by Eric Bailey

Created on: February 05, 2010

Although the website Helium.com can seem intimidating and confusing at first glance, an overview from a member's perspective reveals that it can actually be broken up into just a few distinct parts, each with their relative components. The primary reason that it seems so vast and complex is because, as one of the internet's premiere sources for knowledge-based articles, it not only has a tremendously wide variety of web copy content, but also has a very transparent philosophy in how the Helium website presents itself to both visitors and members alike.

Writing

Writers will obviously always provide the material necessary to be a viable, reliable, credible online source for facts and interesting entries. Once he or she has joined, a writer can choose to contribute to topics and titles from an innumerable selection; even within those, members can participate in themed Contests for monetary rewards; the Marketplace, to meet third-party publishers' needs for quality web content at professional rates; Debate pieces, to express opinions and be ranked against others in the same vein; and more, including How-To guides, journalism pieces, and new titles that anyone can suggest.

Because there are so many options available, it can potentially seem overwhelming for a newcomer. However, the best solution probably relies in, like many other hobbies, simply choosing the purpose and the extent to which one wishes to experience Helium from a member's perspective. Do you just need a place to store your portfolio of works? Do you want to make money? Do you simply need to satiate your desire to creatively express yourself? Whatever the reasons and motivations may be, writing can find a home on Helium.

Rating

Sometimes called the “backbone” or “soul” of Helium, the rating system is an innovative advance that brilliantly makes the simple act of head-to-head comparison form the basis of article rankings, thus providing instant feedback (for writers and readers alike) as to the relative quality of articles in a title.

Because it is so important for members to participate in rating, even at a modest pace, Helium has instituted some incentives for doing so: A three dollar monthly bonus payment, for maintain five rating stars; rating stars themselves, visibly promoting one's quality and quantity of rating; and the fact that members cannot garner any earnings until they have at least one rating star. Fortunately, that requires just ten quality rates a month, a task that can be completed in minutes.

Community

One valuable aspect of the Helium site that is often, unfortunately, overlooked is the Community section. Online message boards can be a very effective and efficient area for communication, and Helium is no exception, with their own fully functioning board that hosts a more-than-adequate array of topics. Whether members seeks to engage in heated political debates, simply lightheartedly chat with fellow members, critique writings, seek advice, introduce themselves, or simply surf the topics until they find something of interest, they have the opportunity to do all these and more within the Community section.

Yet, in a looser sense, every member and visitor-reader of Helium.com participates in its community. After all, while an overview of Helium from a member's perspective reveals some of the behind-the-scenes benefits of active participation, in reality anyone and everyone can contribute to Helium by reading articles and taking away insights. This is the true strength of such a website: Its capacity to bring together hundreds of thousands of people in the admirable pursuit of knowledge.

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