Demand Studios and the Fall of eHow

Ever since last September, Demand Studios writers have been fretting about their future in the "company". Will things get better? Will it fall? Should I give up or stick it through? Well, a recent e-mail finally cleared up those questions.

Demand Studios titlers all received an e-mail yesterday, explaining that their services were no longer needed. I don't mean some titlers, or most titlers -- I mean ALL titlers. No titlers = no titles, which means eHow will no longer see any title drops. It's over, people.

I'm not going to post the e-mail in its entirety (mainly because I'm not a titler, so I obtained it from browsing other forums), because it's nothing but the usual DMS corporate double-speak. Instead, I've provided a handy translation for actual human beings to understand.

In short, Demand "thanked" all the titlers for their hard work making eHow the massive behemoth of crap that it is today. I guess the company is satisfied with their current library of repetitive, common sense garbage. The site has millions of spam articles, from how to hammer a nail, close a door, drink beer, to pooping in the woods (the last one I'm not kidding about. Look it up).

Basically, DMS showed its supposed appreciation for those who helped build the company, and they now wish to take their assignments into new niche topics like electronics, food and drink, pets and even nature after National Geographic made the mistake of hiring them on. Yes, thanks to everyone for their hard work, so here's a middle finger for all of you. Don't worry though, Demand Deals is still alive and kicking!

I'm sure a lot of people were stupid enough to stick it through to the end, holding out hope that one day Demand's original sections would return to glory. But look on the bright side. First off, no more staying up to all hours of the night hoping to snag a few stray titles. This is the final push for writers to get out and either find new clients, find a job, or both.

You can also take consolation in knowing that Richard Rosenblatt will soon become a fry cook at the local burger joint. Sure, their stock just went from around $5.00 to a whopping $7.00 a share, but that won't last long. I guess that's what happens when you have company executives who spend their time huffing whatever they can out of a paper bag.

Sadly, the end of eHow doesn't necessarily herald the end of Demand Studios. It's only delaying the inevitable. The new topic sections, like Radio Shack and National Geographic have some pretty stringent requirements. You pretty much have to be Alexander Graham Bell or that guy from Survivorman respectively in order to qualify. That being said, I'm really, really sad.

National Geographic is a respected site. I've used it tons of times as a reference in my eHow articles. Now, the place will soon be spammed with DMS grade garbage. Also, what does Demand expect from this? Do they honestly think that people with those kinds of credentials will waste their time writing articles for slave wages? Sorry, but a marine biologist or any other expert is probably busy in their actual career, making REAL money. The same applies for the Radio Shack electronics section and all the other places that will soon feel the wrath of rushed articles. Way to go, Demand.

Then there's YouTube. To be fair, I think YouTube won't be as bad. I've found plenty of useful how-to videos (many of which were used as references) from people who didn't have as much expertise as DMS wants. I guess I'll give them a chance. The problem is that paying people for videos is costly -- something like $200 a pop, I believe. How Demand will turn a decent profit, I really don't know.

I hope this isn't the last time I write about Demand Studios. They're a bottomless pit of shameless stupidity, and eviscerating them has become somewhat of a hobby. I still have my permissions, so I'll keep an eye out for the next epic fail. Until then, Demand, keep it up. "A" for effort.