Helium.com

Infobox Company
name = Helium.com, Inc.

type = Privately held corporation
foundation = 2006
parent =
location = Andover, Massachusetts, USA
key_people =
industry = Internet information providers
products = Citizen journalism, User generated content
homepage = [http://www.helium.com helium.com] Helium.com, Inc. (formerly known as Helium Knowledge) is a website where writers are paid for contributing articles, and visitors can read these articles for free. User generated content in a given category is rated up or down by other writers in a form of peer review system. As with social news sites like Digg or Reddit, user ratings determine the rank of an article. In this case, however, the ones who rate are the writers, and multiple answers/articles exist and compete in most topics. In turn, high-rated articles receive more page views and earn more money for writers.cite web
title = Helium.com - About
url = http://corp.helium.com/About/about.aspx
accessdate = 2007-05-24 ] According to Alexa's website global traffic rankings, Helium.com's rank has hovered around 10,000 since January 2007; but has risen to remain consistently between 4,000 and 5,000 in 2008.cite web
title = Alexa traffic rankings - Helium.com
url = http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?q=helium.com&url=helium.com/
accessdate = 2007-05-24 ] The site's number of users has grown from over 5,000 in October 2006 to 100,000 in February 2008.cite news
first = Jesse
last = Noyes
title = Helium.com floats blog-rating site
url = http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=161896
publisher = Boston Herald Business Reporter
date = Thursday, October 12, 2006
accessdate = 2005-05-24 ] cite news
first = Stefanie
last = Olsen
title = National Press Club targets citizen journalists
url = http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9869718-7.html?tag=blog.4
publisher = c|net
date = February 11, 2008
accessdate = 2008-03-04 ]

Articles

Contributors to Helium can write an article on any topic (called a title by Helium). Articles are arranged by categories and sub-categories (called Channels by Helium [cite web|url=http://www.helium.com/smf/index.php?topic=39309.msg630007#msg630007|title=Explanation of Helium Hierarchy] ), e.g. Creative Writing (main category, called a Base Channel by Helium) has sub-topics such as Drama, Essays and Satire (called Leaf Channels by Helium). Contributors may create their own topic, or post an article to an existing topic (which may have been created by another contributor, or by a Helium staff member). Each writer can only submit one article to any one topic.

If a contributor creates a new title, it is not published immediately, but instead is held for vetting. If approved, the topic is created, usually within a day or two, and then articles can be contributed to the topic. This is a recent change as members in the past had to also contribute an article with a suggested title but can now simply suggest titles and not be forced to write to them [cite web|url=http://www.helium.com/smf/index.php?topic=37719.0|title=Announcement of new site features, August 2008] . Articles written to existing topics are published immediately and are not vetted or edited by Helium, although they may subsequently be removed if flagged as inappropriate.

Articles within a topic compete with each other for "ratings". Rating is done by contributors on a "rating screen" where the articles are shown anonymously, two at a time, and contributors are asked to vote for the better article. This process is repeated until all the articles in a given topic have been ranked in order - though users are typically only shown a couple of "rating pairs" per topic to increase the number of raters per topic. Each time a new article is posted to a topic, the rating process is repeated. Rating is anonymous to prevent bias by contributors.

The current system of rating does not give precise guidelines as to what "better" means. This issue is strongest among creative, opinion, and other subjective article categories. Another ratings issue is that expert articles are habitually given to non-experts to rate.

There is a flagging system which enables contributors to report plagiarism and otherwise poor articles.

Partnerships

Helium has entered into partnerships with a number of non-profit organizations, including the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and National Press Club (USA). The Pulitzer Center is sponsor of "Global Issues/Citizen Voices essay contest" [cite news|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_wgaGcHz8I|title=BBC World News - 26 Mar 2008|accessdate=2008-03-28] aiming at engaging citizen journalists in what the center considers underreported issues. The National Press Club allows the best citizen journalists among Helium's writers to apply for membership. Reportedly, it is the first time in the National Press Club's 100-year history that it has made outreach to a non-traditional news outlet.cite web
title = National Press Club targets citizen journalists
url = http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9869718-7.html
accessdate = 2008-02-19 ]

Another partnership used to be with the TV show Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria where viewers can submit essays to Helium.com and the best essays get featured on the TV show; but this has since expired.

Payment

All articles stay on the site in perpetuity and will continue to earn income for the writer so long as the writer is actively contributing to the site. The articles of a writer who has been inactive for more than six months will cease to earn revenue for the writer. Writers earn a share of the ad revenue from ads appearing with their article, plus an amount based on the rating of their article and the number of times it is read. Helium does not disclose the formula from which this is calculated, and the formula may thus be changed at any time.

