As I am approaching my 4 year anniversary here at WA, all of these updates and improvements to the entire platform confirm that I have found the right place to experience online success. WA is not perfect but I challenge anyone to show me a platform that is.

When I joined WA in August 2013 I came here solely to learn how to build my own ecommerce website, so I could break away from selling on eBay. However I fell in love with the affiliate marketing concept and thus I now belong to several affiliate programs in addition to WA.

Though I still intend to build that ecommerce website, I am hooked on the various ways to discover the multitude of niches many of us are exposed to on a daily basis, and make money from them. I could not have achieved this without WA.

Many people will have different beliefs or benchmarks as to what success is. I do not say this often but I am a humble person when it comes to wealth and I never share what I make from all of the affiliate programs I belong to combined.

But just knowing that I make quite a bit more than my WA yearly membership every month from the WA affiliate program alone, proves to me of my success with this great online business building platform. You, Carson and everyone else have done a great job.

I'll admit that when I first came here I was fully motivated to make it to Las Vegas. Even though I have been to Las Vegas at least 10 times already, it would have been great to finally meet you, other WA affiliates and Carson - and to hear Carson's voice for once. lol

As time has past, my motivation has been to continue developing multiple streams of income outside of WA, which is why I went from Rank 3, which I held for about a year, to a Rank in the 20s. There are many days in a week I spend the majority of my time away from WA and more on my other money making endeavors.

I enjoy being an Ambassador but I do not have to be in the top 10 and such. I do not need a number to know that I am helpful to this community and that I have achieved a greater level of monetary success than what I had when I first joined.

So I am looking forward to these new changes you will be bringing forth as I gladly see the continuation of WA's uniqueness in the online affiliate marketing and educational world. Thank you Kyle, Carson and all those behind the scenes for all that you do for us.

I have a question in ref to this post,
So after doing my intial joining of WA, and im just now at the first 3 steps, but it says to get aquanted with the community, so im not supposed to share my goals, ect? Or not be so personable, i guess im a bit confused, i thout it was to connect and meet new ppl.
Please feel free to give me constructive critism, bc
I want to follow directions correctly!!
Thx
Lj

Thanks for this new updates, Kyle. The best I can be summed up about this latest method of practice is how we stay adapting to changes or new method and philosophy.

I am still working hard to keep evolving and stay relevance with times changing in the more advanced world. Stay out of complacency and always taking the good out of the lesson learned previously.

Thanks for the latest update of this recent development, brother.

I'm excited to read about the updates. Luckily I've been in some other communities and training programs over the years. Of course there will always be room for improvement but for me this is the best platform.
Thank you Kyle and Carson for all the work you are putting to this platform. I hope WA will continue to grow and I wish all of you success on your journey.

It is great to read about the forthcoming changes, Kyle. In one more week I am due to start my third year with WA.
To see changes in Ranking and particularly Ambassadors is something I am looking forward to, as well as the Activity dashboard, in particular the Top 10!
There is more I could say but I think its mainly been said by others.

My thanks to you Kyle, and to Carson and your team who keep this amazing platform and program alive and functioning.

I have said many times, and will continue to say, Wealthy Affiliate is the the very best program world-wide for learning how to become a successful affiliate marketer. I have been doing affiliate marketing since 2007 and feel I have more than sufficient experience to make that statement!

I am so pleased to hear this. Most postings I've received, beyond the initial "welcome to WA", have had useful content and/or had an inspirational message. A few, though, have been off topic and some, too personal. The continuous development of this very intricate website and the integrity you show in your attempt to keep it relevant is impressive. I am so grateful to have found this opportunity and thank you and Carson for all the hard work that we benefit from.

A new approach to anything is always good, as we need to refresh our creative side from time to time,

We become complacent and start slacking off, It would be a welcome change to see some different faces and names in the WA rankings, some more deserving, maybe.

Good move, let's shake things up, Lol.

All the best to you all.
Gary

I am thankful and grateful every time I am reassured that our leadership is consistently preparing to take us to the next level, kudos, for this is good news.

Having read this post and Boomerg article, I concur (even without my longevity) the quality & potential of this platform is good for marketers. This article from one with longevity helps to clarify it is not a race to run or rewards but an opportunity to help self and others.

This may not work for my corporate clients as I intended, however, moving forward, I hope it will work for up to 90% for my Sole Proprietors and Faith-Based & Community Niches and clients.

Recently, I learned and confirmed that this is one of the best platforms for helping people with barriers achieve goals. I will be writing a post about that in the near future.

This is an informational post, thank you Kyle for being responsive and Carson for helping built this platform that will help me help others for the greater good. Further, all others who are instrumental in the daily process of helping others build an online presence for our business.

