Project Exodus: Salvage Your Content Farm Work

This is my (too long to post in comments) response to the comments graciously left on my piece titled:




The Death of Content Farms like Ezine Articles and Factoidz


Hello! I want to apologize for such a late response to all my commenters!

Thank you for reading this expose, and I appreciate the compliments!

There was a glitch in my notifications that I just picked up on. Probably because this was originally posted at Factoidz (another mistake, I should have posted it here first!) -Live and learn...

No one should consider themselves "dummies" just because we are not as smart as Google. Plus, Google’s “smarts” are trade secrets, fiercely protected. If they don’t keep their trade secrets, then they know money-grubbers, like the founders of content farms will game them. The problem with Online Business is a person like Chris Knight or Mike Quoc, who knows just a little more than we do, convince us into joining them on their mission to game Google, without even knowing we are doing it.

Thanks D, for remembering that I actually did predict the recent change (Panda/Farmer) in Google’s algorithms that have caused the almost overnight crash in the rankings and cash flow of these content farms. I posted that on Factoidz about two years ago. Back then I truly believed in Factoidz. I thought they were in line with Google, and really wanted to provide quality content as they shared the revenue fairly with those who produced that quality content.

Then, Mike changed his (originally plagiarized) TOS and pay out system so many times, it got crazy. Then he flat out started ripping people off. Then he started with these hokey “product reviews”, paid link building -and now it’s all over for him. However, he made a shitload of money!

I have a plan. Myself and a core team of others are building something from the ground up, that is going to be everything I was hoping Factoidz would be. I kept a few tools in my box, and didn’t give Mike ALL my help. In light of some of the changes that I predicted, and happened, I am confident that I have a vision and a feasible plan for all of us hard working content producers to rise up out of the ashes of these content farms, and not only enjoy great success...But the best part: All of our hard work to this day for these content farms...Will NOT go to waste! Consider that work as planting “content seeds” that grew into seedlings (on these content farms) that now need to be transplanted and cultivated into a crop that is going to produce fruit -indefinitely!

We are calling this “Project Exodus.” Anyone willing to join us is more than welcome. We still have a few slots available for those, like myself, who can devote full time work to setting this up. Wanna be on the Masthead? Either way, if you are just looking to do what you were hoping to do on these content farms, get paid a decent wage (we consider .03 per word minimum fair) to produce quality content, and show off your talent and smarts...Join us! You need to be willing to take Internet content production to the next level. There is somewhat of a steep “learning curve.” There is a writing application that you would need to master, that is key to the success of this project. You would need to learn about SEO, and especially the difference between Black Hat and White Hat methods of link building and search engine optimization. We are going to be “white hat” i.e., we will work with Google’s vision to provide their search engine users with a positive experience. We don’t try to get over on them! Once we prove to Google that we are on their side, I expect they will adjust to support us, instead of changing things like they recently did to shake off the parasites that leeched off them.

I know this post sounds like I’m recruiting...We plan to do just that, however, I’m a little self conscious about our sites right now...They are a mess, an organized mess with a focused direction, but maybe still just messy enough to scare away good talent! See, that’s what attracted me to Factoidz in the first place: they were crisp and clean and organized right at the start. So, with that in mind, I’d still like to hear if you are interested -but you’ve been warned! I will wait a bit longer before starting the official “Project Exodus” recruitment campaign. In other words, look into it, but hold off on telling your friends just yet!

Go to: “Bangari Content Gallery get paid well for your talent” and fill out an application. Give us a little time, but one of us will get back to you. We have got about $5,000 in paid work to date, selling articles for .04 per word, paying the content producers .03. We worked these contracts a bit outside of our business model, but we needed the money! LOL ...The work I’m pursuing now will be more in line with what we are planning for our long term operations. However, it will still pay a minimum of .03 per word. or $30 for a photo, cuz as they say, a picture is worth 1000 words! Photographers, videographers and writers wanted!

Message to Catherine Marks and Charlie Billis' relatives

Catherine Marks said...

There is something I don't quite understand here. Kevin,You were talking about a career with the Catholic church..which I would assume is a celibate lifestyle... I remember Chrissy telling me you wanted to be a priest. My response to her was " Why would a guy who wanted to be a priest be on an online dating site?" I told her to stay away from this guy ..Because his story didn't add up ( he could be any number of things and she she had young girls ).(Chrissy doesn't have the greatest record for picking men)While I'm still waiting for the outcome of the trial ( In our country's court systems everyone is innocent until proven guilty). I hardly look to someone like you and see you as a hero. I find your actions predatory at least. Someone who trolls online dating sites for women to write blogs and stories about is...distasteful at best. Because of the the old media adage "There is no such thing as bad publicity." this will be my only public statement ( you may retaliate any way you like I won't respond).Ironically, you may be helping the defense's case.... The more you try to go public (purposely seeking national news programs to promote your "story")the more the defense can say she can'tget a fair trial due to media coverage.


