Helium - more than a gas

Helium.com offers freelance writers and anyone with an opinion an opportunity to share what they know. With a stress on citizen journalism the website has weekly contests, a marketplace with offers from print and web magazines, and has teamed up with the Pulitzer Center and the National Press Club.

Divided into channels and subchannels, the site is under constant watch by site stewards to keep articles in place and within guidelines. Title suggestions are screened before publication, but there is a large number of titles already up for members to contribute to and have instant publication. The order of articles within a title are based on a user rating system that puts the most informative article first. Based on their ranking members earn ad revenue from not just their article, but a group pool of the topic. Each writer has their own profile page and article listing which they can use to promote themselves.

Anyone who wishes to write needs to add articles of at least 350 words. Older articles on the site are shorter as they had other guidelines previous to 2008. Users can also flag articles that are inappropriate or have formatting/grammar issues so the authors can correct them. The site offers a leapfrog option where authors can update or alter their articles to increase their ranking. Basic typos can be corrected by staff with a simple email.

Membership is free. So why not try to float above the rest?