Thank you Kyle, I will be watching for it. Sounds interesting and all sorted out to the letter of strick business or not. Saving time and emotions. It will be interesting. Thank you again. I really did not think that an update could be possible. I recommend Wealthy Affiliate's community help as the best.

Kyle thank you, when completed I believe the New Activity Dashboard will be GREAT and provides an absolute "Win-Win" for the entire community. Folks can filter out posts and questions what they want to hear, read, and also what they want to edit out that to them is "noise" but to others may be a motivational learning experience.

Diversity is what makes this community great. And YES, even though we are ultimately here to "learn to earn" we still are a community, and that's is what makes this platform wonderful.

Yes I agree with you Kyle, although this is a business platform for learning, there is still room for social posts. As you wisely state, WA doesn't feel they have a monopoly on what is necessarily a great post for people and what isn't. Some posts will be more business-related and some will be more social.

There is room for all good doer's here. In many different flavors.

Developing a New Activity Dashboard that has the ability to choose the "type" of post or categorization of "flavor" members choose to see will solve this important issue.

Brilliant.

What some members fail to realize or don't want to accept is that many of these so-called "social posts" - I am not saying all of them but many - have strong MOTIVATIONAL messages and BUSINESS lessons contained within them that are BENEFITING many members here.

Therefore, by actually pulling off some of these types of posts, I believe WA is actually doing a disservice to the community.

Some of these posts I've seen have comments from readers saying, " Wow, thank you for that great lesson that I can apply to my online business" or "Wonderful post, this is just what I needed today. Was feeling down, but now you've brightened my day to get back to my business."

And then out of nowhere they are pulled. Tragic.

I always firmly believe we should all follow the guidelines set by WA.. I don't believe anyone should be selling anything here, should be promoting their products or services, or should be posting anything political or religious oriented, although I could see in some cases it may be arguable if someone were only posting to introduce a figure for historical and educational context without taking a position. Still that said I agree, no political or religious posts. All of the above is wrong and is spam. Period.

I also believe it is a form of spam when members believe they have entitlement privileges to all too casually send out a "Spam is a No No!" link based on their own subjective interpretation of the rules.

In fact, when this is done ad nauseum by some on occasion as I've seen this could be considered a form of harassment. These offences are abusive in themselves and should be penalized the same way posts are being deleted. Only the founders have the right to "police" these policies and make that subjective call.

This is a wonderful diverse community. Above all, we are all here to learn how to make our online businesses successful and make money $$$. However, everyone has a different definition of what skills they need to gain to achieve that success.

Some folks need to learn how to improve their websites, some need to hone their writing skills at WA so they can write compelling blog posts, some folks seek encouragement through comments and likes to gain confidence to tackle the formidable business world. Some what straight no-nonsense statistics and analytics. Some want greater SEO knowledge, etc. etc.

The point is, the above are ALL online business related. And equally important toward achieving success and making money.

These are all great and very important for different people and add tremendous VALUE to Wealthy Affiliate. What is important and helpful to some may not be important and helpful to someone else. But that's the reality of life, and the freedom of choice.

Diversity is your friend, not your foe. This above all will always remain a wonderful business community FIRST despite its diversity. Contrary to what some say, this is not a social site in primary nor will it ever be. WA will never be Facebook.

Wow Kyle ... you asked for comments, questions, and feedback. I think you may be getting more than you and Carson expected. At times the feedback thread got a little testy. I don't think that is a bad thing. It's a measure of how passionate the majority of the membership are about WA.

Hopefully it is all constructive and will be useful for you and Carson to update the activity sorting algos to best meet the feedback consensus.

I applaud you and Carson's efforts towards continuous improvement in our platform features and services. I'm sure you guys and your tech teams will get it done.

Anxiously awaiting the Activity Dashboard 2.0 and the updated Ambassador platform.

Greatest admiration for you 2 guys..Kyle & Carson.

You have created a gift for people of all backgrounds to enjoy, grow a business, have camaraderie on any level they desire.
Your platforms' growth is enormous and needless to say, there will always be growing pains, but you guys don't look at it that way. It's obvious, you love what you do and take into consideration what is acceptable & fair yet structured with parameters in place.

Thank You for all that you do:)

Linda

Dear Community, Kyle, Carson,

I like to write some of my experiences of the last couple of days, where I went actively into the Activity Dashboard to help those who created blogs and questions, but didn't get any response, to answer them, even if it were social related posts, I tried to interact with the writers and asked business related questions to get them take active part in a business related way. And then there are also those who made awesome business related blogs, with helpful tips and teachings, but no one noticed, why? Why do I find these kind of blogs more as 20 days old? I think it is important to get blogs noted and try to get interaction taking place with those starting and learning writing blogs here at WA.