Catherine, please don't run away. I truly believe the "tone" of all this is about to change for the better. Shalom. I think you could be intrumental in causing that to happen. I think you are a very sensible person, even if you don't hold me in very high esteem. Your assumption is wrong. A "religious vocation" does not always mean celibacy. I've only been considering the Priesthood for a year. I have been discerning the Deaconate for over five years. A deacon can marry before he is ordained, with his wife's permission, but if he survives her, he cannot remarry, and must remain celibate. I was open and honest about my attitude concerning sexuality on my online dating profiles. I didn't explain it well on this blog with my "test drive" metaphor, so here goes... As a Catholic layman, I believe marriage is a Sacrament. Making love within a marriage is a Sacramental act. Sex outside of marriage, to me, is a sacrelige. It is equivilent to sneaking the Eucharist home, and feeding it to my dog...then trying to justify it by saying "Jesus loves my dog too" and "I just can't stand the thought of Heaven without my dog...I want him to have eternal life too" 


I talked at length with Chrissy about this stuff. She pretended to agree, as a Christian woman...Yet I found out after she went to jail, that she told some of the many other men that she met online, and had sex with, that she was frustrated that she couldn't get me to play hide the salami with her. She is the predator. Don't be sexist. Chrissy is a prime example that men as well as woman need to mind their security, and exercise some caution when meeting new people in any forum, online or real world. 


Spiritually motivated altruism doesn't mean there can't be any form of a "what's in it for me column" A firefighter runs into a burning building that everyone else is running out of. Does that make him crazy? Just because she gets a salary, benefits and a good retirement doesn't make her opportunistic. These people are still heros, or at least, professionals. I'm trying to do a professional job as a writer, a blogger, a new form of reporter. Promoting and marketing my story is part of my work. I was proud to have served our American justice system in '98 by sitting on a grand jury. I feel that it was my duty to do that, as well as work under the Vermont State Police in this murder investigation. I don't want to interfere with the justice system. The National news outlets I'm talking to are equally concerned, and even more qualified at not messing with the wheels of justice. So, they are currently gathering up the story, but are not going to report it until after the justice system has made its determinations. 


I really wish we could move past the issue of whether I'm opportunistic or not, especially when I'm honestly admitting that to an extent, I am. There are much bigger issues on the table. If I'm a hero or a zero doesn't matter in light of more important things that should be discussed right now. I know it's bad form for a print journalist to make himself part of the story...or to create the news they report, but I'm not a print journalist, I'm a blogger and an aspiring book author. I can't help it. But I really feel like it's past the time that I should be out of the spotlight, and just a source of information, especially for those close to the situation. I will tell the truth. I'll try hard to limit my opinions, and just provide factual answers to any questions that anyone asks. I'm surprised that it seems to be pissing people off that I know things that they don't...because I'm not trying to withold that info from anyone. 


If I am not supposed to be talking about this, I think the State's Attorney would tell me so. I would definitely shut up out of respect for a fair trial for Chrissy. That was a very valid point you made Catherine. Please stay in contact with me. I want to give you and Charlie's relatives some info, privately, that I think could prevent a bad turn for Cat (your namesake) It doesn't matter if you folks don't like me or don't trust me, you need to be in that kid's corner, especially now that I can't be -in the least. I have the information you need to be effective in protecting her from any more loss and disappointment.

Blood relatives: Don't believe their lies

Hi Corrina,

I really miss you and your sister. I think this is the longest we have gone without seeing or talking to each other since I’ve known you. I want you to know I love the both of you very much. When your mother knew she would be going to jail for murdering her husband, robbing you of a good parent that I know you both loved very much, and she asked me to be your guardian, and told me that you both requested that I be, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I gladly accepted that responsibility.

I didn’t know if it would mean I would be a foster father who lived with you and raised you as my own through your final years of childhood, or if you would end up with blood relatives, and I would make sure to always keep in contact with you, and do what I could to support you, like I have over the last year, with hugs, a listening ear, advice and what little money I have. Now it’s looking like I’m not going to be allowed to do any of that...except maybe the money part. That breaks my heart, as well as infuriates me.

