Vocal Media Wants Me To Invest
Can You Spell Totally Legal Con Job?
So, it’s not exactly a secret that Vocal Media and I are at odds, but this takes the damn cake!
I’ve been a Vocal darling. I’ve won and placed in countless challenges. I’ve had dozens of Top Stories.
Then the site started going sideways. They began catering to a clique of writers that belonged to a specific Facebook group that some execs belonged to. Top stories were rotated among these folks, quality be damned.
Writers who hung in from the beginning were cast aside as guaranteed money as new loot was courted. Quality in challenges was no longer a thing.
The stock plummeted. It circled the drain. I was sad.
Vocal, when I first joined about 2 and a half years ago was THE place for quality writing. They had moderators that checked for things. They hosted brilliant poets and fiction writers I dreamed of being like.
Some of them are still.
And I reached my goal. I won and /or placed in at least 7 challenges. My profile won’t show that because there were specific challenges that weren’t publically credited.
Yes, I AM that good. I brought a buttload of traffic to the site. I loved the site. I even eschewed Medium for a year, thinking it inferior (more fool me).
I’m not on an ego trip, read my stuff. It’s good.
I loved the platform. I believed in it.
Then I was ignored.
And things went downhill.
Creators started asking questions. Now, most of the top stories are AI-generated without attribution. The leaderboard is a clique of loyalists. It’s become a content mill.
But they want me to invest.
Hmmm…
Let’s take a look at the facts, shall we…
First, when I tried to give some feedback, as a valued and decorated creator, CEO Jeremy Frommer blocked me on Twitter:
Oh, booo! You block me but you still want my money, right? You still sent that email.
Let’s talk about that. You sent me an email asking for money. You want me to buy in at $10 a share. Your stock is literally 2 cents a share:
Sorry, 2.3 cents.
So, Reg CF, let’s discuss. What is that? It’s GoFundMe for companies. Here’s the SEC definition:
So Jeremy Frommer, please tell me, what do we get for our $10? What’s the other $9.98 for? Just free money? Please explain. I know it’s completely legal, but I also know that the vast majority of creators who received this solicitation have no idea what they’re getting.
Oh, and why would I invest in a company that doesn’t accept or consider creator feedback? Why would I, one of the demonstrably best writers on your platform, give you my money when you blocked me on Twitter for expressing my concerns?
You have creators tossing in cash thinking they’ll get a leg up in challenges. How will you deal with the ethical implications of that, knowing full well shareholders and family are as a matter of practice, excluded from entry?
I loved Vocal. It loved me until I spoke my mind. Kinda sad because my mind is exactly what you need.
Happy downfall, Jer….. Ten bucks for penny stock? You can’t be serious!
If you enjoy my work and would like to support it, do feel free to buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/mistyrae