I wrote this last year. Er…I told you so. Check this from the New York Times – Youtube Stars Feel Pinch.
Here’s another post I wrote: Big Business Tightens The Screws.
And in regards to putting your content on facebook – Killing Business in 2016 and Beyond.
More on this later. Here’s the original post –
Recently I’ve been cautioning people about putting their creative content on sites they can’t control, like facebook. You get yourself invested and then you’re at the mercy of that company, whatever it is. These companies are not in the business of mercy!I’m quite sure about what I’m saying and I’ve thought of a few scenarios. For example, let’s say your creative content has been posted to facebook. What’s to stop facebook from charging to read it? What’s to stop them from charging to access their site at some point, making even more money on your back? And let’s say you’ve been posting there for years. What are you going to do? Cut and paste? To your own site that has no traction?
Let’s talk about Udemy.com. That’s the site that hosts my video class, Finding Love With Astrology for me. They do not host it out of the goodness of their heart. They take a 50% cut! I agreed to these terms.
Udemy has hosted my class for several years. They’ve made changes over time. They’ve made new demands and the demands have become more aggressive over time.
Last night, March 8th, I got an email from Udemy. It informed me that the site had made an announcement on March 1st, as of April 1st, all courses would have to be priced between $20-$50. I was ordered to accept these terms and to go in and change the price of my course to something within that range OR….
Further, if I did nothing, on April 1st, Udemy would assume I had accepted the terms. They would then go in and change the price of my course for me, to something in the range of $20-$50, at their discretion – PERIOD.
Well, listen here, I’m not a Udemy slave! I set about moving my class last night. I unpublished it on Udemy, this morning. I’ll have it live on this blog within a day or so.
I’m posting this as word to wise. I got my notice from Udemy, eight days into the month before the deadline. Luckily, I have one course on Udemy. If you have ten or twenty or forty or one hundred or more, you’ve got a huge problem right now. And I hardly think this will be the last change.
Is someone else controlling your business? What have you seen out there, along these lines?
Holy cow!!!
My work is not subject to this type of thing, but I would hate it if it were.
Courageous and good thing that you don’t let them intimidate you!
I hope you will find another outlet.
Cheers for you Elsa!
I agree. I hope you find another outlet Elsa. Hang in there.
I have an outlet! The class is already hosted on this blog…well the class will be here, I am paying for hosting of the videos on Vimeo. And if they raise their prices too high..well I’ll find a new host!
I’ve about got it. I am changing all the links that point to udemy. It’s a PITA. But who knows what they’re going to do next.
Just imagine a force coming in…it’s possible the re-price my course at an 80% discount. It is a GREAT course. It took me thirty years to learn what I offered in that class. It’s just not write.
Damn commies! I mean it! All courses do not have the same value or fit into a narrow band. I worked on this class for a YEAR!
Thanks, for the information and heads up. My works are public, you give me something to take seriously. You shifted your blog to private own it, what a couple years now(?) and that meant you had to be responsible for the technical knowledge and expenses to maintain it. But, the pay back is you hold your own cards. Yes, this is something to weigh and respond to.
I started out on xanga in 2001. I moved here in 2005, but I did not own the domain name. I took me like…nine years to wrestle control of my own business.
Just be careful of people who do things for you for “free”, lol.
I’m done. Took about ten hours. You can now buy this class, and access it here. I reduced the price some as well 🙂
Wow! that sucks rocks and broken glass but the one good thing is you didn’t have a ton of stuff with them. What about YouTube? Not saying I know what I’m talking about with making this suggestion but it was the first thing that came to mind. I agree you must be very watchful and careful that is for sure. Many blessings hope you find another host for your very much needed information.
It’s something. Here’s the language:
“On March 2, we announced a shift in our pricing model with an update to our Terms and Conditions. Our records show that you have one or more courses outside of the new pricing range of $20-$50. Please log into your Udemy account, accept the new terms, and update your course prices.
If you do not change your prices by April 4, but continue to have your courses on Udemy, you will be deemed to accept the revised Terms of Service and our team will adjust the prices for you to a list price that results in an comparable sales price…”
~~
Now if you’re on vacation, busy, had a death in the family or this mail goes into your spam folder, then SOL.
I can’t believe they can accept terms on MY behalf. But whatcha gonna do? I think they’re based in Turkey.
As of now, you can bulk download all your google stuff here:
https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout
Thanks for the link, I’m reading the details for downloading all my google blogs. It’s a good course of action to take considering the steps and process for making ‘dreams come true’ rather than just pissing in the wind. :smirk:
I follow an angel oracle reader who is on youtube and Facebook and recently she was all excited about trying to start angel classes. She came on Facebook to tell everyone that the classes would be delayed because she had a horrible experience with Udemy. They were all over her case — you know, this was wrong, that was wrong, etc. She had the same reaction you did. She chose to go elsewhere, although she hasn’t yet figured out where. All she knows is she’s not going to have her classes on Udemy. There’s a point in life where we have to know our own worth and not let someone else define us.