As you said, through angry tears, when I broke the news to you that your mother confessed to driving the car into the tree on purpose, killing your Dad, “What right did she have?!” I’m now asking the same question. What right do your blood relatives have to destroy yet another healthy, caring relationship in your lives?! Especially in such a devious, underhanded and cold blooded way as to accuse me of being a danger to you and your sister! I would never hurt you! I risked my life to rescue you from those abusive and neglectful circumstances that you were in, while these same blood relatives stood by aware, yet did nothing to help.

Your grandfather, grandmother, and sister Brandie pretended to be my friend. I and Mr. Wetzel invited them into our home, to share a meal and discuss your future. It was all a ruse to get my address, and then Paul turned around and gave that information to your mother’s drug suppliers, forcing me to have to move out of the Wetzel’s house, so as not to put them in danger, once these same low-lifes began to threaten my life. You told me you’ve known that your grandfather has been in cahoots with these people since you were seven. Then they took the key to the apartment that I spent a week with hardly any sleep, setting up for us, and he moved in... leaving me homeless.

I know you girls are in a lot of emotional pain. I know you are very confused, now more than ever, especially when you have your mother and oldest sister saying that your dad, Charlie, was no good, abusive, and a danger to you. Now you are being told the same lies about me. Don’t believe it! You both are being taught that I did a bad thing by forcing your mother to face justice for murdering your father. That’s how gangsters and mobsters reason. Don’t buy into that either! If you do, the violent, disgusting turmoil that has infiltrated your young lives will never end. You will have the rug pulled out from under you time after time, for the rest of your lives, because you will trust people who will hurt you and mistrust people who would take a bullet to protect you. Worse, you could end up becoming dangerous liars yourselves.

Even though I was tricked into thinking their was a "no contact order" in affect, and haven't been in touch for over three weeks, I have been keeping myself aware of your situation through others, and I have more advice for you, especially regarding you and Zach. Remember the things I already told you about how you both should conduct yourselves in that relationship. I won’t say any more here, because I plan to copy this letter to the judge who will be hearing the case your grandmother brought against me for a protection order for stalking or sexual assault. Corrina, your sister needs you as much as you think you need your boyfriend. Please be there for her. You are still the most sensible person in her life right now.

God bless the both of you, I pray for you constantly...

Love,

Kevin

Web Nuggetz

Web Nuggetz- a new site I just joined. It seems much like what my "first love" ...Factoidz, was supposed to be about. Sara Valor recommended. I like that they have a graphics section, and very short word counts. You get 100% Adsense revenue too...I'll keep you posted!

If you want to know why you shouldn't produce content for factoidz and start to look elsewhere to ply your craft, read this article about the Panda change, and why Google hates Content Farms:

http://judithgiustovskevinleland.blogspot.com/2011/07/death-of-content-farms-like-ezine.html

Report to DCF regarding the daughters of Christine Billis

Thank for listening to my long-winded story yesterday. Here are some points I'd like to highlight to help you investigate things properly to determine which of the family members may be the best to take placement of the girls, or if they would be best off placed with me as the girls preferred since the beginning.

