I have just joined XOMBA and I already like it. Here I’d like to share with you my initial impressions based on my long years of experience as a professional writer who wrote for quite a few web sites (both for pay and for free) in the past.

Today (as of March 2007) there are basically three different types of websites, or “e-zine blogs” or “article warehouses” for writers:

1) The no-pay sites.
2) Some-pay but “exclusive copyright” sites.
3) Xomba.

1) No-pay sites come in every kind of variety. They range from some really loose and helter-skelter “post as you please we don’t care” sites to other super-structured and well-supervised sites that make a big deal out of their “quality” and “exclusivity.” Some of these site also allow other web sites and publishers to reprint your article, intact with your embedded links. The idea is the more people read your articles and the more those articles are reprinted, the more your links will proliferate around the Internet and the more traffic you will receive.

No matter which way you cut it, one thing is painfully obvious: you work hard to make everyone rich but yourself. You make a lot of AdSense money for the site you are posting to for free. That’s one.

Then you also make a second-tier of AdSense money for the people who take your article and reprint it again for free on their own web sites.

And what do you get in return? The faint hope that someone who clicks your links and visits your own web site might perhaps click your own AdSense ads (a third-tier probability) or pick up the phone and call you and assign you a job, etc.

In theory all that sounds good and “logical” but, folks, trust me, I’ve been on the Internet since 1993 and the chances of you making just a few measly dollars in this fashion is the same as getting a flush royal in Vegas. It just does not work if you think making some pocket change is your due as a writer.

If you are from “Missouri,” the show-me state, you won’t be happy with any of these no-pay sites.

2) Some pay sites pay a very modest fixed amount per contribution but -- it depends on a number of different things.

On some sites, for example, the readers vote and hold a popularity contest. If you win the contest then you might get a few dollars trickling your way. But that assumes that people are conscientious enough to actually vote for the articles they like, etc. And the fixed amount paid usually have a low ceiling.

But there is another big drawback of some of these web sites that is hidden in the fine-print of the contract they make you sing and against which you should be very vigilant: some of these sites, believe it or not, actually make you turn over ALL your copyrights to them, including all your global rights on any medium, in any shape or form! Holly mackerel!

This means they can make a movie or a towel, a doll, a calendar or any product they want out of your creation; they can re-package it, rent-lease it, sell it, license it, chop it dice it cook it… WITHOUT, however, getting your prior permission or paying you a single red cent! How do you like them rotten apples?!

I don’t know what you call that, but I call it a HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

We writers bring a lot of heart, knowledge, life experience to our writings. We provide a lot of energy-, money- and sometimes even life-saving tips and techniques. We share our minds and souls generously with our readers. We do that gladly because we ourselves are great readers as well. We love what we do (writing and reading) and we try to do it very well because that’s what life is all about for us, more or less. We yearn and strive constantly for that excellence.

So I think an expectation of a modest amount of remuneration is also logical and fair. That’s why those sites that ask us to turn over our exclusive copyrights over to them without any guarantee of a sensible income have no idea who the writers are, how long does it take for them to learn the ropes of their trade and hit their stride, and how they work and feel. I wouldn’t lose any time with such some-pay and abandon-your-copyrights sites.

3) XOMBA.

I honestly believe XOMBA represents a fair and equitable approach to the issue. By splitting the AdSense revenues on a 50-50 basis, XOMBA puts its money where its mouth is and enters into an equitable partnership with its writers while providing a great free service to its readers. It’s a wonderful win-win-win proposition that should survive nicely in this competitive publishing environment.

Plus, you sign no exclusive contract and keep all your copyright to yourself. No fine-print mumbo-jumbo here.

Basically, what XOMBA is saying is this: “Hey Bigshot! You think you are a great writer? Fine. Here it is. Here is this great platform we have developed for you. Let’s see what your readers think. Let the readers decide and directly reward your excellence right there on the same page that your words appear. No waiting or posturing necessary.”

It is a Darwinian but fair solution to the problem of too-many-writers and too-little-rewards to go around.

And with this approach, XOMBA has an interesting stake in the wellbeing of its writers as well. Unless the writers do see some positive returns for all their efforts, they won’t stay for too long and keep feeding the site with one interesting quality article after another. That’s the built-in guarantee that should keep the owners of XOMBA from any attempt to “cut corners.”

If anything, if I were them, I would actually adopt the same progressive reward structure in use in almost all real estate brokerages -- why not try to give a little more of the split to those writers who are read the most, liked the most, and thus bring the most revenue to the web site?

Just like all real estate agents are not the same in terms of professional success, all writers are not the same either.

Why treat the writer who contributes 1 article a year and is read by 3 people the same as that who contributes 1,000 articles a year and is read by 150,000 readers?

Why not give only 50-50 split of the AdSense revenues to all the writers by default (as is now) but perhaps make it 45-55 or 40-60 in favor of those writers who are truly popular and build up a following? After all, to reward special talent and success with something also special is truly the American Way, isn’t it?

One site-design suggestion for the XOMBA team, again based on my years of experience writing for sites similar to this:

I think it would help the writers a great deal if the articles could be presented first under individual CATEGORIES and then in chronological order.

The way it is set up now, when you want to see what else a particular writer has written, you have to wade through all the articles in chronological order, the last post presented first. But there is no way, for example, to send a reader directly to all the FILM & TV articles you have written, or to all the BUSINESS articles you have written. Usually we’d like to see articles of a similar nature.

Such a functionality would be great because then, instead of just listing the links for similar individual postings at the footer of an article (which is a pain if you write and post a lot of articles regularly), one could refer the reader to “all the other writings” of a similar nature, by just providing the link to that writer’s so-and-so category list. Just a thought…

This is still a young site in full development. But the owners and designers have got the formula right. That’s why I’m sure this is one web-content site that will just grow in leaps and bounds. I’m happy to be a part of its growth.

Last but not least, let me also mention the very responsive “client service” that they set up behind the scenes at XOMBA.

If you think this site is nothing more than a hands-off “machine operated” contraption (and there ARE sites that work like that out there) you’d be wrong.

There are human moderators out there who actually do read your posts to make sure a certain minimal quality is achieved and send you those pop-up “Zombie messages” to communicate with you in real time.

I also got a response within 2 to 6 hours (not from a pre-programmed auto-responder but) from a human being (XOMBA CEO Don't-Let-the-Man-Get-You-Down Nick himself!) to all the e-mails I’ve sent yesterday to XOMBA, which was great. I hope it just stays that way.