A job search leads me to the ‘bright side’
From 2018, one of my most popular pieces on Medium. As Medium suspended my account this year due to being in "violation" of their "rules" (over an ivermectin article) here it is again!
Wrapping up a long-term gig as a ghostwriter for a publishing company in the health realm, I started to search for other “remote” employment opportunities. Always having worked out of my home, this listing caught my eye: Bright Side is looking for writers who are ready to work in the “home-office” mode.
The ad was a lengthy one that described needed skill sets for the job, such as experience “working with text,” being “intelligent and kind,” loving people, art and creation, and a desire to bring “more positivity to this world.”
I wasted no time in reading the rules that apparently had to be followed to the letter as applications containing “incomplete information won’t be considered.”
Confident that I had completed each step in the submission process, I sent it off and waited…
‘Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive’
The “brands” out of TheSoul Publishing, headquartered in Cyprus, include the incredibly popular Bright Side and 5-Minute Crafts, which together reportedly generate well over a billion hits a month.
If you’ve watched the “treasure trove” 5-Minute Crafts compilation video that was hot on Facebook last year, you joined over 65 million others who learned how to fix a hole in a sweater, get a jacket zipper to go up easily and slice bread without squishing it.
Bright Side is home to all the bits and pieces of random information anyone could want to learn, such as: 10 historical photos that can leave you feeling sad and inspired at the same time, 8 ways to find out someone broke into your house, or 12 shower mistakes that affect your health.
Oh yes, and all those remarkable photos of animals that were taken at just the right moment.
Its Youtube channel currently boasts well over 18 million subscribers and is a virtual playground of particulars. Here’s where you can watch a video about the 5 Gender Stereotypes That Stop You From Being Happy, how to lose that belly fat, do magic tricks and even safety tips, such as the one warning about picking up a random tennis ball that could contain a firecracker! (Who knew?)
Combined, these productions are said to have over 378 million Facebook followers and more than 100 million YouTube subscribers.
These stockpiles of seemingly unrelated factoids were created by Pavel Radaev from Cyprus, who is currently listed on his Linkedin page as CEO of TheSoul Publishing, and Marat Mukhametov from the Russian Federation, described as CEO/Co-Founder at TheSoul.
While gathering details on the inner workings on Pavel and Marat’s operation aren’t quite as easy as learning the 25 terrific furniture inventions that show how we want to live, still, some things are floating around.
Pavel’s photo depicts a sunglasses-wearing, clean-cut man in his 40s, sporting a navy blue trench coat and smugly looking as if he just stepped off a flight to Dubai. His personal Facebook page reveals a photo of what could be the company headquarters in Limassol, Cyprus, a large bright and modern office with a wall covered in YouTube “button” awards (the design being a golden right-facing video play arrow) bestowed when a channel receives a certain number of followers.
Pavel appears to travel the world, posting photos from Hong Kong, flying in a helicopter in Cannes, France, doing Facebook check-ins in at the Dublin and Vienna international airports, and the Grand Hyatt in Macau.
Marat is more of a mystery. The only photo to be found is a small, blurry one of a smiling man kneeling next to a young boy in overalls. He gives his home base as Kazan, Russia, and title as CEO and founder of the online venture that appears to have started it all, the site adme.ru (.RU being a top-level domain extension for Russia).
Apparently adme.ru didn’t start out to bring readers daily doses of sunshine and roses and 10 reasons to ditch your flip-flops right now for the sake of your health. A trip down memory lane at the Internet Archive “Wayback Machine” revealed a capture from June of 2004 as being simply snippets of newsworthy details on advertising and discussion of national products such as Nike and Snickers, as well as Russian-only brands.
But by 2013, topics there starting taking more of a Readers Digest turn, with features such as The best quotes by Bernard Shaw, and the story of a French artist who paints whatever is in his refrigerator. By the next year the site started to resemble Bright Side, albeit in Russian. Not too long after, Pravel and Marat set their sights on an English language version.
At this point TheSoul Publishing produces content in 10 different languages, populates 40 Facebook pages and produces a whopping 1,500 videos a month. The “team” is said to consist of “editors, licensing professionals, writers, fact-checkers, proofreaders, translators, community managers, researchers, animators, photographers, narrators, videographers, actors and models.”
Certainly, I thought, there must be a place for me in this empire of inspiration.
Down the rabbit hole
Several days after emailing my application in, I received this reply from “HR Specialist” Rita:
Hello Linda,
thank you very much for your response! We are expanding, and therefore we are looking for an author who will be able to work from home 8 hours a day and love their job no less than we do : )
We are working through the special system where we all connect and brainstorming. Also we use ePayments for all payments. The size of the salary varies from 300 to 1500 euros, it all depends on the quantity and quality of writing articles, we pay once per month.
Now is the time to understand how suitable this job is for you : )
To do this, you need to perform a test task, is that okay for you?
If you have any questions, pease (sic) be my guest!
So, are you ready? : )
Hmm… ePayments… Euros. And is that 300 to 1,500 Euros per story, per week, per month? I’d be lying if I didn’t say that there was now a grain of sand in my oyster of belief that this was, in fact, a real job.