• Chrissy kept the house in deplorable condition...This depressed Corrina to the point of apathy, and she gave up on trying to clean up after her mother, and manage a house in between trying to manage a teen-aged social life, school, church activities, homework, and her many creative projects.
• Chrissy let it get to the point that there was dog shit all over the floor, like six to twelve piles at any given time, dirty laundry covered the bathroom floor, food was rotting in the fridge and all over the counters, and the girls were constantly getting "stomach bugs" which were really cases of food poisoning...about twice a month.
• Chrissy has never really worked, and is a self proclaimed "lazy bitch" and only cleans her house in preparation for one of her Internet sex buddies to come over, one of whom, was having sex with her one day, in the living room. Corrina had stayed home from school that day, came down the stairs, and got an eye-full. Gross! They casually said "hello" to her and laughed it off.
• Chrissy is always broke because by my estimates, from her bank records and my knowledge of her expenses, she is spending $700-$800 per month on pills, weed, cigarettes, and an exercise machine. The power and/or Internet is always getting shut off. She hasn't paid for gas for the stove since running out months ago. In October of 2010, we came back from our trip to CT and RI to no heat, no electric and no water. The girls had to stay with Chrissy's mother that night.
• Marilynn, Chrissy's mother was aware of these circumstances to a great degree. She didn't step in. She didn't help out. I asked Chrissy why she and her mother didn't "pool their resources" and live together and take care of the girls. Chrissy told me that would be impossible.
• I understand that Marilynn has struggled with mental illness. She is a sweet lady as far as I can tell, and Chrissy is definitely a bully, who doesn't tolerate criticism even when it's due. However, Marilynn failed to get help for her grand daughters by at least reporting to your agency the neglect these girls were suffering.
• Chrissy told Marilynn that she confessed to murdering Charlie, and would be making me guardian when she had to face the charges. Marilynn was okay with that from what Chrissy told me. Marilynn and her friend Jan indicated to me that they were very happy that I had stepped in to take care of the girls until the courts would decide where they should be placed.
• I initially expected to be guardian temporarily, until I started to find out that none of the blood relatives seem well suited to care for them properly. Chrissy and the girls told me this, however, I didn't completely believe it until I saw for myself.
• Marilynn, Chrissy, or anyone else who may have known, bothered to tell the girls that Chrissy was taking responsibility for killing their father intentionally. They left that task in my lap. I was the one who had to break the news to the girls, so they wouldn't have to hear it from their friends after it had been on TV.
• Paul sends $60 per month allowance to his grand daughters, and seems to have a good relationship with the girls, however, Corrina said that although she loves him, I am the most responsible adult in her life right now. Like Paul, I am not a rich guy, but I spent about $200 per month on traveling to Newport about twice a month for almost a year, buying food, paying for certain things like Corrina's year book, halloween costumes, etc, and I spent many hours cleaning that sty as best I could.
• When Chrissy went into custody, I spent an entire week, on about seven hours sleep, moving them into the apartment on South St. Because the girls had just been hit with the news, I couldn't make them work along side me, moving. I let them spend time with their friends, or play on the computer while I worked hard. Paul, Marilynn and Brandi did nothing to help with that.
• I scrubbed and disinfected all the furniture, and set it all up in the apartment on South Street. Paul took the key from me whe he came with the Hinesburg police to take the girls out of my custody. Now he is staying in the apartment.
• When I suggested to Paul that he come and stay in Vermont and we get a place together, pooling our resources to take care of the girls, and setting up a child-safe, two adult system like the VIRTUS training I've completed recommends, with the Grandmother close by making it that much easier, he acted like he liked the idea, then next thing I know....
• I caught Paul collaborating with two of Chrissy's drug dealers who were threatening me. (I'll post the threatening correspondence at the bottom of this, and explain it if need be) I told Corrina, via text "I just found out that your Pappa is in cahoots with two of your mother's drug dealers." She responded "I've known that since I was seven"
• Brandi and Corrina do not get along. Brandie upbraided her publicly on facebook, and has recently removed her comments that were hurtful to her little sister, after some other friends voiced their disgust with what she said. She criticized Corrina for posting about how she felt in this horrific situation, which was very positive, considering, telling her she was only trying to drum up pity, and spread family secrets, that she knew were already public info, and all over the news.
