Vocal Challenges

I really like the idea of a) monetizing Honorable Mentions (with less Top Stories awarded), and b) increasing the Runner-Up amount depending on the word count/approx. time taken to write. Some pieces take a looooot more effort than others. Man, you really went all-in on this DK! I appreciate the research and thought that went into doing this, and you can see that a TON of regular Vocal creators are thinking very much on the same lines as you!

I love that your recommendations seem to have been heeded… newly released Vocal Challenges now have five winners & Honourable Mentions receiving $5 each.🤩✅

I agree with everything you wrote. I’ve been shocked to see the AI content in challenges and hope to see future submissions properly scanned and verified 🙏🏽

Thoroughness thy name is DK! Your approach is simply amazing! Great work!

DK-- I just started becoming more informed about the system-wide problems with Vocal a little over a week ago. I am become slowly more aware of different people who have been crusading about changes for years. And then just a couple days ago, one of my Vocal friends made me aware of this series by you. I have not even read this story yet... I want to not just read but *study* everything you've previously written on this subject. I'll be back in a few days. Congrats on your Leaderboard placement! ⚡💙⚡

So much I want to say, but I don't want to write you a book, lol. First thought: Yes, there needs to be a shift in the challenge distribution money. I firmly agree that runner-ups deserve more, and that an honorable mention without an award feels tasteless. Second thought: edit the leadership board criteria and cash payout, and put those funds to challenges. This seems like a brainless move. Third thought: Definitely scan potential challenge wins for AI. It's a busy platform, but AI should not be afforded a chance to slip through the cracks. I am a Medium editor and use scans on submissions. Fourth thought: yes, yes, yes, please include poetry in the challenges like the days of yesterday. One of my main reasons for joining Vocal in 2020 was the catering appeal to poets. Okay, enough, but I could go on and on. Great write!!!

OOooo! Seriously... your brain is a magical place!!! I love the idea of verifying the account in order to submit/ qualify!!

I agree with everything you've said here. I'd love to see bigger prize pots. I don't expect a return to Little Back Book sizes, but there does seem to be a trend towards shrinking, and at the very least I'd like to see that halted. I'd be happy to see fewer challenges, to be honest, with better prizes. I wonder if a small entry fee would deter people from submitting AI content, or anything less than their best effort? Not a lot, but maybe $3 or something. I imagine it would get pushback from people who are already paying for V+, but I personally wouldn't mind. Especially not if it expanded the prize money. Especially not if Plus members got their first entry for free. And non Plus members could enter at $10 or $20. 🤔

RE Haiku - I am a purist on Haikus and it drives me nuts that so many are not about nature. And when doing a Haiku about nature, as they were originally intended, it is not as easy as just dropping some line. Your point on the TS $ vs HM is good! As is the one on three places and the awards depending on entries. The AI is ruining the spirit unfortunately and I understand it is hard for V to stop all of it and not let one slip into a winner. There are always those who game the system, sadly. Great articles!!

DK, I am loving these articles. I’ve been away for a while and have lots of catching up to do. Your words voice my concerns and the Ai issue is a main reason for me stepping away from vocal. However I do so enjoy many creators, you included, and find myself drifting back. Keep on writing these

You’ve raised some excellent points, D.K., and I wholeheartedly agree with each of them. The current prize structure for challenges does seem imbalanced—particularly the gap between Top Stories and Honorable Mentions. Increasing the runner-up rewards and introducing a small token for Honorable Mentions would better acknowledge the effort and talent behind these submissions. Additionally, adding a formal third-place tier would create a fairer progression between first, second, and runner-up positions. Like you (and undoubtedly many others), I was initially drawn to Vocal for its challenges. They’re an incredible platform for experimentation, whether in poetry, personal essays, or other creative forms. That said, expanding the variety of fiction challenges would offer even more opportunities for writers to explore different genres and styles. You’ve done a fantastic job articulating these concerns—here’s hoping the team takes note and implements some well-deserved adjustments!

Hey DK - gosh you’ve put so much work and research into this. Completely agree - all challenge entries should be subject to an AI check. I never mind losing in a challenge when I see the other (genuine) entries. I’m always so impressed with what creative ideas people come up with…… but if they’re cheating (and let’s be honest, that’s what it is) then that’s not cool.

All excellent points. 🤩 I especially like: “ Honorable Mentions are being selected as winners over entries that get picked as Top Story but they don’t even get as much of a money as a Top Story that’s kind of messed up. If money is tight do one less Top Story a day and you've got the funds to do it!” Also agree: “ I think ALL stories selected as challenge winners should be subjected to AI and plagiarism scans.” Also: differentiating prizes depending on word count etc is a good point. 3rd place for the podium is fitting. And finally: “ I think it would be good to have at least one Challenge per month in those two pillars of the Vocal platform.“✅ Thanks for taking the time to strive to make Vocal even better.💖

My biggest beef with the challenges is transparency. A few years back Vocal used to list who the judges were for each challenge. They do not do that anymore. I am hoping that the judges are not our peers who may be biased in choosing winners. Judges should never been anybody that is socially active with any of the Vocal members. Instead the judges should be hired for the specific challenge and should have some sort of knowledge or expertise in the challenge topic. Such as if the challenge is to write a fantasy story than the judges should be well versed in writing fantasy.