Concerning Newbies:
I believe, it is your job, the elders of WA, those who are here for years and have the experience, to show the newbies the right way, in a friendly and briefly way, teach newbies to do it right if you see wrong written or non related blogs to business, and spam. I was and I still am partly newbie, we come here and look at you, we see what you post and adapt, then you get angry, because we do so? You can't be serious. Help newbies, because only then you reach a better way of communication and successful cooperation to drive our businesses forward. Social interaction by blogg is ok, as long it is not in a extreme way that a same person mails you under till only your head can be seen... :)

Coming back to my story.
What however really went on my nerves is the tons of spam in there. Many blogs are spam related with a link to signup on another website or to promote a product of the blogger themselves on WA or outside the platform. This is serious and because there are so many, the good blogs and questions go under and do not get the attention they deserve. So I hope the changes will bring improvement to this issue as well.

Concerning, helping and working on your websites, I believe finding your balance is what each other should do. Yes learning to build your business and actively building it is important, but also so is this community and the interaction with each other as this is a part of who we are and we should never ignore nor forget.

Said that, I will continue be here for the community of WA
+ helping others
+ writing Edutainment blogs (have fun while you read and learn automatically :) )
+ follow my certification course
+ reading many blog trainings from many good community members like Kyle, Jay, Patsy, Achiever, Marion, Robert (Boomergp08), nathaniell, and many others
+ working on my website
+ partly being active in the Live Chat helping out and being helped by a remarkable new helper called @Rich, he is Absolutely Awesome Amazing! :)
+ try not to fall asleep in Jay's awesome Webinars ( I wish these could be earlier, it is very hard to stay awake at 02:00 night.... I napped some through already, I miss the chats and interactive communication with each other as we can learn so much from that.)
+ ask useful questions to implement ideas into my website
+ social interacting with my followers who write entertaining blogs, as I need that too once in a while to reset my brain so I can focus again ;-)
+ and probably much more
.... I am balancing :D

Oh and I am Affiliated now :D

We are the WA, Resistance is Futile, You All Will Be Affiliated having lots of success out there with the Best University on the planet build by our founders Kyle and Carson! :D

Wow, Kyle, thanks for these changes coming down the pike as the 10 or so that daily post for actual social reasons solely (and are not "Never Leave WA and Post Everything BUT Anything That Can Actually Help Someone), will not be impacted by these awesome changes.

People can say and defend anything, I know, I have raised children. If you truly want to see why even those in protest of getting rid, or less say narrowing and making relevant the Niche of WA, look at what they have bookmarked inside WA.

If they bookmarked nonrhyming songs and fungi then I will personally apologize and leave. If they have bookmarked, i.e. "Best Keyword Placement," then we see their greatest arguments are.....well, just that.

Yeah!!! Thanks for the update Kyle.

The WA community from all over the world have some fantastic experiences to share....but what really gives me the total irritation are those that post questions, comments, etc. that blind Freddy can search for and find on this very site...

Maybe they know by posting anything, even if it's obvious they can achieve a ranking! Makes it very hard to want to assist those that are truly asking for help as opposed to those seeking rankings!

You Will Be Found Out and You Know Who You Are!!!

Should we unfollow the perpetrators? In time I say Yes!

Wow... Having just read all the comments list here... This Ambassadors Ranking will be a tool of interests. For those who wished to be ranked... Helping people I will gladly do and people helping me is also great... Both of these principles are something I do from my heart and not for reward... My reward is seeing others successful and enjoying life... Everybody in WA has different experiences which is helpful to everybody... People have knowledge that is helpful, without knowing it... Whether you’re a newbie or experienced WA member... Please always remember "Team work is the key, to success"... By Tim Daniel

The one thing I really like about WA is it available and useful to many members. It is ever evolving and I think it's biggest advantage is keeping people involved. There are definitely people who just want training and there are people who are practising their skills and like you say sharing their lives with the community. When you have been here for a while you quickly learn who has the best information for whatever you want. It's great that the activity dashboard is going to allow people to filter their posts even more.

One thing I would like to add, if I may, is the success green button should have a drop down that reminds people is this really a success post relevant to online marketing?

This is such a great site and I know I will be here for a long time Ambassador or not.

One thing I would like to see as far as blog posts within WA and ranking is to have a min of say 400 words before any ranking would take effect.

That way it should eliminate those who are trying to game the system with their one or two lines just to boost their ranking here.

Besides having a min of 400 words is not hard but also great practice for newbies or those who are not used to writing much.

It all helps not only here but also for their respective websites as well.

Also, a reminder for members is to remember your blogs here within WA is also indexed by Google and other search engines as well.

Thank you Kyle & Carson for recognizing the need for changes and informing the members of your intentions. To me, that is what true leadership is all about!

