The Skejo.com way was created after a long reflection of how people contribute information to Internet sites and communities. There are two extremes when it comes to contributing knowledge or articles to a website. On one side there is an open gate, any visitor can help out, but little or no recognition is given to the person who provided the infomormation. A different extreme is to have a few hand-picked people who are paid for their contributions, to the general exclusion of others.
Two examples of these extremes are Wikipedia.org and About.com. Wikipedia is a massive repository of information, but no credit is given to the authors who contribute, and they even explicitly rule out certain article contributions. About.com, on the other hand, has handpicked, paid ‘Guides’ that write weekly articles, blog posts and answer questions in the forums. But there are only a few hundred ‘Guides’ getting all the credit for the content on About.com, with barely a ‘Thank You’ for the stray visitor who answers meaningful questions.
At Skejo.com, we knew there had to be middle ground between the volunteer, anonymous submissions of Wikipedia, and the ‘pay-the-few’ way of About.com. We believe that all our members and visitors should be recognized for their contributions, large and small, and even reward them for taking the time to give to the community.
Our Rewards System gives incentive to our members to contribute regularly, and is open to all who contribute quality, needed articles and participate in our forums. Credit is given to our authors, and above that, they are rewarded for it (not like professional writer’s, but we do spread it around to more people).
We think we have found the great middle ground between capitalistic exclusion (About.com) and idealistic, but creditless, Wikipedia.org. Join us in this new effort to reward all of us normal people, who need a little credit, and who have much knowledge to share.
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If you believe this new idea is worthy of more of your attention or you have a community website and would like to become, a Rewarding Knowledge partner, contact us for more information.
At Skejo.com, our core vision and values guide all of our decisions. The ability to clearly define goals and the methods to attain them gives speed and clarity as we guide the growth of Skejo.com.
Vision:
Our goal as a vertical content site, is to be an in depth and ever expading article repository and forum community of user contributed knowledge, know-how and experience. We endeavor to be the best provider of practical information concerning all the topics we cover, while giving continuing community support to our members in our expansive forums.
We will never be spread thin. If we can't comprehensively cover a topic, dedicate time and energy to answer questions and write expert articles in a new section, we will delay the launch until we can. We expect new, emerging contributors to guide out growth as they add quality submissions to the site. We would rather cover fewer topics well, than many thinly. Aren't there enough skin deep sites already?
We will be a generous community. We strive to never be too busy to write a quick reply to a question in the forums, nor inattentive to the need to produce new, helpful articles. As revenue and resource allow, we will always strive to increase the Skejo Rewards bonuses, and expand the gifts available in the Skejo store. We also value the need to give support and charity relief to others across the globe, though the giving of time, energy and finances.
We believe that the success of Skejo.com and the success of our members and contributors are inter-woven; only when our members prosper will Skejo.com prosper.
Values:
We value our visitors and regard each visit highly as we seek to reward them with quality articles and helpful support.
We value our members, hoping to make their stay feel as though they have returned home by giving them a fun, comfortable community: a platform to relay their experience and rewarding them for their efforts.
We value our key contributors, knowing that we would not be in this place without their contributions. We reward them for sharing their expertise, while giving them more oppotunities to make a difference.
Our Values also include Integrity, Financial Accountability, Innovation, along with the aforementioned Generosity.
We seek to sustain Skejo.com with the highest character and a strong work ethic, serving our visitors and members above all else.