The Effect Of The New Vocal Leader Board

Thank you for keeping up with the many ways people can scam on Vocal, and helping me gain a bit more information.

Congrats on your leaderboard placement 🎉🎉 Hopefully it also means that Vocal took notes on the matter. I personally don't come on this platform daily due to work, but when I do, I try to catch up with everyone I admire on this site, so bear with me on that. :D

Same like Cathy, I know I've read this but have no idea how come I didn't heart or comment. It baffles me 😳Congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊

I like the way you always bring changes on Vocal into perspective and big picture, Mike, but I don’t really agree that the leaderboard improved. It became more elite and exclusive, in my opinion.

I know I read this, but obviously didn't heart of comment, and I have no idea why not. I've been busy with life lately, so not as active. Yeah, I have noticed quite a drop in reads and comments as well, but I sure don't miss the spam and AI. Great article, my friend.

I am commenting on this because I would like my voice heard on this important topic. Well written article, Mike with some excellent insights. Truly the only way to gauge popularity is by reads alone. Comments don’t really equal popularity as each one of us here can manipulate and maneuver reads if we want. But, it takes more work to garner actual reads. From what I gather the Vocal team is not including reads as criteria for the new leaderboard. They are only counting comments and replies- excluding those by the author of the given piece. It seems that Vocal’s aim with this leaderboard is to increase community activity. As Rachel, Tiffany, and River/Celia have stated activity and comments are down. It seems that Vocal has failed in creating community activity with this leaderboard. The new leaderboard has decreased visibility of a diverse range of creators on Vocal. Week after week the same core of creators are featured on the leaderboard (this is not to knock those that are on it regularly- I love and respect each of you tremendously). But morale is way down in the Vocal community because much less people are given the opportunity to shine. Vocal needs to find a better way to combat the fake profiles, bots, and AI abusers. Vocals needs to bring the diversity back to the leaderboard or more and more people will stop caring about it all together. I have not read the last three leaderboards and do not plan on reading any going forward until they fix it. As River/Celia mentioned comments/likes is not a measure of talent. Vocal should be focusing on writing skills, depth of storytelling, proofreading and editing, and so forth. I know that focusing on quality can be a subjective matter. But if they institute a clear set of criteria they can fairly feature a class of quality work. Instead Vocal is fostering cliques and that is not good for anybody. Vocal needs more transparency in who puts together the leaderboard each week. They also need more transparency in their challenges and Top Story choices. Vocal needs to steer away from being a “popularity contest” and focus more on quality of work.

I rely on you to do the stats because I'm too lazy and my brain is overloaded. So thanks for writing this. I can't comment on the reads or likes because I have been less active recently. I am glad they changed the Leaderboard.

That's one way to handle spammers. Quit paying them.

My reads and comments are down, even on a Top Story. But I’m an optimist that it will all pick up once people trust the system again.

As far as I am concerned you inspire you really do. Thank you for that. I try to get on here just for reading as much as I can but once i start tapping on my keyboard I am up up and away,.

Interaction seem to be down; perhaps some people may have taken a break because of all of the AI etc.

Honestly, Mike, I knew reciprocity would decline once they removed the most supportive from the leaderboard. I even discussed this with Celia, and we both agreed that a lot of people are selfish and self-absorbed. Vocal will have to figure out a way to instigate people to interact with each other's work, or we will have to figure out a way to be even better to draw them in to discuss our work... I've even brought up commenting to you before. Honestly, I consider myself lucky to have placed at all on the leaderboard since the makeover. I do not consider myself as good as others or as popular either.

I think people are inherently selfish and self-absorbed. Popularity (I.e comments and likes) isn't a measure of talent it's a measure of marketing and 'friends' but the new leaderboard is what it is. We didn't care about the last one and have zero interest in this one. 💜 Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We're just sticking to reading what we like, when we have the time. That's all we can do 💜

You are always giving us a lot to think about. Good job, Mike.

Glad that the faux accounts have been dealt with. Genuine authors need to progress, and those can impede the process significantly.

One thing I'm noticing is people are commenting on my older stories and not the newer ones. I hope it's just because they are more interested in an older story, and not because they are trying to keep the comments down on newer stories so I can't make the leaderboard. Love your work as always 😀

My comment are down I still comment but no one bothers. It’s still same old though when it comes to the ones making the money. Which is why not let others have ago too we all pay for the same thing yet some get recognised week after week others have no chance. Earning are down dramatically too so that and knowing you have no chance on anything nice happening kind of puts you off.🦋🌼🦋

I quite agree. The volume of worthless noise is down. Music is audible.