Thank you my dear friend Marion for having the guts and caring so much! You brought upon awareness. You had the guts to say what many of us were thinking, you took on some heat, and still remain dedicated to the best online marketing platform available. You are a true Ambassadress. One, that we should all be following and learning from!

I am a newbie here at WA. I joined because I saw it as a true tool to build a successful online business. I love the help and support driven system but being new, my knowledge leaves room for improvement (that's why I am here). I feel that undue pressure is placed on a newbie to help others and to submit blogs on WA.

I believe that it should be a privilege to help others and that there should be some level of success before you are offered that privilege, like having at least 2 -3 sites up on google and having some financial success.

I have built quite a few sites over the last 6 years and only earned $100. I am sure that this does not qualify me to help others and others might not value my help if they knew it.

I am here to learn and don't believe that teaching is a duty that should be "forced" on all. As I said, it should be a right that you strive to achieve through success.

That's my sixpence.

My plan is to create lots of Bootcamp or Niche success first before focusing on helping here in the WA platform.

So far, I'm enjoying the community here at WA. But admittedly, I'm not active as of the moment, that's why my rank has plummeted.

I'm gathering the power from the heavens (praying and doing spiritual mindset) to finally get sales before I renew my Yearly membership. I partner that with "intense effort" and thinking to make it happen.

Keep up the good job Kyle & Carson and all the Ambassadors and Super Affiliates out there. Without you guys at the top, I simply have no inspiration to look up to.

Here's what I do/don't like about the ranking here at WA.... I LIKE that we have a ranking. The ranking reflects the behavior that will lead to success. That is a GOOD THING. HOWEVER, what I don't like about the ranking... I can't tell what I need to do in order to improve it. In general, yes, of course. Post more, comment more, feedback more, etc..... but. we all only have so many hours in the day and we spend a LOT OF TIME trying to work on improving our site. Which, in the end, is our ultimate goal. Therefore, the ranking at WA is important (and helpful), but it really is secondary, after all, to our ultimate goal.. I would find it somewhat helpful to have a little more direct guidance or feedback on the correlation between what we do for the community and how it helps in our ranking. I am motivated to have the 'right' behaviors, but I need to balance that with the time I spend on my website itself. Any help here is appreciated!

Thanks for the update Kyle. There are so many things to take into account I don't know how you manage them all! It's nice to see that the system is progressing and I look forward to seeing the new Activity Dashboard 2.0! Nice to hear that you are considering mobile viewing too, that will help me a lot in the future.

This is very informative, interesting, and encouraging. In order to be progressive and competitive where I work, we are constantly analyzing information to see how we can better serve our customers and associates. When working in the field at the "point of sale" we are not always aware of the improvements being considered, but enjoy the upgrades when they are released.

It is also good to read the related comments below by those who have been doing this awhile. I enjoy being able to relate to some of their comments, even being someone who is just getting started. I also enjoy hearing their ideas.

Overall, I like the updates and direction you have described and feel confident I am in a good place within a good community. Thank you for sharing this information, and thank you to the others who have commented on this blog.

When checking out members postings, is there any way that it can be marked as read once we have read it?
Many times I find a title that catches my interest and I go to read it and end up realizing that I have read it before. Just didn't remember.
If it could be marked as read I wouldn't be wasting my time reading it again.

Thanks to Kyle and all other contributors for your highly productive input. As a newbie, training and interaction with successful entrepreneurs are very important to my development and confidence in my business. I require these valuable inputs to do things right. I am currently busy picking through the certification stages right now and I am taking actions on my website as directed on the certification training.

However, I know that after going through the certification stages, I will need to scale my business up and at this stage, credible mentoring and learning from those who have succeeded in their own businesses will be highly needed. I am of the opinion that accessing these valuable resources should be made very easy and less time-consuming for learners like me.

While we need to keep the social interaction side on, there is need to make the business posts very visible and accessible as well. The more successful we are with our businesses, the more others will want to hang with us at WA.

In all, I am happy to be here and enjoying the hands-on training and interactions.

Cheers guys

Kyle, this is great news! There is always room for improvement and you and Carson proves that WA is a platform striving for progress and success. Big thanks to you both and your team behind the scenes.

I think the ranking system is a good thing that pushes us to get better and better. Writing and publishing posts within the WA community is a very good practise for blog-beginners like me. The motivational posts are of great value for me as they help me to find the right mindset, when I sometimes feel I've got stuck or feel a bit down because of not coming onwards as fast as I want to.

It is a really great idea, that we'll be able to categorize the posts, which actually is a suggestion I made within a ranking-discussion earlier this summer. Now I'm excited about how this will turn out for real.