Yeah, I know what happened to her, it happened to me too. I was going to leave at that time but stayed / delayed. I could see the writing on the wall though. I did take preliminary steps to leave at that time. So she did well not to invest further.
They also pay via paypal AND issued 1099s. This results in a person like me being taxed twice. Paypal includes the same income on their 1099, see? It was a mess.
Anyway, it’s done now. I have truly learned my lesson!
Wow Elsa!
I am glad you were able to move your stuff. This is a great cautionary tale. Geez. I am just in shock. Those are some awful bullying tactics. I mean what if the value of what the person is selling costs a lot more than $50.00? I have seen some courses/videos online for nursing and tech skills and such. This is a mess.
$50 means they take $25. Then deduct the taxes…
But they can come by and value your course at $20…so then you make $10. And maybe your course was priced at $100 or $200…
I think a good number of mails from Udemy would hit a spam filter. They’re truly off the chain which is my point. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the host is the one in the chokehold. It’s you!
I don’t think it matters what business you are in. If you create something (without naming any countries) someone will show up the next year with a copy of it. And businesses are learning how to make more money with the internet. Everyone wants a piece of it, whether they earn it or not. Just my humble opinion
http://ecoursedomination.com/udemy-devalues-quality-content-nurturing-discount-mentality/
I am so unaware of this stuff. I have mercury Neptune and am lazy and easily tricked
If you google udemy complaints, others complain about the same thing you are experiencing.
This is resolved for me. I am up and running and glad to have made the break! 🙂
http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/19/media/facebook-shade-room/
::coughs::
Udemy is emailing me repeatedly to opt in to their new whatzit. Yeah right.
I hope they sink into the abyss for what they did to so many industrious, creative people.
I didn’t know Udemy. Just checked. I get to see a web page in German, so it’s probably localized for many countries. That hints to a big company. I looked only at the entry page, there are offered videos from for free to 95 Euro, so roughly about 100 US$. Some show stroked out prices to indicate that they had been reduced by about 90%.
.
Seems like Udemy has adapted the business model. Probably more customers disliked what they did. I dislike such platforms in general, so this is why I didn’t know it.
.
I’m searching platforms for publishing something since years, but meanwhile even Google became unusable. Already that they have geolocked my account!
It’s happening….
http://www.infowars.com/youtube-declares-war-on-politically-incorrect-opinions/
You may think astrology would not be discriminated against. You are so wrong.
I can’t get a merchant account for Visa / mastercard. This is because astrology is on a banned list along with guns, etc.
It’s been this way for years.
Discriminating against astrology isn’t clearly stated in the rules of youtube. In the case of credit cards, I’m less surprised. Once some people came to me and wanted me to have an American Express credit card. They were really hunting me. But as soon as they knew that I was a student at that time, they immediately began running away from me. American Express doesn’t give credit cards to students! So why shouldn’t others have stupid rules too?
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Discriminating against astrology is never surprising to me. It destroyed academic careers since astrology left the universities during the nineteenth century. I once read in the book of an astrologer that my university was the last, from where astrologers left, but the annals of my university know nothing about it. Apparently every hint was extinct. So I rather advice(d) students to hide any interest in astrology.
I live/work in a condo overseas. My Jupiter and Saturn are in my 5th house. I take my dog out daily to walk around the grounds. The grounds are common, and no one can build on or prevent your enjoyment of the common areas. Well, some old man decided he didn’t want me in the one garden behind my house. He convinced the administration to put up a low fence around the perimeter of logs last year. I was irritated, but I just started sitting on the fence and jumping over it, and my dog going under it. Six months later he started planting plants just where I crossed over. He yelled at me that I couldn’t go on the grass and my dog either. So I went over and lay on the grass with my dog. He and his wife passed and she said, “Isn’t it terrible that people don’t care for the grass?” to him. I stepped on his plants a few times. He put in bigger plants. He then put some vertical slats randomly just where I jumped over. I flipped out. I complained to the administration and she refused to do anything. She said he could do what he wanted and I could get in trouble if I touched his plants. I was furious. I asked her why. I told her that he could not impede my ingress and enjoyment. She said she had no authority and for me to go to the cops. Fine, I said. She has cancer. I was then confronted and threatened that if I ever spoke to her when I was upset again, they would take action against me. I went to the cops. I went to the municipality. They are going to inspect the fence. I simply cannot fathom why they refuse to help me out, when it seems really obvious to me that they go to the guy’s door, they say, hey, we can’t stop people from going on the grass, we are going to remove your fence, and then send the gardener to do it if he won’t. Simple, right? I even got a message through a friend that one of the administrators threatened to blackmail me if I caused any more trouble. That pissed me off even more. I am fit to be tied!