• I went to great lengths to make sure the girls pets, two small dogs and two cats, could remain with the girls...Along with having to take care of my one large dog. Now, Paul has indicated that he wants to get rid of them. He won't even bring them to me so I can foster them until the kids can have them back.
• Even if I am not the best choice as full time guardian, I am still a trusted family friend who loves these girls, and I am concerned with their well being. I risked my life to get the kids out of this abusive situation, and now I am being prevented from speaking to them, or having any contact. It is poor foster parenting to sever healthy relationships with trustworthy adult friends, especially when you replace them with sketchy people like Ray Benson, one of Chrissy's drug suppliers, who seems to be going out of his way in an unnatural way to get close to the girls. While I was Guardian, I never allowed him to be alone with either of the girls, even though he seemed to be constantly vying to make it happen. I wouldn't have let him get as close as he did, but he helped us move, and claimed to be a former social worker with a daughter who just started working for DCF. Please check these facts.
• I understand through Corrina, that although Brandi and Paul are not "slobbering drunks" they drink often, and a lot.
• I smoke weed occasionally, and did so with Chrissy so as not to "blow my cover" while getting evidence for the State Police. It also enabled me to find out who she was getting it from, and what kind of people were around the girls. I've gone years at a time without touching the stuff, and would gladly set it aside again if it disqualified me from being their guardian. I seldom drink alcohol, and never have more than two drinks at a time. I've only been drunk twice in the last 22 years.
• Chrissy tried to keep her pill use secret from me. I never participated in that. I was threatened in a serious way by one of her pill suppliers, Charlie Cabral, who later threatened to put a hit on me with the Hell's Angels, and make false grand theft accusations against me to the State Police. After I handled that problem, it made Chrissy suspicious that I might be recording her many confessions, and she threatened to kill me if I told on her. I had to smooth that over, and continued to gather info for the VSP for eight more months, while working to get the kids out of that Hell-hole.  
• Concerning Charlie's side of the family: Remember, they are not blood related to Corrina. They play obvious favorites, and Chrissy and the girls are aware of this. I've witnessed it myself. They came all the way up from Mass, and only spent ten minutes visiting the girls.
• The remainder of the time, about an hour, Tina, Charlie's sister, and her two children, Stephanie and George, spent screwing me to the wall. Tina, instead of thanking me for risking my ass to protect her niece and get justice for her brother, she accused me of having something to do with the murder, of trying to get my hands on the insurance settlement, of being one of Chrissy’s many sex-buddies, said the apartment that I set up, clean as a whistle was a "dump" and said she would kill Chrissy as soon as she got out of jail, if she ever did.
• The only way these relatives, Charlies side, are taking care of the girls are if they go to Massachusetts. They wouldn't split up the sisters, but would be "tolerating" Corrina in order to keep Cat.
• Brandi and Paul who live together in MA, would prefer to take the girls out of Vermont and away from their friends, school, church, etc. I along with Corrina had to put a lot of pressure on them to get Paul to leave Brandi with the apartment in MA, and relocate here to VT if he wanted to be guardian. I'm sure he is going to want to return to MA, with the girls, first chance he gets...Wouldn't that make it difficult to work the case between two different state agencies?
• When praying with Cat, she asked God that her mom's time in jail help her "clear her conscience" so that she could get well and be healthy when she finally came home. I couldn't have said it better myself, and told Chrissy that it would be good for her soul, and it was the right thing to do to turn herself in. She knew I would see to it that the girls would be well taken care of.
• Once she found out I was the informant that got her busted, she freaked out, and now from behind bars, she is going against the best plan, one she proposed and the girls agreed to, and trying to out me from her daughters' lives. She is teaching them that you should hate someone who doesn't help you get away with first degree murder. What are we, in the Mafia? Thankfully the girls don't seem to be buying into this line of thinking. Corrina is well aware of my role in bringing her mother to justice, and told me that I did the right thing.
• I asked Corrina, during a time when she was still very angry, what she though would be a fair punishment for her mother...She said "I'm not going to lie, I believe in the death penalty" Ironically, Chrissy told me the same thing during one of her confessions. I told Corrina that I could not have turned her mother in if there was capital punishment in Vermont. This experience has changed my opinion on the death penalty, and I communicated that to Corrina. I tried to allow Corrina to be angry, yet reminded her about the goodness of forgiveness, at least to some degree. The violence myself and these young people have been steeped in is sickening, and the cycle needs to stop, now!