Something I wish, is that we would have a better access to the success stories among our most successful WA members when it comes to their online business. It would be very interesting to be able to see the most successful websites. Why not have some kind of ranking of the most successful websites, based on the best realisation? By studying other websites we can learn a great deal. I think this would be a huge motivation for us - to get in the ranking of successful websites. Well, it would perhaps not feel so good to be ranked the 800'000nd, so in this case I suggest the ranking should stop at 200 or so ;-)

Another idea is to be able to "subscribe" to WA-members. This would mean, that we could more easily find the people we interact with the most or who have the most valuable trainings.

Anything that helps us to get the work on our real task done, getting successful online, is very much appreciated.

Happy to be part of Wealthy Affiliate!
:-) Pernilla

It's a great time to be a part of Wealthy Affiliate! New improvements on the horizon, possible incentives, updates... I feel like I found this at the perfect time.

Thank you to Kyle, Carson, and all the behind the scenes guys responsible for keeping this a dynamic and fluid training platform that is always looking to improve!

I really like what I'm seeing :)

Just to add my two cents...

I would love to see the Ambassadorship turn into the top most helpful, successful, and knowledgeable people on the WA platform. No offense whatsoever to anyone in particular but sometimes Ambassadors have earned the label without even getting their business or websites off the ground. I think this could get confusing, especially to newbies who think they are the most successful and knowledgeable assets to turn to when they have questions.

Everything you are updating sounds great and may provide more motivation to get more actively involved in the community again. I have spent so much time on my business that I have spent less time here. This is a good and a bad thing. Good because I am working my business by bad because I also want to be sure I am giving back the way people did for me when I first started out.

Thanks for creating what is still the best overall platform for training, learning, and resources to start a real online business that I have ever found online. I have been through a lot but stayed loyal to WA through the years for good reason. You are the real deal and anyone who may be new should have the confidence that they landed in the right place and finally found a platform worth investing their time and money into. There is simply nothing else like it online. I tell all of my friends to start out here because it has all the tools, training, and resources you need to truly make it happen.

Thanks for doing what you do and I look forward to seeing the new updates to the Ambassador program!

All the best!

Look forward to the changes Kyle!!!

I used to spend a lot more time in WA than I did on my website and my ranking increased here but my website was neglected.

A ranking system is great but for a community like this, I'm not sure how helpful it is other than to see ourselves being ranked in the Top 20,25 200 or whatever using whatever means it takes to get us there.
I know personally that if I referred someone and my rank was 78967 and they saw a member with a single digit ranking, they may just leave. When I first joined WA I followed everyone that was an Ambassador or was ranked in the Top 200 etc. It was instinctive.
My ranking of 78967 doesn't mean that I am not as 'well-equipped' as someone that has a single digit rank, it may mean that I'm spending more time on my website as I've done some of the training, watched some of the videos and now I'm ready to take action. However, I do take time out from working on my website and when I do I try to spend time in WA commenting in the live chat, answering questions etc but what I do for a couple of hours of week isn't going to send my ranking up substantially.

At the end of the day, I'm here to try my hands at becoming a Wealthy Affiliate and it can only be done by working on my website - by taking action from the exceptional training and content here. Once I'm at that stage where I am making passive income and my site is working for itself, I will spend more time in WA and you never know, I may become an Ambassador one day. Until then... I'll keep on plugging away at my website.

Thanks, Kyle, for the info. I think that we have to value and reward post which enhances personal development, skills development and insight in the use of a right vehicle. Social post or post asking for solutions or social help, we don't need to reward because the help or the glory of others is their reward.

Hello, Kyle...

I am glad to see that once again, you, Carson and your team are working out some changes to the platform when it comes to posts and the ranking system...

You are right, there has been a lot of discussion over the last couple of months on these subjects...

Mary (below - oops now ABOVE as the featured comment hehe) has some good points with her observations, and it sounds like you are thinking somewhat along the lines that she has brought up.

I do not agree with all of her points, but many...

Regarding ambassadorship, I am not sure that automatically awarding members achieving 300 sales a position would help the veracity of the ambassador program much...

Actually I think some of the most successful members converting new WA members do not post that much, and that can be for various reasons, a few being:

- Too much noise and nonsensical or fluffy Facebook type posts, their message gets lost...

- People gaming the system to gain ranking, again lessening the value of the position/time spent on creating posts...

- The number of social posts. Hard to stand out and get a post visible to many people when the top 10 posts are over half social posts, nothing to do at all with online marketing...

- Success posts that are not...This is subjective, but i have seen some posts that are more social posts than success posts...Others may think my posts fall into that category, haha, so again, subjective...I am to the point where I will not waste my time anymore (just posted one recently, but it will be the last for a while)...

- Training that really adds little to the overall online marketing programs...There has been some training that is VERY basic and easily found on YouTube or elsewhere. I am niot sure what the incentive might be other than ranking, so this skews the results because of the algorithms...

