As a freshman going into college, I was eager to join anything that I would love or that would help me gain experience. As a closet writer, I was surprised when I was referred by SUNY Oneonta’s Online Odyssey writing team. When I inquired what exactly it entailed I was told:
“Odyssey Online is sort of like a cross between a college online newspaper and a platform such as Buzzfeed, but it's primarily for college students to speak their mind. Basically, it's super simple. You would be responsible for one article per week on any topic you'd like! Generally about 400-500 words in length, but it can be longer if you'd like. We'll have biweekly meetings starting this week, but if you can't make the meetings it's not a big deal. It is an internship with incentive pay, like the top shared article of the week from our school receives $20, refer a friend to write for our team and you'll get $5, things like that!”
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How could I turn down the offer of a paid internship my freshman year? I was eager to write and have my work published and determined to have an internship on my resume, hoping it would make me more marketable for jobs in the future. I didn’t go in with the intention of making money, just with the hope that maybe one week with the right topic, timing and use of social media, I could be the top shared article of the week. Unfortunately, things didn’t go exactly as planned. No sooner had I joined the team was I informed that the terms had changed, and we needed 15,000 on an article to receive a $15 incentive pay. You need to go viral for that kind of publicity.
Articles, for me, are hard to write. I’m constantly trying to write something original, unique and that people will want to read. I also try to keep facts in my articles, often doing extensive research before presenting an idea to the internet. I need to submit something new every week or risk being kicked off the team. I’ve struggled with deadlines, but it’s become more manageable. But work doesn’t end when school ends. Even on vacations students are required to write articles for submission. But why?
The reason is, that Odyssey thrives on ads. The company solicits students under the false notion that they have an opportunity to make money and then received all the profits from the advertisements they receive. This is unethical; a company is thriving on students’ creativity, ingenuity and hard work. Something needs to be done to change. This company should pay students for their work in ways that are not impossible to achieve. I’m happy I joined Odyssey as a chance to expand my writing skills, but I’m unhappy that I was lured to join under false pretenses for a company that does not benefit the lives of those who slave over it.