That's it. Here is the correspondence between one of Chrissy's drug suppliers and myself. Please excuse the language, it was Hank using his wife’s account

Heather Rathburn

• July 1
• Heather Rathburn
• Dude ...... I pray you remember me ...... JUST ONE QUESTION AND PLEASE' DON'T BE ONE OF THOSE GUYS WHO SAY IT'S NOBODYS BUSINESS' ... " are the minor children of Charlie and Chrissy Billis staying or being kept with you ? Please reply , yes , lots of stuff going on man , a family in total dissaray and I"m certain there are family members in need of some answers and certainly information regarding the whereabouts of the children . We send prayers in hopes they are well .hank
• July 1
• Kevin Leland
• Yes Hank, of course I remember you. Do you remember me? Do you not remember we had a certain problem? Anyone who is truly concerned has every right toget information. I have a hard time believing you are truly concerned,because you are a man who has left his own beautiful children and sweetheart of a wife high and dry, many times, including for three or four days after I met you. You should be concerned for your own family. You should hold that together at all costs. Value it man. Okay, lecture over.
• 
  
• The girls are doing really, really well. They are in good hands. I'll guard them with my life, until they are placed in a permanent situation, and after, if that ends up being with me. They need clothes, and some other necessities. I've got some money, but not a lot...How 'bout my $50 bucks next time I see you? It would help, and as soon as you pay me, I'll take you off my shit list. Thanks for your concern, I hope it's genuine. -Kevin
• Saturday
• Heather Rathburn
• Lecture me ..... Wow , you know nothing of me nor my family and my life conserns you in no fucking way whatsoever . I could be your worst fucking nightmare asshole , your a fucking online whore so keep your fucking upinions in your head , you fucking hear me. Motherfucker , I smell a lowfuckinglife pedaphile and by you doing what you do and the choice of your fucking words show such so I'd personaly keep me on your fucked up list bitch. yup , You'd better watch where you fucking step due to I think your the next mistake in that familys life , for God's sake , ain't you fucking done enough allready , now your telling me such things about the girls and you , woah , think about what you'said and done thus far...... Yes, your actions speek pedaphile. No need in writing back , I got what I needed to hear and it's exactly what we all expected to hear , you'r not the only one we're conserned about regarding the girls , you've someone else outside the family vie'ing for those minors you've in possesion . Stay the fuck away from my home , my family and boss , it's eggshell's around me , take heed , I will take action against you in a heartbeat , that's after I protect what's mine !
• Sunday
• Kevin Leland
• I know a lot more about you then you know about me, douche bag. The last person to threaten me is facing a long time in prison. The person before that ended up in a heap on the floor. Don't threaten me. I will hurt you. Pedophile? No, never. Corrina and Cat are extremely intelligent, have known me well for about a year, and are at an age where they could tell if I was some kind of pervert. What you smell is your own shit because you have your head up your ass. Call me a pedophile to my face and you're going to end up with my boot in your ass too. But I'm sure that will never happen, because you are a pussy. You proved it when you let your wife deal with the conflict you caused, while you hid in the house like a coward. You, like a lot of other people, want to comment on the situation without knowing a fraction of the facts. Shut the fuck up. Stop selling drugs. Take care of your family. Mind your own business, and get a life you piece of shit. Stay far away from me, or you are going to end up behind bars or in a heap. Is that clear?
• Sunday
• Kevin Leland
• Ooops...I just reread your last message. Who is the "other person outside the family" that concerns you? Ray Benson? See, this is where if you didn't come off like a dickhead, you could actually be a help to the girls in this situation. You are right to be concerned about him, even if you are way off about me. I wouldn't call Ray a pedophile, but he is a bit of a screwball. Corrina doesn't get a good vibe from him, and that's all I need to know. He isn't going to get close to the girls. He's only been on the scene for a couple months, and is totally sketching me out too at this point. He has already been told to keep his nose out of it from now on. I don't think he is a bad guy, and he has given a hell of a lot more real help than anyone else has. But he is stoned stupid, and is all over the map, so is officially out of the loop at this point. Don't worry about him. Stay out of this too,
• you are nobody.

The Death of Content Farms like Ezine Articles and Factoidz: Navneet Panda Algorithm Change by Google

Note: This is the “Beard the lion in his own den” piece I posted on Factoidz on 7/11/11. It lasted for about two days before it was taken down. Mike must have been busy spending all the money everyone else is earning for him, and not paying attention. The links to it have been redirected to the Factoidz Home page, and, sniffle, I have been demoted from, sniffle,  “Staff Writer” to “Factoidz Writer”. Enjoy...Then let’s sink his battle ship!

EzineArticles got it's start the Corporate-American way: Other people’s money, well, in this case, other people’s intellectual property. In 1999 Chris Knight founded EzineArticles.com, a useless content farm and the ultimate made for AdSense site, by purchasing several thousand articles from ArticleCity.com. My source could not confirm how much Knight paid for this body of content, but many of us who have written or spun articles to "get our start" in writing online, are guilty of accepting as little as $3.00 for seven hundred words, er, ghostwritten...Duh, we got our start, yeah, and some practice...Knight got millions from his shrewdness. Our own stupidity? Yup. Anyone who has ever ghostwritten an article for $3.00, run a check...Watch how many show up at EzineArticles and other content farms as well as made for Adsense sites.

Knight took this content and posted it under a bunch of made-up user names. They posted AdSense all around and bada-bing bada-boom...Return on investment! Now he needed to get more content for this ultimate MFA site, that is; "made for AdSense" as Steve Weber coined the phrase. Knight knew that he couldn't bring himself to continue paying such a ridiculously low amount of money for the handcrafted intellectual property of others. He needed to figure out a way to get this stuff for free. The "give and take" concept was born! Writers give Knight their intellectual property, and he takes the first-fruits of their efforts, i.e; the first and last dibs on AdSense click-throughs.

The writer takes a little box at the bottom of their article to post a link to their own site. The writer can not so much as mention his first name in the "give" box -the body of content that is his own article. There are endless debatable submission rules regarding keyword density and placement, the sole intention being to game Google search-bots, that it makes a writer ask "am I writing an article or doing a fricken' word puzzle?" Oh, and be careful with those naughty words -the EZA editors banned my  article, ‘Vasectomies and Christmas Trees: When Balls are just for Decoration’ -labeling it "obscene" because I used the word "balls" -referring to testicles...Gasp! Ironically, the VP of EzineArticles, Chris Knutson is known to use plenty of profanity during his frequent power-tripping tantrums thrown on the underpaid, overworked employees of EZA that aren't Knutson-Yurchin's (as some employees secretly call him) personal friends and family. Can you say "hypocrite?" How 'bout "control freak?" Strawboss. Get a real identity.