- The perceived quality of the training is somewhat governed by the votes of the people, but in some cases it goes back to the social side again, as I see some training gets a lot of likes although it offers little..I imagine the ranking algorithms factor this in as well...If you build a social following, it helps keeo you high in ranking, but does little for adding value when it comes to teaching marketing...

- They are simply too busy running their online marketing business. As success comes, so does more work...It is not a one time journey to the top. If you do not work to stay there, you will not remain there...

IMPACTS

The impact when you consider these points and more are that the entire ranking system and the value of content in total of the content posted is lowered...as is the 'value' of ambassadorship...

The most successful members do not have the time or the patience to post a lot, add training, or spend socializing. That is simply the way it is...

When you add all this together, those that truly are worrying about the cost of the membership in regards to what they get out of it will bolt at some point if the changes you mention are not made...

That would be a shame because overall this is the best place I have found to this day for providing a solid foundation and intermediate/advanced training for online marketing...

TOTAL WA CONVERSIONS FOR AUTOMATIC AMBASSADOR ...

Most certainly the affiliate program offered for WA referrals and upgrades is handsome, one of the best in the market.

I think it would be self-serving of WA however to honor those achieving 300 sales in a year with automatic ambassadorship...

For the reasons I mention, it would not offer much to the general membership if that is the measure...

The main purpose of this training platform is not to sell Wealthy Affiliate to potential members.

Rather, I think it is to teach people how to build out a niche and then monetize it through promoting products and services, (Wealthy Affiliate being one of many)...

Reading that idea broght me back to the days of earlier programs I tried, where the focus was on selling their own products, which of course you had to pay extra to have the privelege of selling.

I know that is not where you want to go...

The affiliate program you and Carson have developed is one of thousands out there, and if the focus shifts more to the WA affiliate program, people's overall chance of success will be lowered (due to competition)...

There has been a lot of good input on this thread and on others over the past couple of months, and I await the changes knowing that you and Carson will continue to do your best to make this the most effective platform on the internet for affiliate marketers...

I do think you are moving in a positive direction...

One thing about change...It happens constantly, and it means that ways of doing business must change...

Adapt or perish it has been the law of nature as long as there has been nature I think!

Cheers!
Dave : )

Thank you for the update. I know how much I appreciated the encouragement from others when I was starting out last month. I am glad that there is a system in place that encourages members to support others and make new people feel like they belong, no matter what level of ability they have.

Hi Kyle, i am still new and busy finding my way as I try to be as active as possible within the WA family. Change is not always easy to deal with but it is so important to renew and revamp. Looking forward to the new updates. Wishing you and Carson success and lots of blessings making Wealthy Affiliate the best in the online industry.
Regards
Anthon

At the end of the day, half the time I think about writing an epic post or training I just think to myself..what's the point? In 2 days it will be lost in the ether and the news feed will be filled with the usual noise. I have zero problem with ambassadorship if it weren't for the fact the noise:signal ratio is heavily weighted towards noise as a result. It would be good if there were a much better way of increasing the longevity of the really valuable posts and decreasing the less valuable posts. Like status updates vs value bombs.

The Ambassador Upgrade program looks adding more advantages to our site platform. But to a recently registered members like me, the way seems wider while we are still trying to figure out the entire system. If it is a good thing for the community and I hope it is, so go ahead and we are all behind you.

Very interesting and exciting Kyle. Great platform you have here, I am learning such interesting things. And still more to go. I like that you clarified the activities and how to do them. I had wondered about a lot of the things you've covered here. Thanks for this update. Great stuff here...

Its great to know that things are being developed and improved on the WA platforms.
Personally, I see my ranking going up - and I truly endeavor to give of my "slim" knowledge, not for the ranking, but for learning...I find that by trying to answer other peoples questions - I go and learn new things, and/or discover how much I already have learned in these 2 short months here! So for me the ranking is like a school report to see how much I have learned!
Haven't got a clue what ambassadorship is is all about, so I am not bothered about it.
I joined WA to become a successful affiliate, earn a good...ok...a VERY good income, and enjoy the journey while helping others achieve their goals too! Win win is my motto...so thanks Kyle & Carson and all the people at WA who make this platform so great and growing...now it's time to get back to my lessons 9 (course 5) ...see you around...

Thanks Kyle, everything you mentioned here sounds like something to look forward to, and it is great to know that you
were able to make an upgrade to the activity dashboard.
Also, great to know that we have the freedom to post what we
choose whether it is business related or just social interaction.
However, I feel that we should not just be limited to just writing blogs and comments and watching videos. It would be helpful to someone like even myself who is still learning how to build websites to actually see and hear my followers though
face to face contact. That has always been something I wanted to do since I have joined the WA.
Is there a way you can make that happen?

