Thought I'd give a heads up to anyone out there considering blogging for Yuddy.com. I actually just quit working for them a couple of weeks ago after a few things weren't adding up.
All in all, I blogged for them for about 3 weeks (I'm a little new, so I took a little longer than I maybe should have), though I never signed the work for hire they requested, and here's why:
Number one: they took forever to get it to me. I was working for probably 1.5 to 2 weeks before they even requested it.
Number two: whether by accident or on purpose, the payment rates we'd discussed didn't match up to the contract. I never had a problem getting paid correctly, but since the rates didn't match up on the paperwork, that made me a little nervous.
Number three: They paid pretty decent, but they wanted all the rights to each post, but none of the responsibility. (i.e. The editor encouraged me to pull pictures from 'anywhere'--a big no-no, and the Work for Hire agreement made it clear that any copyright infringemnt suit would be on the writer's head, not the website's.)
Number four: I found out this one because I worked for them at the end of the year. They wanted me to send my name, social security #, and address in an email for 'tax purposes.' Now, maybe it's my paranoid nature, but I happen to know that email messages are NOT secure by any means, and including all that information in one message, let alone separate messages, is just plain stupid. Can you say 'identity theft'?
Number five: Even though they wanted my social for 'tax purposes,' they never even requested a W-9. I even asked a couple of times if they'd like me to send one, and they never responded to my inquiries. Maybe I'm just dumb (I assumed everything freelance worked through W-9s), but I would have liked them to at least explain their corporate tax policies since they clearly didn't want my W-9.
Anyway, that's my take on this company. I'd be wary if you want to work for them, just because things seemed a little shady at times. Good luck on the hunt bloggers!
All in all, I blogged for them for about 3 weeks (I'm a little new, so I took a little longer than I maybe should have), though I never signed the work for hire they requested, and here's why:
Number one: they took forever to get it to me. I was working for probably 1.5 to 2 weeks before they even requested it.
Number two: whether by accident or on purpose, the payment rates we'd discussed didn't match up to the contract. I never had a problem getting paid correctly, but since the rates didn't match up on the paperwork, that made me a little nervous.
Number three: They paid pretty decent, but they wanted all the rights to each post, but none of the responsibility. (i.e. The editor encouraged me to pull pictures from 'anywhere'--a big no-no, and the Work for Hire agreement made it clear that any copyright infringemnt suit would be on the writer's head, not the website's.)
Number four: I found out this one because I worked for them at the end of the year. They wanted me to send my name, social security #, and address in an email for 'tax purposes.' Now, maybe it's my paranoid nature, but I happen to know that email messages are NOT secure by any means, and including all that information in one message, let alone separate messages, is just plain stupid. Can you say 'identity theft'?
Number five: Even though they wanted my social for 'tax purposes,' they never even requested a W-9. I even asked a couple of times if they'd like me to send one, and they never responded to my inquiries. Maybe I'm just dumb (I assumed everything freelance worked through W-9s), but I would have liked them to at least explain their corporate tax policies since they clearly didn't want my W-9.
Anyway, that's my take on this company. I'd be wary if you want to work for them, just because things seemed a little shady at times. Good luck on the hunt bloggers!
