by Amelia Schaffer

Created on: September 15, 2009   Last Updated: September 22, 2009

Helium statistics should be made real-time to make the site more user-friendly and helpful to its writers. Real-time statistics would make it easier for writers to keep track of writing percentages and writing and rating stars. This is especially helpful towards the end of the month, when many writers have to guess their percentages and may lose out on money for a guess that is just a few decimal points off. It will also help users keep track of the money they make with Helium, including whether or not they have received an empty title bonus.

Currently, I keep track of my Helium article writings and earnings in a spreadsheet document on my computer. This helps me keep track of articles I have written as I write them, as well as make more educated guesses about my writing percentages and the number of writing and rating stars that I've earned. This requires a lot of attention, though, especially when I write many articles in a day. Miscounting the number of articles I have written, not realizing that the article I thought I posted to an empty title was actually posted second, being momentarily confused about what categories count for upfront payments - these can all lead to disparities in my calculations. If I am on the line between rating stars, miscounting one or two articles can make a big difference in that month's payment.

If Helium statistics were calculated in real time rather than daily, the potential for human error would be reduced. If users noticed an error, they could report it to Helium immediately instead of waiting for the monthly calculation of upfront payments and trying to sift through a hundred or more articles to figure out what went wrong. Instead of trying to guess at what articles would raise their writing percentage and by how much, users could see their writing percentage rise and fall as their articles were rated, and use actual, real-time statistics to determine which articles they would write next.

Real-time statistics would be a benefit to Helium, as well. Being able to constantly measure progress is a good motivator for writers. In addition, seeing writing percentages fall in real time could be a motivator for Helium writers to write more articles when they might not have otherwise. This will produce more ad revenue for Helium.

Making Helium statistics real-time would have many benefits for both Helium and for its writers. As contest standings, article rankings, and ad revenue are already calculated in real time, it should not be a huge problem to expand this tool to users' profiles and writing percentages.

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