I believe a platform that does not evolve, update and renew itself is a platform that will become stale and misused. This is what keeps WA head and shoulders above the competition. We all need to have our environment changed up from time to time...like changing your furniture around for a fresher look. Thank you Kyle and Carson.
Sue

Phew! A lot to take in but, for me at least, 4 things seem to have emerged:-
1. An excellent effort to enhance clarity while evolution in process;
2. A pragmatic admission that imperfections remain inevitable;
3. The focus on what sharing is important, and, conversely, what is not. This is very helpful
4. A "balance of ideas" sensibly retained in the pursuit of continuous improvement.
So Kyle you and your colleagues should be congratulated for the thoughtfulness employed towards a complex set of problems and conflicting ideas. Looking forward to what lies ahead.
Thanks
Richard

Personally, I don't worry too much about ranking. I joined this site to make money, so as long as that number keeps going up, I'm happy. I'll take time to help someone when the moment arises, but I'd never do anything to intentionally boost rank because it isn't adding to my goal of making money.

If anyone is, they need to stop and focus more on income producing activities, or IPA. Those are activities that give you time with customers, like linking to your posts on social media, the time spent on the phone talking to a prospect or time spent following up with prospects.

Kyle first off thank you for all the hard work you and your team put in to make WA a great place for all of us to come and work, learn, build a business, and also enjoy ourselves.

Though I respect everybody who has an opinion, I also know that there has been A LOT of negative personality flaws floating around here lately that has resulted in some rather unkind drama. Change is definitely in need and to clear up what may and may not be posted is fantastic! I appreciate that 100%. I personally find that this is a wonderful place to be.

I am able to write freely and not be judged....well until recently I thought that. I never expected to be drug into a heap of dirty laundry between two people that is for sure, and because of that I was forced to take a break and not work on my site or even be on here at all.

I was second guessing my membership entirely, because this isn't Facebook!!! I wish people would stop comparing it to Facebook entirely actually. Yes, we all know that Facebook is huge and successful, but it is filled with nothing but negativity and drama and hurt feelings, and hateful words. WA is different and I'm glad for that!!

So with all this being said, I am super glad for the changes, I trust in your authority as owner and CEO of this company and I will never second guess you. I believe you know what you are doing, and should I think differently I respect you enough to come to you privately, especially when it's about your own company!

Best Wishes

Misty

I appreciate your efforts in these matters and your willingness to communicate your plans with us. Ultimately, it's your company and the involvement people have is up to them. The fact that WA an industry leader is a testment to your desire to keep improving the platform for all to benefit from...on all levels. Bottom line...I'm learning the technical aspects of this business. I have a website. Who would have thought that was possible 6 months ago. Thanks! Debbie

Thanks Kyle for making updates here at Wealthy Affiliate. As far as the Ambassadorship program goes, I am thinking that a requirement for that should be to share your website on your profile (in the right hand column under "Follow Me On"). Many times there have been questions from Ambassadors asking advice then when I go to their profile looking for the link so I can see their site in order to try and help I find they are not sharing their website. They are missing out on hits, the opportunity to get help from others and new members may consider them as a mentor and want to see how they are being successful.

I totally concur with MozMary. This is a business site not Facebook. Those that want/need social interaction should be allowed to have it. However, those that don't should also have their wishes granted. Segregating social from business and excluding social comments from the rankings structure will go a long way towards making this a truly authority site.

We need involvement by the successful WA members. While you can't "force" a member to share, developing the culture of "pay it forward" is a positive goal.

If rewards are to be given suggest they benefit those who help the community the most. Maybe reaching Ambassadorship could result in free membership or higher affiliate commissions. Maybe the top 1 or 200 could have their monthly dues reduced. Incentives do help in motivation. The key is offering the right incentives to the right people at the right time. Figure that out and everyone will benefit.

Thanks Kyle! I am so new here that I haven't even focused on ranking or what it means. If I can help someone , I do. If not ,I don't pretend to. I am here to learn first and foremost . I love the platform, excited to see the upcoming changes you have planned! Thank you for this wonderful opportunity!

I'm happy to see the changes Kyle. I would like to see a small trial balloon expose of the main points perhaps bulletized for all us stakeholders to examine.
A written sample or tutorial of what's to come that could be commented on for refinement.
This would smooth the way for no surprises and a smooth transition!

I say, I know I'll be there someday. Not because I am ambitious but I know everyone who stays here and works here will surely earn credits/ranks and it does not matter if you are expert or not.
I feel that this is one of the systems that equalizes everyone. You rank because the system found what you did and not because you are seen as an expert or advanced than others. So I don't worry why I see those who just came for a shorter time than me and they made it to the higher rank for I know they have worked for it.

Secondly, I like the incentives. Any company that loves its people does this so why can't WA do it faithfully and graciously. The community gives life to WA and if it wills, it's an opportunity for her to extend blessings within the specific level of standard laid down for all that it will cover. I think I am feeling that incentive, lol. And that may fall on a discretion within that level of standard.

