us. My recommendation to the platform would be to reveal names of those who hearted. That way, the writer can reciprocate the favor to the reader by paying attention and giving feedback or appreciation.

Perspectives

Reading another writer's piece brings forth appreciation of new ways of looking at things. It adds to one's repertoire. It also is a chance to reassess personal strengths and weaknesses.

Gratification

Uplifting another writer is important in raising self-awareness and positive feelings. If the read has brought a sense of expanding one's tool kit, it would be a good thing to tip.

Do people really read the work?

I can speak for myself. When I open a work by another member, I plan to read it all the way through. I will heart it, and I usually pick on something positive to say in the member group. One can identify a good writer early in the piece. I must say, most members in the Vocal platform are passionate writers. Either I have a nose for picking the right pieces, or most of the writers are skilled. Alright, I think it is the latter.

In my case I found people reading my work and providing positive feedback. If members pose a question on tips to polish write-up, others happily respond. I'm a sucker for those members who mention they have one to no reads in the stats. Members do read the work of others.

Does sharing the work with other members make a difference in numbers?

I found a significant bump in my stats when I started sharing with other members. In addition, there are the hearts. The more one shares, the more members read. The more content one reads of others, the love returned is proportional. People enjoy a well-written piece, and sharing it brings more visibility. Even if it pains me, I try to share my work with the group. I continue doing it at every opportunity. Here I am, sharing my most viewed story to illustrate this idea.

How much should one share?

A rare share is not going to make a difference. The feed is always rolling, and if one blinks, the piece is gone. I recommend consistent sharing, even if it kills one to share. I admit I find it cringe-worthy to push myself, but I realize I must do it. The group is private, and that gives me a sense of wanting to be my own advocate. I am not just doing this for hits, likes, nor for the monetary reward which is not great.. I do this because I want to capture attention from other writers and other humans. I am open to my work being critiqued and offers of alternate suggestions. It is a refreshing change from being unheard, unloved, and unseen by algorithms.

It's important to have good grounding as a writer. Every voice matters, and I remind myself never to disparage member writing or my own.

Sharing an older piece or keeping it New?

This is a personal preference. There's a novelty factor with the recent pieces. Chances are, the old piece is déjà-vu, and a chance to have your work read could be wasted. With my widely read piece, it does not help to share again, as the bump in the stats is next to nothing. Whereas, a new piece has a high initial engagement.

Validation and Verification

By friending the stats, I learn about strengths. I have shared multiple pieces, and there is an even spread of interest from readers according to the stats. However, members pick up certain pieces significantly over others. Between my top pieces and the ones read less, there is a difference of more than 100 reads. Viewers gravitate to pieces that resonate, and this is valuable input for a writer. Most of my writing thus far is the creative expression for self. However, when I know someone is "listening," I pause and assess what makes one piece interesting over another. Writers paradoxically are their own audience, and we need our own audience. In short, our voice is stronger if it is appreciated or validated by other voices. It becomes the perfect marriage of writing for self and writing for others.

Challenge Prompts

I call the Challenge by several names. It is the Lure, sometimes it is a lottery, a bingo game. Today, I call it the One-Armed Bandit. It's like a slot machine in Las Vegas. I like the rush, the thrill of it all. It's like an addiction. Even if my much loved piece does not merit a glance. I pour my feelings out like coins in a slot machine. Just like many others, for a brief moment I think my piece will hit jackpot. When the results come in, it's like being penniless and hung over in Vegas after the sun comes up.

You get over it quickly.

For this reason, I dedicate this piece to other members and not to any challenge.

The lure continues, and I will do the next piece solely for challenge. I just wanted to let members know that getting out of the comfort zone and sharing work has multiple benefits. Not that it matters, but one upside in this might prompt Vocal Media to say "I love you," to deserving members in its own algorithmic way.