Nevertheless, I put my doubts aside and clicked on the test link with Rita’s warning in mind:
I draw your attention: at the beginning of the tasks instructions are given, then the test for a while, and there is no opportunity to put it on pause.
Please, write here when you'll finish the test.
Good luck! : )
The quiz (officially called Brightside writer test vol. 2.0) consisted of 60 multiple-choice questions that had a time limit of 40 minutes to complete.
I finished with 30 seconds to spare, and was surprised to see the percentage of correct answers pop up -- a disappointing 57.3%.
I rationalized that they probably only look to see that the really important questions got answered correctly, and I sent back a note to Rita telling her I had completed the mission. “What’s the next step,” I asked optimistically.
On the following Monday I heard back from Rita:
Hello dear Linda,
thank you very much for your time and test task.
You've performed a good result, but, unfortunately, your score was not enough to take this role comparing to the other candidates.
If you are still interested in this job, please contact us in six months and try pass the test once again.
Wishing all the best to you, success and good luck!
Really, Rita? Six months?
After the test failure I became increasingly obsessed with Bright Side content. Some, I noticed, appeared to be troublingly translated, while others such as certain beauty hacks, were downright disasters – like coating a mascara brush with cotton-pad fibers to create “dense eyelashes,” or putting wasabi on your lips to plump them.
Despite that, when the required six months had elapsed, I did a quick search for Bright Side job opportunities and was excited to find that TheSoul was still actively seeking writers.
This time, however, the ads were a bit more detailed.
While they were still looking for those who are intelligent, kind, love people and art, experience in journalism or as a copywriter had now been added to the qualifications. The listing warned that if you have less than eight hours a day to apply yourself to this job you’re not eligible – “don’t even try” they cautioned.
Those who make the grade are given the “promise” of a “decent payment…equal to the salary paid for working in an office.”
Also added to the application task were two tests assignments, the first one being to write an article titled 15 Life Hacks That Will Change Your Life. The second involved the creation of five titles for articles that would thrill Bright Side readers along with graphics, an “announcement” (basically a confusing subtitle placed above the headline to intrigue the reader) and a statement on how I would “sell it.”
I set right to work on my “masterpiece,” as the notice said to aim for. Of course, coming up with 15 life hacks that aren’t hackneyed isn’t all that simple, but I searched all corners of the Internet, even diving deep into my vast well of life experiences to think up several original ones.
I now know such things as how to never again be frustrated by a stuck roll of tape, successfully pick up pet hair, secure windows, and stop leg cramps (put a bar of soap between the sheets). I will never have garlic hands again or track sand from the beach into my car (sprinkle your feet with baby powder).
But the pièce de résistance, the true masterpiece, was test assignment #2. That’s where I crafted “announcements” such as: These foods look like someone made them up and Mac and Cheese isn’t the only game in town.
I sent a note back to Rita right away along with my amazing life hacks and story ideas.
Rita, however, must have been elsewhere, as this time I heard from Tatyana, an young woman from Moscow who describes herself at LinkedIn as an HR Manager at TheSoul Publishing. Tatyana’s photo was amazingly Russian-esque -- showing herself on a snowy street with big icy flakes stuck to her hair, hat and oversized coat.
She greeted me cordially, saying she was happy to see my application again and making sure I had eight hours a day to devote to Bright Side. I would need to take the test over, and this time the Bright Side pay scale was more clearly revealed.
“Level 1 writers” receive a fixed rate of 15 Euros – $16.74 U.S. dollars per piece, with a starting pay of 300 Euros a month -- $334.54 U.S. dollars, along with bonuses based on how popular an article is on Facebook.
I sent Tatyana back a note making sure I understood the pay correctly and asking if the additional payments were potentially large enough to make an actual living writing eight hours a day for Bright Side.
Although I have yet to hear back from Tatyana, I still find myself drawn to the site, learning such things as How to Distinguish 11 Strange Habits From Serious Mental Illnesses, or 23 Crucial Tips on Getting a Tattoo to Avoid a Lifetime of Regret.
And sometimes a Bright Side writer, toiling away for a mere 15 Euros a story, seems to hit the nail on the head with a headline such as this one: 21 sobering photos that show humanity has reached the peak of its indifference.
Постскриптум
(Postscript)
I did eventually hear back from Tatyana. It seems that the two masterpieces I sent in are no longer a requirement in the application process. Tatyana apologized for the “inconvenience.”
As far as the payment goes, she said it all depends on how good a writer you are and how many folks share and like the content you produce. “Talented” Bright Side writers can earn 1,000 Euros a month – even more! But should your work be “not so curious for followers,” you’ll have to settle for the $300 Euros.
Linda Bonvie is a New Jersey-based writer and co-author of several books including Badditives! The 13 Most Harmful Food Additives in Your Diet – and How to Avoid Them
This sounds a little like when I wrote for Forbes dot com. You get paid only when you produce five articles a month. I wrote four detailed, informative articles in a month. I got nothing. Nada. Not the only reason I moved on.
Well, it's a good thing you have in-depth Journalism skills...😊