Brilliant ideas, all of them endorsed wholeheartedly by me. I feel like I can spot AI without a scanner but if I am going to report it, I put it through the same scanner as you. I have asked Vocal to provide a "Fakery" button for comments for those that I feel are not sincere or that are placed merely to get on the Leaderboard. They didn't say they would but they did say that the person I reported would be watched for excessive fatuous comment making. The prizes for those who place are meagre. This is said by someone who has had great success in multiple challenges but has received very little in prize funds really. Does this bother me? If I'm honest, a little but I'd rather see my name in the final few with no financial reward than not at all. However, I've had Top Stories and not placed and I often wonder how that works when I've seen other people place AND get Top Story so double the moolah. Knowing that AI has placed gets my blood a-simmering. It makes a mockery of Vocal's own policies, shows a disregard by the person who's entered for integrity, like pulling faces at Vocal behind their back and I wouldn't tolerate it. Not at all. As I wouldn't tolerate people who have submitted pieces that have not been labelled AI who have vehemently denied that they have used it. They lied and they knew what they were doing. Why is this tolerated? Anyway, rant over. You've taken a lot of time to do this and I appreciate you gathering these strands and bringing it all together and being a mouthpiece for us all. You shouldn't have to do this - this time should be spent creating. I think that that, the fact you are publishing this, instead of your wonderful writings says a lot. Vocal, can you see this? Time to wake up and smell the coffee.(Is that from a film?)

LOL, OF COURSE STORY F IS HIS 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 At least that's Runner Up. I still can't get over the First Place for the Dino poem challenge! I'm with you on all of the suggestions/solutions that you've made here. Leaderboard money should go to the challenges. Honourable Mentions should get money. And yessss for a Third Place. Money for winners should differ based on what kinda challenge it is. Number of Runner Ups and Honourable Mentions should be based on number of entries. You've made a lot of good points here. Vocal, please listen 😭😭😭😭😭😭

You have some really great points here, D.K., and I agree with all three. I've noticed and wondered the same things regarding the prizes for the challenges. I think the prizes should be a bit more for the runner-up category and there should be a small prize for honorable mentions. The recognition is great, but as you pointed out, there is a disparity between the pieces that get selected as Top Stories versus an Honorable Mention in a challenge. And I also agree there should be a third place in the challenges! I've always wondered why it is only first and second place with the jump to runner-up. Like you (and I'm sure, many others), I initially joined Vocal for the challenges. The challenges are a great way to branch out and try different types of writing, especially the many forms of poetry and personal essays, as you mentioned. I agree that there could be more variety/opportunity when it comes to the fiction challenges. Overall, awesome job putting this together! Hopefully we'll see some changes!

As my wife posted to you, we are just enjoying the ride here on vocal. Learning and entering the contests as we are interested in them. I sit at under $1.00 and wonder if I will make payout before my time is up, if not I probably won't resubscribe. But for right now me and my wife are enjoying the ride as she put it. Great article - Well Done DK

I thought AI generated stories were not accepted for the challenges. I am honestly tired of the fight. As a journalist, I’ve reported and written about how AI benefits industries for almost two decades. It was always said one area that would remain exclusively human was the creative arts, that includes writing. However, I find myself competing to the very technology I was excited about years ago. Humans are not ready for a technology that most don’t understand.

Well-wrought, D.K! On the note of poetry and fiction, I have to say, I generally find people to read when others comment. I have learned to ignore the obvious AI and dupers. But sometimes I go to the Latest Stories section to find folks I haven't yet. I was surprised, earlier today, that I had to go nine pages before I found someone who hadn't written an article that was tailored to SEO and was not of a creative but of a persuasive pseudojournalistic nature. None of those types were Vocal+ members. I understand that this is writing too, and that SEO gets outside readers. But how likely is it that something published on Vocal by a non-paying member is going to stay on the front page of search engines, especially when there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of other companies doing this sort of thing already, and on the exact same subjects (especially pop culture)? Should Vocal make membership a requirement to write but not to read to screen out the marketeers? Again, nothing against it as a way to make a living--I wrote copy during the COVID day--but it's not literature, and in no way does it enrich us culturally.

