Are You Being Helpful? Or Trying to Get Points?
Wealthy Affiliate has this thing called "ambassadorship", you've heard of it surely. I'll be honest, it motivates me to remain active, say howdy to newbies and look through the occasional unanswered posts. However, there is a downside to this, noise.
What I've noticed is that many people will leave comments on blogs that have nothing to do with the blogs themselves. They are general "great post!", "good points!", drive by praises that show they didn't read it at all. Sometimes the comments are totally contradictory to what was said, because the title was different from the actual points made. I see a lot of "looks like you found your answer"'s under questions. A lot of redundant unnecessary points brought up in chats. (By this I mean someone asks a question, someone answers, and somebody else has to throw in some info that has nothing to do with the conversation.)
I get that I'm being picky. I'm not complaining, I'm a praxeologist. People can do what they want, and I'll work around them to seek my own way. But I want you to consider this:
- Are you posting on everything, with short meaningless comments, just as a way to gain ambassador points?
- Are your comments providing value? Or are you contributing towards noise that might confuse others who are trying to ask a question?
- Do you actually care about what you're talking about? Or do you feel a responsibility to do so as someone with a particular rank? Or as someone who is trying to gain recognition?
Nothing I blog about here is meant to tell anyone what to do, it's never even meant to be advice. It's only something to mull over. Some thoughts based on some things I've noticed. When I see a question has been answered, I move on. When there gets to be too many people in chat trying to override what I've already said, sometimes with unrelated comments, I leave. When I see a blog that I don't understand, I don't say anything.
If I mention something to you, if I say thank you, if I leave a comment, you can be dead sure that I'm being honest, and I have an actual interest. Making sure you're doing this too can be very important. WA is meant to be an honest place in a sea of scams and spam. Are you helping to make it so?
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Well, I'd never dare answer such a question. Usually on my site, and with these kinds of comments I refer them here: http://ancapus.com/HLnNz4
I notice a lot of drive-by praises as well. I never thought that it could be just for the points - but that these people were just in a rush or they do not care about providing valuable insight. I read somewhere that ambassador points are only awarded for longer/quality comments?
When I give people feedback it's well thought out and even if my comments are short I have an honest reason to write them. I usually receive helpful comments so the random distant reply does not matter as much because I am getting effort in return for my efforts :)
I completely agree with what you said and I honestly feel that way too many members spend way too much time focusing on that number up there. You should be helpful because you and because you want to be. Anyone that is just going out of their to put out blog post after blog post or just put one worded comments all over the place should be spending more time on their own site instead of trying to "game" themselves into the ambassador program. I go days and days sometimes without making a peep on here and other days I feel like going through and helping others.
People know who they find helpful and in the long run it will always balance out because keeping up the constant post/blog/discussion/comment ramming simply to get rank up will always burn a person out and they will begin to drop. The whole focus should be on helping others, I do it because people help me a lot and I know what it is like not to be able to find the answers you are looking for. We are a community and whether someone needs advice, encouragement, a simple congrats, or a question answered, people should be doing it with the best intentions and not just because they might get a new rank...
just my two cents! =)
And I'm sure it's really frustrating for someone to receive different answers and just extra noise especially when they are new to WA. The last thing they need is confusion. I've never experienced that, but it would probably drive me crazy.
I have given a way out in left field answer to a chat question once,(embarrassing) but only because I had misunderstood the question. I then pm'ed the person with an apology and gave the answer they were needing.
Your post gives us good things to keep in mind. :)
I agree..i was wondering if there was some other incentive to get points ..like does it lead to more potential affiliate sign ups from new folks? Or is it strictly to show up on the leaderboard.
It will not lead to more sign ups the only advantage is the rank and trying to become an ambassador. Of course there are advantages of being an ambassador such as the trip to Las Vegas.
the trip to vegas is not from being an ambassador the trip to vegas is based solely on your 300 premium commissions. There seemed to be a lot of confusion regarding that but I double checked with Kyle and no where does it say that ambassadors will be getting a vegas trip. It has been mentioned that they do have some rewards and such in stock for that but the super affiliate convention is for people bringing in referrals to WA. Just wanted to clarify that
Just to clarify, there are some random, hidden monetary incentives that aren't gone into detail about.
Of course, this isn't all about ambassadorship, it's about questioning how much effort you're putting into "paying it forward" and whether it's useful, confusing, or just doesn't belong. (And by "you" I mean generally of course, including myself. lol)
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/kyle/blog/be-an-ambassador-at-wa-in-2014
yeah but that post also says that there are some members that they know are helpful who are not in the top 12 and might still be contacted, its just about value is what it comes down to and having other peoples best interest at hear =)
Great post! I think you found your answer. JK
I agree, the ambassadorship is a bit of a double edge sword. And it can get pretty annoying. But I think it's more than worth it to have a way to keep the more experienced members active and helpful. I also think that Kyle and Carson see that, I notice the ambassadors for the most part are not there just because of points.
Thanks for putting that out in to the air. We all need honest feedback if we wanna excel. It's what makes WA such a powerful tool.
Indeed, there's certainly some specific weighting going on there, and it's not really something you can cheat. But some people just like to "level up". lol
Thank you for bringing up this topic. I was blasted a few weeks ago writing about posts that people post that have nothing to say. Again, I think they want the points. When I comment I mean what I say and not just comment to comment.
Someone asked about how to do a poll. I mentioned writing a blog. So he did. Now he is getting all sorts to responses. I would say about two third address the poll. Others have looked at his website and submitted advise on his site.
I am now selective on what I comment on. If there are a fair number of comments, I read the article and leave. No more comment is necessary if the comments are all the same.
I do as you and help those that have no comments or answers to their questions. Thanks for sharing. Debbie
Never be afraid to be honest with yourself and those around you. I mean, how else are you supposed to find your peers and true friends? lol
I do the same on internet commenting, I rarely subscribe to replies. Put in your thank you, say where to disagree, and be on your way. Otherwise, you tend to get a lot of comment spam from people who've got a hankering for attention.
It's the nature of the internet, and you'll find it everywhere. We can't change it, we're all different and nothing will make us all happy. We just gotta' deal with the world as it comes. :)
Good points. I have to be moved to respond -- I can answer the question or give perspective, but once a question is answered I agree my input would be redundant. I'm not too much into this ranking thing. I want to give value to a community that has given the same to me.
Search for the unanswered stuff that goes unnoticed, and it gives you a challenge while you help to spread the help out to everyone. :D
You are mentioning good point here. I always try to comment after reading all the post. Sometimes I do not leave comment if I do not have anything to say. It it is true, if you will post comment honestly and valuable then your comment will be liked and it will definitely help in points too.
So its better to spend time reading the post before leaving any comment.
Great post Glover
Thanks, and you're right that if you leave some value behind you get likes and provide some help. I kind of wish comments could be ranked as they are on reddit, it keeps quality up pretty well.
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That's why I used PM for my question : stick to the point and the answer comes from the right person also without any mumbling or blathering answer, it's humiliated having that kind of answer! (well, at least for me) Thanks a lot for the blog, Ethan.
lol, I know what you mean, thanks for the compliment. ;)