In May 2008 Helium increased the ad revenue share by between 50% and 150% for the top quarter of writers, as determined by the rating system, by introducing a Writers Stimulus Package. [cite web
title = Helium’s Writers Stimulus Package
url=http://www.helium.com/promotions/writers-stimulus-package
accessdate = 2008-05-24 ] However, earnings had been dropping prior to this program having been introduced. [cite web
title = Slow Earnings? Anyone else?
url=http://www.helium.com/smf/index.php?topic=28006.0
accessdate = 2008-05-24 ] The program additionally requires the writer to maintain one rating star, the formula for which is not disclosed. Thus the entire bonus is entirely dependent on Helium's rating system, the accuracy of which continues to be repeatedly questioned by members. [cite web
title = Ask Questions, Share Ideas, Express Concerns
url=http://www.helium.com/smf/index.php?board=178.0
accessdate = 2008-05-24 ] Several members claim to have made statistical analyses which demonstrate that Helium's rating system generates swings in article ranking well outside the normal 95% confidence interval. Helium dismisses all member input on this subject as being anecdotal, [cite web
title = Just more to frustrate
url=http://www.helium.com/smf/index.php?topic=32852.msg562617#msg562617
accessdate = 2008-05-24 ] but does not publicly release its own statistics, citing them as proprietary information. It is likely the current rating system will remain.

Earnings vary considerably depending on the categories and topics chosen. New writers can expect to earn only a few cents per article per month. Long term Helium writers typically have hundreds of articles on the site, and/or promote their work heavily elsewhere, and/or make major efforts in contests and the Marketplace (see below).

Writers are encouraged to promote their work by writing blogs which link to Helium, or on MySpace, Facebook, forums and social bookmarking sites - all of which can make a substantial difference to earnings. Writers can also win prizes varying from $5 to $75 in Helium contests, and submit work for purchase by publishers in the Marketplace section. The winner of Helium contests is determined by ratings, however ratings have no bearing in the Marketplace section (although they are still conducted) - instead, the publisher is free to choose their preferred article for publication.

Helium earns money from Google AdSense advertisements displayed on the site, and from commission on articles sold to publishers on Marketplace.

History

Previously HeliumKnowledge.com, Helium.com was launched in October 2006. Initial press releases suggested the site was a quick-reference alternative to other sites like Wikipedia and Yahoo! Answers. The article review system for Helium was, from the start, touted by Helium as being significantly different than those of other encyclopedic sites. This review system has been the primary topic of numerous Helium press releases.cite web
title = Helium.com Press Releases
url=http://corp.helium.com/About/press.aspx
accessdate = 2007-05-21 ] More recently, Helium has increased rewards for affiliate marketers who bring new writers to the site.cite press release
title = Publishers Boost Helium with Affiliate Program
publisher = Business Wire
date= 2007-05-01
url = http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070501006101&newsLang=en
accessdate = 2007-05-21 ] As of May 2007, according to Helium, the site has approximately 100,000 registered users, 80,000 of which are active contributors, and 300,000 total submitted articles.cite news
last = Wilson
first = Chris
title = Online Forum Airs Out Debates, Tosses Dirty Laundry
publisher = US News and World Report
date = 2007-05-22
url = http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070522/22helium.htm
accessdate = 2007-05-22 ] Since then, several Helium writers have challenged the active-inactive ratio on the basis of observed evidence. The raw data has not been released by Helium.

Technology platform

Helium is built with the web application framework Ruby on Rails [ cite news
last = Emigh
first = Jacqueline
title = Cross-platform Ruby on Rails gets SaaS management tool set
publisher = BetaNews
date = 2008-05-01
url = http://www.betanews.com/article/Crossplatform_Ruby_on_Rails_gets_SaaS_management_tool_set/1209660142
accessdate = 2008-05-01 ] which enables simple but powerful integration of database-driven dynamic content in the user interface.

Notes

References

*Wilson, Chris "Taming Internet Flamers and Attracting Adults to Boot. New user sites find ways to add civility to the cacophony" [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070610/18flaming.htm] US News & World Report Sunday June 10, 2007.
*Forrest, Rachel "Beet-L-Juice. Can a vegetable be sexy? Yep." [http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070718/OPINION/707180304/-1/OPINION0433] Seacoast Online Wednesday July 18, 2007.
*Wingfield, Brian. "The Pundit Economy. Helium Seeks Hot Air" [http://www.forbes.com/businessinthebeltway/2007/07/25/pundits-washington-helium-biz-beltway-cx_bw_0726helium.html] Forbes.com Wednesday July 25, 2007
*Business Wire (July 26, 2006) [http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/index.jsp?epi-content=NEWS_VIEW_POPUP_TYPE&newsId=20070726005634&ndmHsc=v2*A1183287600000*B1185913991000*DgroupByDate*J2*L1*N1000837*Zhelium.com&newsLang=en&beanID=202776713&viewID=news_view_popup]
*ABC News (March 24, 2008) "Writing for Peanuts and Loving It: Online Writing Platforms Attract New Writers With Small Fees" [http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=4514057]

External links

* [http://www.helium.com Helium.com] - Official site.