Once again, I greatly appreciate this thoughtful dialogue. This whole thing has really opened up to me the depth and complexity of issues presented by the presence of A.I. content and accounts. I think I agree with just about all that you've so thoughtfully presented here! I am a bit torn on the subject of varying runner-up prizes based on the style of the challenge; I can definitely understand frustrations at seeing a 2000 word essay receive the same reward as a haiku, and yet in my own creative process I find I often spend more time planning/scrapping/revising/coming up with ten different versions of a brief poem than I do on banging out a 1000+ word short story (thought maybe that speaks more to my own willingness to spend time on poetry more than prose!!). Wholeheartedly agree with varying the number of runner-ups based on number of entries though! And I definitely agree that it would be nice for runner-up placements to be given a little bit more earning power. I think Vocal started up the Leaderboard in the interest of giving back to more members of the community than just those who happen to place in challenges, and to recognize the incredibly valuable contributions to this online space that so many do by engaging with other people's content; I DEEPLY appreciate that desire, on their part. It's hard and sad to recognize that the presence of AI/bots has hijacked those efforts on a concerning scale. Thank you so much, D.K., for taking the time to do research, write eloquently, and in so doing share a very helpful perspective and space to dialogue about this and other concerns on Vocal. You're a pillar of this community, and I hope you know it :)

I really don't know what to say about Vocal except that Vocal Media, has been a pleasureful learning experience. I have learned a lot about poetry, and I didn't know that there were different types. I am still learning and I even had my attempts at writing fiction and it was here I learned about digital books and other writing contests. I haven't had any luck placing in the challenges, and I learned not to enter so many times. I also learned each writing platform is competitive in its own way. At 75 years of age I consider it a pleasure to write on these platforms and learn something I always liked to do. Whatever, you all decide to do about payments, I don't expect to make a fortune, I'd like to make more. Right now I like a number of people have commented, I make a few to one cent a day, sometimes not even that. I haven't figured out if they still pay for external views or not. With writing platforms collapsing all over the internet, I am glad that this is still a learning opportunity, but whether I will continue for another year depends on whether I start earning some money or get a penny or no cents a day. Right now I am enjoying the ride, no matter where it takes me.

Excellent article. I agree with everything you have to say re the AI and the monetary prizes. Especially the RU and HM. I, like Paul has mentioned, have gotten more from a challenge piece that didn't win (via TS and leaderboard) that from a piece that placed in the same challenge. It makes no sense.

It didn't take me long to find story (f). After I saw a certain author's name, clicked on it, there it was. I agree, If the technology is there to scan challenge entries, then it should be used every time. I do like the leader board but agree it needs tweaking. It does serve as an additional way to reward and recognize writers on this platform. But a lot of writers could care less. They are here for the challenges only, not to interact with anyone or get any type of following here. Those writers will never make the leaderboard unless they get a fluke TS. However, when it comes to displacing funds from the leaderboard, maybe they can make it 3 times a month instead of 4 and could use those funds for the HMs. Get rid of the most subscribed because it doesn't really say much. 'Most supportive' should stay though. I appreciate knowing there are authors here giving as much support as possible. But are they doing it because they love reading or are they purposely trying to make money? I don't think they should be rewarded if their comments only consist of "Nice work" or "Good Job" or something vague like that. We are not even sure if they read it. I could do that all day if I wanted to and never read a word. This was such an interesting article. Will be going back to read the previous installments. Thank you.

We align so much on everything so far to be honest, DK. I think with the challenge winner's list. There definitely needs to be a shakeup. I've made no secret that there have been times I've not won or placed in a challenge, but got a Top Story and top Leaderboard placement, so come out quids in with more than a runner-up in said challenge. Then you factor in the easily, but still calculatable earnings from reads. As someone who has benefitted from that quite a few times, but who believes in a sense of fairness and integrity, I think it's bullshit lol. It shouldn't be the case. Also, that's a good idea about changing the winners amounts based on number of entries - hadn't thought about that. The one thing Matthew and Stephen were knocking about and I kinda agree was shrinking the number of runner-ups which is a different direction to you. But giving them all $50. $50 is still pretty low, but industry-standard, not that there is a real industry standard, just I've seen a fair few where that ball-park figure is for the lower placements. But, I also think that HM should have monetary value. Vocal wrongly assumes that it has this big name credential thing going. If I was contacting a publisher and such I'd probably not mention HM at this point in my bio. But, as we've discussed and you have in other parts of this wonderful thing you're doing, they need to do more to promote Vocal the right way. Then maybe a HM in a Vocal Challenge might mean something. Right now, it just means clogging up the profile page and while it's nice to know you just got beat but still were memorable enough, it's not really an amazing achievement, in reality. I don't think anyway. At least with a runner-up and upwards (especially if they sort the prizes), you have the monetary gain, if you are mercenary and don't consider winning on Vocal a good thing. for instance. Also. I've said it before. And I'll say it again. Vocal, Justin, whomever. Please sort so that if 1st place is $500, the 2nd place is $250. not $200. It makes no sense to my brain lol. Thank you for this DK and I hope Vocal are reading this and sorry about my overblown comment lol!