Associated Content, Helium closes its doors to international writers!  

Wow! That's a bum deal. I'm luckily not in that position - I live in the US, where I believe these two online writing companies primarily get their writers from.. But the sad part is that while I'm a member of both, I never write for either of them! I've written ONE article for AC in the past six months and nothing for Helium, and I've also been a member for about six months. I just have no motivation to write, and I've had lifelong writers block.. And I can never think of a compelling article to write. *shrugs*. It's too bad that we can't switch our residences.. It's unfortunate that eager people like you can't participate on these sites just because of your geographic location, while people like me - who couldn't care less about these sites - have all the opportunities in the world. I wish there was something I could do.

But I wonder why they both targetted "far east" countries? I've heard of sites blocking countries like China because too much 'fraudulent activity' took place on accounts from users from those countries.. But, scams are run in EVERY country - does this mean they're going to start blocking every country? THEN who will write for them? Aliens? Haha .

This is the 3rd discussion of yours on this topic. I have a friend from Canada that got a notification.. but there is something about $100 page views.. I'm not sure I understand it.

Actually, Helium's blocking of certain regions has been going on for quite some time now. As far as I can tell, it's not country-specific, since I have seen cases where people from one country (India to be precise) were complaining about being unable to log in while others were unaffected.

I'm not sure if it's the same in your case.

Anyway, here's what I gather from AC's notification:

1. Non-US writers will not be paid from 1st May onwards. I suspect that means you can still write there, log in etc, but you will not be paid

2. You have to enroll as a Featured Contributer to continue being paid. AC has a list of certain categories (travel, technology etc) and you have to apply for one.

3. After they accept you, you have to publish in your category at least once a month, and you'll also have to file a W-8BEN tax form. YOu'll also only be able to withdraw your payments only after it reaches $100.

justdroppingby hi Thats not really fair I do not think. I am in the US and so no problem but I haven't signed up for either Helium or AssociatedContent,too busy on mylot.Is there any markets for writers in the Phillipines? Have you tried sending articles to popular magazines like Readers Digest,they pay well for anything they accept. I suggest getting a copy of WritersDigest as it has a lot of good information on markets for writers.

Hi justdroppingby,

If this is really true, I must be quite lucky, because I have submitted most of my articles to Triond instead of AC or Helium. I have a couple of articles in both, but somehow the two sites never did entice me to write more. Furthermore with the complicated star ratings in Helium which I could never understand, I was more compelled to other more straight forward sites.

But I do know many international writers in both of these sites. I hope they are not that affected by the changes.

Is this for real? I can still access my account in helium without difficulty. @_@

Hi justdroppingby,

I am from the Philippines too. Is that true? OMG. I just started last mid February 2010 and I have good earnings on that site. I really find it a good start when I after a month, I already earned a lot from page views. I also found few friends who have helped me to improve my writing and to earn more views and other tips. I do not have problems signing in @ Helium. I even received a message from the Helium team to become a credentialed expert. I was thinking of providing them evidence but as I finished reading it, I am having doubts if I continue to be active with that site. I have a good amount on that site. And I guess I could reach the minimum payout in no time. So does it mean I could not withdraw the money?

I'm so sorry about this...that Helium is locking its doors to your country, Philippines. Any reason for why that is so? All these new changes are definitely puzzling and I am wondering why too. Anyway, luckily mylot is sticking to its policy so far, and I hope there won't be changes like what you have mentioned.

Anyway, I think that one can earn slightly more if active in mylot than these sites. Just that with time, the passive thingy over on those sites can be pretty enticing. But too bad there are no more..

If you are still interested to write, you may want to set up a blog and adding on Adsense to it. But the payout is $100, which can be a bit hard to reach..needs traffic and time.

thats was sad news but iam inactive members in Helium so i think it can not effect to me. but i was sad because it was discrimination i think. whats the fault of non US people so they are forbidden by AC and helium?