Now if by chance a Web surfer, after finding you're article on EZA, reads it, then clicks the link to your own MFA site that you must build, and of course stuff with more spun redundant crap, and then clicks on an AdSense ad you post there...you get paid. Three clicks is a long way to travel down the Information Super Highway and the revenue as compared to Chris Knight’s first fruits are like the wormy apples you pick up off the ground.  It's no fun to wade through piles of shitty, empty content so that you are forced to click an ad in a desperate attempt to get some specific information. Now Google has figured out a way to shake out the higher quality content.  Google is more concerned with the quality of the user's experience than the quantity of click-throughs. AdWords purchasers sure don’t mind less clicks divided by more conversions.

The Panda Farmer Change

As Matt Cutts, of Google once put it:

“One piece of advice I give to SEO masters is, don’t chase after Google’s algorithm, chase after your best interpretation of what users want, because that’s what Google’s chasing after.”

Exactly what I was saying in this piece:

The Best Approach to SEO

As I predicted in an article I posted on another content farm, Factoidz.com, called “The Future of SEO and how it affect content producers”  ...the SEO game has changed. Navneet Panda, an engineer for Google, wrote the code that does exactly what I said would be done, based on “human” opinion models, to make these Google bots better able to sniff out original, useful, quality content, and bury the crap.

I was one of the biggest shills for Factoidz, until Martin Rojas took over. I was proud of what we original writers were accomplishing in terms of quality. I liked the sleek look of the site. I enjoyed just writing...they chose photos and posted everything while keeping good track of traffic and other analytical data. At first the deal was a 50/50 split of Adsense revenue. Fair enough. So, I promoted Factoidz, becoming an unwitting shill. Turns out, Mike Quoc is a con artist, much like Chris Knight. Factoidz is a Ponzi scheme. (check out that link, it explains it all -who wrote that? Please come forward in comments.) After Ezine Articles cornered the market on getting absolutely free content. Associated Content figured out how to get tons of content for average $1.00 per article. Once they amassed it all, they sold the entire company to Yahoo for $90 million. Divide $90 million by the number of articles posted on AC at that time ~that should give you an idea what they really should have paid for those articles. Mike Q. at Factoidz applied the “Ponzi scheme” approach to get all of his content at AC prices, without any upfront payout.

The worse part about the way Mike did it, is that he screwed over many loyal people, like myself, who contributed ideas as well as content to the site, helping him build it up from nothing. The whole “buzz it up” feature on factoidz was my idea. He had awesome writers that were producing really good stuff, in a way that Wikipedia can’t. So he fired them. He was trying to be a “for profit” Wikipedia. Step away from Wikipedia Mr. Quoc. They are the fifth most popular Web site because they write unbiased facts. They don’t pander to advertisers. I have donated. I was hired directly by Mike Quoc to write reviews for different dating sites and other products like “Baby Can Read” when he first started looking to degrade Factoidz into a content farm. Then he shot down an article I wrote about an event in the life of Christ, because it wasn’t “factual.” Censor me and poke fun at my faith all in one email Mike, you douche...Oh yeah, and stiff me for the money you owe me for the non-factual articles you hired me to write -just to put the icing on the cake.

Chris Knight kept an in-house team. Mike Quoc, with my free help, schooled Knight on user content generated MFA sites, taking it to a level that Knight never could. Quoc’s users were not only generating all the content, they were also promoting it and the site. On top of that, they were building the site. In a little over two years, Factoidz accumulated over 1000 backlinks. Now he is flat out paying people to create them, $5 to $20 each...talk about beating a dead horse. Where Quoc turned against his own volunteers, Chris Knight back-stabbed his own in-house team. His original programmer, a source for this article, was fired soon after developing all the alchemy that took other people’s free, intellectual property, and turned it into gold for Knight’s pockets.

Good thing I have plenty more ideas! Not to mention I saw a lot of this coming, so I kept a few cards up my sleeve. Here is my advice for everyone who is still onboard these sinking ships known as Content Farms:

Get your own domain on Wordpress or Google Sites or something. I loved the layout at Factoidz when it first came out a couple years ago. I liked that they did all the publishing stuff, attaching pictures...that I guess they were stealing around the Internet....But now, it’s easy to have a site of your own, and do these things yourself. Or, pairs, or groups of content producers could team up with promoters and agents and techies and build something good together and share the spoils fairly. Google docs, and cloud computing makes it easy. With Kindle and Amazon, ebooks are in demand. Writers of this day and age can completely cut out the publisher as a middleman. Imagine? No use for Quoc or Knight.