So why not come, let's all go there, but remember there is time for every one of us.

Your post is greatly appreciated and helps me understand what's going on.

Regarding ranking, I get personal satisfaction tracking the results of my posts. I look at the number of comments and likes as a reflection of the value the posts adds to the WA "body of knowledge." Posts with few comments and likes tell me my post missed the mark. And probably was not a good post or added little value. Hopefully, as my ranking improves, the post "numbers" improve as well.

Thank you, Kyle for the update on what is coming and what is going on behind the scenes, the thing that amazes me is the constant improvements you Carson and your team are continually rolling out, they truly enhance the platform and our opportunities to create that positive online presence. My biggest struggle with it is that I am not sure that I making the best use of all that we have by way of membership.

Continuous improvement is part of learning process in Wealthy Affiliate. I enjoy the learning process here, very dynamic. Learn new things everyday, too much to be learned, never bore. I think it is necessary to add a special badge to member who have succeed in getting first sale, first referral or first article rank. Thank you.

The paragraph about 'the ambassadorship program for those who are using it' is a little confusing - that is the 'top 25' so everyone is using it, like it or not, unless we have the option to opt out

Half the posts in here are about 'I've made it into the top 200/100/50/ambassador' it is one chain of events and viewed as 'success', something to aim for, and the training tells people to aim for it too

This is the best place to be online, the best resources, the best price, does it need 'incentives' of ANY sort internally?

I'm at the point that I feel responsible referring people to a platform that actually tells them 'success' is defined by being 'active' on the platform and their internal WA rank number, because that is not why they/we joined up

The focus on rank has especially the past few months seen people run campaigns of varying shades and definitions of 'helpfulness' across the platform, solely with the intention of rank boosting and we all know it works.

On the other hand, many truly successful people have blogged that their success rose as their rank fell, no one can compete for rank with someone who is posting or chatting in here all day instead of their website, 'activity' on the platform needs defined for rank juice

Your 2013 post says that without incentive you feared people would not be active or contribute - but social media and facebook have proved in the years since then that people will be active

If success is measured by our gains then that will determine the activity:

- when the gains are 50% commission as in the bootcamp niche, those people are very motivated to provide quality material for their referrals and keep them in

-when the gains in other niches are mastery, the thrill of figuring things out, successes, results, experiences and other affiliate commissions, those people have a lot to share and talk about too

-when the gains are internal WA rank, then the posts are 'woohoo my rank is high today, I am so successful' and fluff posts and platform wide charm campaigns

-when the gain is a nice place to hang out and do whatever you want off topic, then you risk having your platform hijacked without a firm hand

high rank doesn't need an incentive, it's earned and should be deserved

- though how people have defined that word 'deserve' recently is mind blowing - except to ask 'why did we join WA', and when we look at ambassadors could we forget the reason why we actually signed up for these resources and the siterubix hosting?

People need someone to look up to, good leaders, those who already have proved success should be at the top, even without having to be active - WA has produced a stream of 'gurus' all of whom say the training worked, yet members in here don't even get to meet them, many look elsewhere to lesser 'gurus' and shiny objects.

I vote put the top guys at the top, give them the top 25 numbers, and let us all follow in their example...and make those superaffiliates pay it forward with one breadcrumb blog to us a month...I learn so much from even one sentence from those guys

We 'own' the guy who wrote Money Blog lol, and many many other successful people in here who can make 300 premium sales in under 6 months - hey guys - this is an authority platform on so many levels, time to own that ;)

This 3A: Abolutely Awesome Amazing!

I am pleased to hear you are so passionate about what you do here, you interact with the community, you try to help like we do, being on a same level as we are for the sake of the community to seek out and get to know what we users are wishing for and your business idea to help anyone here who wants to be that successful as, you and others here who made it, are.

This all will make Wealthy Affiliate the Number One University of Affiliates online to Mankind one day. I believe in this vision that this will be.

I do not know if the Moon-landing is one of your visions too, some folks are talking about that here on your platform, I leave that up to you if you like to give a comment on that one lol :D

Kyle & Carson, I like to thank you personal for all the good things you have brought in my life since my sign up with Wealthy Affiliate.

You Both Rock!

Hi Kyle

This sounds awesome! I am very pleased to hear of the updates that are coming down the road, makes for exciting times for sure. Thank you to you and your team for all the hard work u guys put in, u have created a wonderful platform here of which I am proud to part of. :)

Carl

Good to read your thoughts on this. Separating post categories isn't a bad idea. For those of us who have so little time just to read posts, that would be a great help.
I don't show up here as much as I'd like to, but selecting posts to read and respond to is - er - selective. You know what I mean.