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48 Comments
- pak314, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17Helium sounds like a lot of hot air to me.
- EntropyMan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13a $16 billion Internet ad? That's some ad!
Seriously, this article is fluff. It looks like it was written by Helium PR people. I expect better, even from ZDNet. - muaddib420, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11that site is boring.
- willhelm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Helium has been around for a few years. It looks like they wiped the previous community in favor of this new one, though I think they kept some or most of the content.
Their user agreement is pretty intense--they own everything you do, they can do whatever they want with it, and they can change any terms at any time without telling you. So you're screwed if they ever do anything that you find disagreeable.
That article is definitely a fluff PR piece. - paulmike3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Furthermore, I did a quick google search and found that some of their content is copied off of http://www.associatedcontent.com. Classy!
- haxored, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Of the four articles I read on that page, three of them had typos or other grammatical errors. If quality is really one of the goals of this site, they have failed miserably.
- timmysaw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Yawn.
- ericnmu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Did a search for "css" and then "michigan". Found nothing on either.
Moving on... - Matt2k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Meena is my new hero of the interweb. Witness his poignant views on watermellon!
"I love watermelon b'cause it is fat free and low in calories.Its an ideal diet food and a great energy booster [...] eat plenty of watermelon daily it will nourish your body, skin and eyes." - gikeymarcia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5me three
- arfox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I searched for "Soviet Russia" and "Shannon Co-factor" and got nothing both times
so... it is kinda useless as a replacement for wikipedia or answers.com :-[
Also, the site looks goddamn cheesy! - SuperGhost, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Yea... I read the article, visited the site... Ok thanks will never go there again.
And 16 billion to advertise... EAMUS1CATULI, how much did you get for this? - Matt2k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5What the hell is this site? I searched for a few terms. Nothing. Figuring modern politics surely must have articles, I searched for George Bush and turned up seven or eight "one line" articles that looked like they were written by pre-teens. HELLO WEB 2.0 !!!!
- bsonline, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I think this posting and the zdnet article is part of their 16 billion dollar advertising campaign. Nothing to see here, move along.
- Phocion55, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Seriously....marketing something as being "Web 2.0" is going to push people away from it, and this is one of their big driving points.
- vpdevelopment, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5The problem is how to rank stuff. If they're just doing it based on user reviews, that's going to get old quick. Too many things that are just good get ranked "5 stars" because there's no finer granularity. But as an example, I rate Scarface a 5 star film, and I also rank Godfather a 5 star film. But by no means do I think they are actually equal.
I'll reserve judgement till I see how they rank things. - paulmike3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4this user, Meena Govindaraj, has some pretty interesting articles...
take a look: http://www.helium.com/user/show/357
"Giving up your seat on the bus to someone who needs it more"
#3
"Whenever,Iam in journey, I always offer my seat for pregnant ladies, older people and ladies with small kids.Because if you don't do this it will be injustice to these people, who are suffering when on standing.And not only this ,by doing this type of good manners in the society, you can became a role model among youngsters." - JorgeGT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4But the "register here" chick is hot. We haven't females here in Digg, you know...
- mfearby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Me too. If more people mark this crap as lame we might prevent innocent souls from wasting their time checking out this vapid web site.
- spiffistan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Marked as lame.
- danakin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Sure, Helium is an outlet for the writer in all of us, but it is also a place where you can earn not only the adoration of your peers, but money, too! We want you to be part of the success here. Helium shares a portion of revenue with you. Every article you write is an asset which can earn you revenue---into perpetuity. The better you write, the higher you rank, the more your reward."
So it's essentially a wiki that you get paid to edit? Go on... - paulmike3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3long live Meena!! you gotta love his insight on cell phone use:
"Radiations from cell phone can make Tumours and cancers with along use.But a new study has revealed that cell phone must banned in the hospitals. B'cause researchers found out a new bacteria in the hands of doctors, nurses, hospital staffs, who uses cell phones, are very dangerous and can be transmitted to the patients.These bacteria is very dangerous and causes harmful diseases , which passes through hands to hands of cell phone users.Medicine against to this bacteria is yet to find out.So it must be banned in operation theators. [..] So keep phones away from your body.Make it's use little.Use it for only emergency." - bontaq, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I just went to the site and its look peturbed me. Reminds me of those advertising pages that pop up when you type a wrong address :/
- cuzican, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2every1 loves your model digg!!
- hyperChipmunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I think Shobhit Kapoor will give Meena a run for her money. Feast your eyes and intellect on this gem of an 'article':
"the world favorate sports is Wresling in USA people like most you can see the website of WWE
www.wwe.com
undertaker an kane are the super stars of WWE"
Brilliant. Helium truly is the place where knowledge rules.
-hC - sandyone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I found spam about 4 clicks in, don't want to be the cleanup person on this hell-hole.
http://www.helium.com/tm/1312/google-adwords-vs-overture - paulmike3, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5This site looks like a winner! So much knowlege, so little time!
From the "Computing and Technology" front page:
"When to use a firewall
#2
by Mohd Noor Hadi
Yes you should! Get either the ZoneAlarm or Sygate Personal Firewall! Both are free.
For ZoneAlarm - http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/prod
ucts/sku_list_za.jsp
For Sygate -
http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm
OR
Better still, patch your PC and download Win XP Service Pack 2 from Microsoft. But beware, this thing can slow down your PC if you don't have at least 512mb RAM. I don't recommend this much. But this Service Pack 2 comes with a firewall/ =) " - phlux, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2but that hasnt stopped you from reading digg, now has it...
- mfearby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Exactly... If I'm searching for something and land on a web site that seems to devote equal or more space to advertising, ALT-F4! Nothing that is a whore for advertising could be any good (and I'm not being sarcastic, either). There's nothing worse than a page littered with advertising junk... I'll keep using Wikipedia with it's pristine add-free pages, thank you very much Helium.
- KernelSandirs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1wow I could not dislike about, or answers much more.
- phlux, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree, if you click on the "What is helium" link then click back on the "Helium" logo to go to the home page - the whole UI shifts several pixels.
That is a major no-no from my aesthetics soap-box.
QA the farking site! (brought to you by FF ver 1.5.0.7) - trialofmiles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The difference between helium and a site like wikipedia is helium contains articles about topics, and wikipedia contains categorized information about everything. The former is ok for casual reading, but the latter is best when trying to actually learn something (or better yet, as a starting point in trying to learn something).
Ok, so you may be thinking I am saying helium isn't wikipedia, but is good in its own right. Well, I'm not saying that either, because after reading through a few sample articles, I get the impression the content is garbage. - Lobster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Appalling. Inaccurate. Lame. Waste of time. Another wannabee with more ads then anything worthwhile. If you lie from the start. You end up branded.
Helium = liars
Opinionated? Moi?
Stick with wikipedia. - paulmike3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hunar Hamad is truly a scholar.
http://www.helium.com/user/show/3820
"Recognizing a terrorist -
MOST OF THEM WITH LONG BEAR.APERSON WHO HAS NO COMMUNICATION WITH THE MODERN SOCIAITY.NO COMMUNICATION...BLOKED HEAD...FULL CLOSSED MIND."
"Philosophy: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
It hink eggs is forst,because the humanben is started as smal cells and developed to large cells then to humanben."
seriously, this site has made my week. I can't stop laughing. =) - alexkorova, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Digg wasn't first, it was inspired by smaller communities (well, mainly one) that had a similair ranking system.
Not bashing digg tho, I like it. - itswoody, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1this site is meh
- lamestory, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1jesus, get a life
- lamestory, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1stupid post, stupid article, incredibly stupid site. The personal finance section has a great collection of spam postings for things like "e-gold".
what a waste... the VC behind this one DESERVES to lose his money. - twinthin2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0yes unless you find that old user bugsey who gave up on it! hahahhahahahah
- mdee2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hi There-
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but won't you plase check out this Helium article before condemning the entire site?
Click Here
Sincerely,
M Dee Dubroff - robbo331, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Seems like an interesting idea...their way of ranking is definitely new. The content is sparse...but I guess so was wikipedia's at first.
- twinthin2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/05/012512.php
There were a LOT of really talented and interesting stuff over there but HELIUM has a knack of promoting indians! - DocKnowles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You're not biased in any way are you...Dan?
- Meldo1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I am appalled by many of the comments posted here about helium.
As a long time contributor to helium, I will be one of the first to acknowledge that there have been problems in the past. Problems with losers who plagiarize, give one word answers, can't use the spell checker to save their lives etc, etc.