Just write good content. Make a name for yourself. News is best, even if it’s told from a historical and personal perspective. -Remember, we are not journalists, we are bloggers, we can be part of the story and biased. Keep it kinda local, that’s if you want to make your revenue over the long haul through advertising. If you like cash on the barrel head, then pursue gigs working for Web sites. Stick to your expertise, and charge .03 to.06 per word, an average package deal for content running about $2,000.00 for one site. Ideally, I think a writer should dabble in each, and of course have at least one novel going, right?

I’ve recently built a private site, called Bangari Content Studios, where I’ve been landing a lot of this type of work, and a small group of writers are churning it out, open source style.  I could use help, especially from promoters and techies, and I’m paying these .03-.06/word rates for writing. I’m even negotiating to have by lines included with most content, eliminating “ghost writing” for the most part and getting writers the credit and exposure they deserve.

And then there are affiliate deals that content producers can make with Site owners...But that’s a card I’m keeping up my sleeve until I see how all this works out. I predict that the Internet, especially since the advance of social networking, and in light of this Panda change in Google algorithms, is going to offer excellent opportunities for poor hacks like us who cut our teeth, and got our practice, honed our skills even, and learned how easy it is to get screwed by sketchy schleps like Mike Quoc and Chris Knight and his gang.


Internet writers are going to become correspondents in small social circles. Unlike print journalism, the ratios for correspondent to reader will be smaller. The Burlington Press has  circulation of about 50,000 newspapers per day. A Blogger can make a living on about 5000-10000 readers per day. 5000 face book friends (the limit) could get you those kinds of numbers, but remember, traffic comes from many sources. Think like a magazine editor. The quality of your content has to be stellar. Team up with others; photographers, video editors, transcribers, techies... Multimedia is important, and is going to become much more important. Make a name for yourself. Inject some of your personality into the content you create. Get a following. Be a good correspondent for them. Sell only things that you can stand behind, and have bought or used yourself and liked.

The Exodus

Moses said to the Pharaoh  “Let my people go!”

Free and independent, that’s the way to go. “But what about the empire I’ve established?” you ask. Think of it like I think of my first two marriages; good practice. If you have built an empire at Ezine like Jeff Herring has, awesome! If you became a featured writer at Factoidz, great! Look at the traffic your articles are getting. These content farms are probably making $5/1000 page views just in AdSense. With your own site, there are other ways to make revenue, more targeted revenue, like affiliate revenue. You can promote or sell products that you really like, and know something about.

Should we take our content with us?

Yes. I’m going out on a limb here, but I think that if we take our content down and repost it on our own sites, we’ll bury the content farms. I’ve already noticed that my new blogger site, Camels and Shepherds and Spys...Oh my!  is outranking the content farms for a Google search of my name, and I haven’t done any SEO work to make that happen. If Mike tries to stop you, talk to Ginger Baxter aka Sara Valor. She and many other contributors to Factoidz, like Clarsie Dotes, forced Mike Quoc to remove their content, leaving not a trace. He changed his TOS so many times from the original (that he stole from another content farm) here is what a pissed off Factoider found out:

I spoke to a lawyer who said that the Terms of Service are "unconscionable and therefore unenforceable"--so that's not going to protect him ultimately, either.  By the way, have you read them lately?  In Paragraph 7 he says we own our copyrights and content; then in Paragraphs 8 and 13 it says he has the right to use or modify (or, for example, make a MOVIE) out of them--and even that he has the right to take action for anybody else to publish them.  It cancels itself out.  So the issues with the TOS are much worse than merely copying it from somebody else; he is stealing our copyrights, and the word "stealing" is NOT an exaggeration since he continues to earn revenue (even if it's not much) from our work while we receive nothing, and we are powerless to control it.

This is it folks. You have no control over your own property. Say “Fuck you, Mike Q” and get your art out of the hands of anyone but yourself. Learn ~Wordpress or Blogger or Weebly, etc...Sign up to follow my new Blog and of course, I’ll follow yours. I’ll be publishing a lot more competitive intelligence here that will help you throughout the transition to complete independence. I’ll be looking for some answers too I’m sure. I envision a net of former content farm writers all linked to each other, commenting and supporting each other, learning from each other and sharing information and news, all from their own independent domains.

Let’s roll!