Welcome, Susan. Reading this makes me appreciate life in the country! 🙂
This makes me think of Tomi Lahren and her recent legal victory against Glenn Beck and co. for control of her Facebook page and followers. She had to SUE them in order to get her page back. Crazy ?
Not only that but some hiring businesses, including the government, going back to some time around the beginning of the Pluto-Uranus squares have been asking for passwords on the job applications to scour prospective employees’ social media accounts. Just by looking for a job, you lose control (Capricorn) and have to defer by censoring yourself because somebody wants to spy (Pluto) on you. And it’s serious shit because people, including high profile people, have lost their livelihood because of stuff they posted on their PRIVATE accounts.
Why do people post PRIVATE stuff?
Well, shoot, we post private stuff here.
One day employers could very well find a way to discover what forums we frequent (including THIS one) and demand our passwords as a condition for employment, or continued employment.
The executive director at my last job casually informed me and my coworkers that she’d browsed our Facebook accounts. O_O She assured that she found nothing bad there, but geez! Maybe I should have replied, “Ditto. I checked yours and all the other managers’ pages too just to see what y’all are up to in your free time.” LOL
With fall of Roe Wade searches for blue states, abortion info, who knows…contraception is all up for grabs. Not only am I an astrologer, I’m a woman…I’m under attack! We are under the microscope. Animal Farm seems quaint in its depictions.
I hear you! Some of my habits have had to change due to RVW falling. All my internet activity is now done with a secure VPN. That-time-of-the-month products are purchased with cash. Now I need to train myself to leave my phone and wallet in the car (a cash purchase can still be tied to you if you have your phone or your cards—yes, discount cards—on your person.) Until recently I had no idea how invasive technology was in our personal lives. Even cars can track your movements. I’m not planning anything, BTW, I just don’t want the gvmt. tracking my cycles, nor some stranger who sees an opportunity to use me to make a baby I didn’t ask for.
I am living in Canada and about a year and half ago I went to withdraw 700.00 out of savings and was asked why I was taking this out and what I would be spending it on. It’s common up here and the money is like plastic play money. Recently I heard an economist speak of the world going towards no paper money, all electronic and the questioning of where it is going becoming the norm. Thus was an American economist and he spoke of its beginnings already instated in Canada. These things are disturbing.
Sweden is already further. It is advertised everywhere in Europe that people in Sweden don’t use cash anymore because they are so advanced. But that’s only what economists wish. Germans resist because we see only problems with this kind of economy. Not any legislative of any country has moved a step towards abolishment of anonymous cash yet. They can’t because how would they do their own illegal businesses then? The thing with no more cash in Sweden is also not true. It’s sometimes reported that people are annoyed by old people, who insisted in their cash. But the argument, which Germans like most, is that all people, who ever tried to buy or sell something during a blackout, returned to using cash voluntarily.
younger people always complain about old people. It’s everywhere. and having cash on hand is always good. what like you said in case of black outs. Black outs have happened many times over the years. Energy breakdowns. thank goodness there’s still food businesses that will take cash when you order to go or order delivery. it’s like they trust you as a valuable customer and that’s awesome. ^^
I’d tell them I’m spending it on cocaine and hookers.
lol right on, libra noir xDD
i think thats the answer they want.
Didnt you get the memo Elsa that states astrology is now fake news. You will not be able to monetize it on youtube etc… 🙂
But I feel youre pain. Its only when it touches our lives do we realise. I hate to say I told you so, but errr… you know. I have been going on about this kind of shit for years. Its like the Cassandra complex; no one believes or will listen.
All companies are at this from the large to small. Its about leverage. They have something you need; they will use youre need to get more from you; aka holding over a barrel. I think there is a business concept that goes along the lines of ‘never do business from a position of weakness’; and they think anyone who uses them is in a position of weakness.
I went to see a friend in her business. She had not ling moved to a new place. She was happy. I caught the end of a conversation she was having with her new landlord. ‘…its youre choice; its youre business’; he then left. She was no longer happy. He had, because he noticed a lot of people visiting her, jacked the rent up. She moved back into her old place, at a lower rent than previously, I will add. Her new-old landlord pulled back on his threat; but it was too late, she moved back. Strangely this all happened when Saturn was making several crossings of her Jupiter/Chiron in her chart.
But they are all at it … including call centre staff and call centres. There is absolutely no need for the questions they ask. They dont prove a thing; unless they are using voice recognition software. Anyone could anser the simple public knowledge – public domain questions they ask. Yet they still maintain the line that they are not using VRS and they ask the questions to identify the caller. I say BS. Again holding over a barrel; after all you have called for a reason, and they are going to use that reason to get what they need to keep their job upfront and at the beginning, and after they have that job keeping information, they can goof-off.
Glad I’m not impacted by this…
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3027254/sharepoint-online-public-websites-to-be-discontinued
More of the same. Snooze and lose!
Live By The Algorithm…. Die By It