That said, helium staff spent this summer TOTALLY revamping the site. Plagiarists were kicked off, as were one word respondents. Grammar was cleaned up.
For anyone actively 'kicking' helium, give it a try first. Why? One you get paid, and you get paid on time. Two, helium boasts a 'peer rating method', bad answers never make the grade. Three, helium (unlike Wikpedia) allows for peoples OPINIONS, on subjects.
I myself have made several hundred dollars on this site since joining in February. I have also (thanks to my peers at helium) discovered other legitimate business ventures that have made me some money.
Additionally, I have made educated friends from around the globe. Get that from Wikpedia anyone? Give helium a chance people, I'm sure you will see its far more useful than you currently believe. Check out my user profile and you'll see I've written some fairly intelligent articles, as have many helium users.
And oh yeah, I've discovered wrong factual info at Wikpedia, advised them of it and got no response.....
Melissa Glenn - twinthin2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0you can also find a LOT of pliagarized content over there, it's a comedy really!
- ADUBB, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Helium is refreshing in comparison to it's competitors. The site is making strides to produce intelligent information for all users. Sure the site has had some hang ups, as have all start up site. They have come a long way and provide intelligent information for the open minded. This site is one to watch, I think it has potential to be huge and I am excited as it unfolds. I will continue to post and watch the site, perhaps we should all follow. (Seems a majority of you have time to post negative feedback, why not get involved and use your time for good!)
- paullines, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0It is easy to critise something that you have not spent a lot of time on the site getting to understand how it works and the ethos behind it.
I joined Helium in February of this year. Since then there has been a continuous process of development towards the launch that has just occurred. Yes, like any other site there have been some problems and these have and are continually being sorted out. What separates Helium from many of the other sites for me is that the people there not only work with its members to ensure the best way forward, but they also value the input of the writers. Thus, in addition to imparting and gaining knowledge, as well as earning, we all feel that we are part of a team, and that is a valuable asset for a writer.
I will not attempt to answer all of the criticism individually because everyone has a right to their own opinion and that is respected. I will just make one or two general comments.
1) spam, typos etc. Even in newspapers like the Times in the UK I have found typing and grammar errors. Yes there are some on the Helium site, as there will be on most others. We as writers to the site are given the opportunity to point these issues out and do so. But there are two things to remember here. Firstly, Helium is given an opportunity to all writers to be able to develop their talents. Those who write well are setting examples for those who are still learning. Secondly, Helium has an international membership. Some of the articles that have been picked out here are written by people whose first language is not English. Could we write any better in their language.
2) With thousands of articles on the site, it would be surprising if there were not one-liner articles. Similarly, there may be topics that some may feel are irrelevant. However, freedom of choice is important. What is considered relevant to me, may not be to you. But we both, in fact we all, have the right to our opinion and thoughts.
3) Value judgements. It is easy to make a judgement based upon a random sample, but for that to be a valid judgement one has to take a representative sample. I would say that it is possible to go to any site on the Internet and pick samples of the writing there and come up with a cross section of quality, quantity and value. Does that make any of them worse than another?
4) Variety. There is a great deal of variety of topics and articles on the site. If you are looking for humour you will find it. Need some information, then it can also be found. Take for example the Topic under management entitled "Hiring managers: How to find the right candidate." The variety of subject and responses is there for all to share.
Helium is a relatively new launch. For me the value of it is as I have explained above. In addition it has a community which is international and important to those who belong. They are also important to those who operate the site. This is more important to me than any earnings I may make from Helium.com.
In closing I would reiterate that I am not trying to change anyone's opinion. You have a right to your own, as do I, and I respect that freedom of right.
paullines - fishdan, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2This certainly has the potential to be a great idea -- one of my biggest complaints about many of the "knowledge" sites, is that there is either only one opinion posted, or too many. Amazon does a good job posting reivews of products, but I can only (easily)see the most reviews, and can't see which ones were marked "the most helpful."
Even worse is trying to search for knowledge on google. If I try to look up "How to set up a wireless network" I'll eventually find the right article, but I'll probably have to read 6 or 7 before I find one that's "just right."
If Helium manages to really allow people to tag and rank published content on individual topics, that would be pretty damn useful.
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