First Wiki, then Akahele... now Mahalo... is that yet another Hawaiian word? What does it mean?

Dan, are you really incapable of looking up the meaning of "mahalo"?

Is it just me, or is this a thread from over a year ago which just reappeared with today's date?

But, but, but... this is Mahalo 2.0!

Must be like Windows, then. Each version slower than the one preceding.

Hey, that can be the tagline for Akahele!

Dan, are you really incapable of looking up the meaning of "mahalo"?

Update: Back in July, to test out Mahalo 2.0, I became a page manager of the Czech Republic page.

Since then, only 96 page views, and I've earned a whopping 34 Mahalo cents, which pay out at the rate of 75% to real dollars, but only once you've earned $40 Mahalo dollars. I guess if I ramp up promotion of the page, Jason might be cutting me a check for $30 US dollars just before my funeral.

Note the top earners. There are literally thousands of page managers, but only about 7 are earning anything that would break the poverty level for annual income. Is it worth it? The top dogs are maintaining pages like:

• Bed Bath and Beyond Coupons
• FarmVille Cheat Codes
• How to become a pharmacist

Somebody kill me.

A message to the Mahalo Community,

Our goal at Mahalo is to build a high-quality content and community destination – one that delivers information our consumers can trust. To do this, we need talented, motivated writers.

For the past year, we have experimented with a writer-compensation method that shared revenue from our pages. While the revenue sharing system seemed entrepreneurial and fair in theory, after careful examination including getting your feedback, we've concluded that it failed in practice.

We heard your feedback about huge variation in writer compensation that was not directly tied to quality, and about the confusing nature of Mahalo dollars. In short, the system created a happy few and a frustrated many.

So, starting on July 1st, we are moving to a more traditional flat-rate payment system, with incentives based on quality and traffic.

Here's how it will work:

1. On July 1st, Mahalo will stop revenue sharing on topic and "how to" pages, and shelve the concept of vertical and page management. Revenue sharing on Mahalo Answers will continue.

2. All Vertical Managers will be offered Guide or Senior Guide roles based on their tenure and performance as Mahalo consultants to date. Guides will receive $1,000 a month for their content and Senior Guides will receive $1,300.

3. Page Managers and Go Team members will be given the ability to apply for one of 50 new Guide positions, paying $1,000 per month.

4. All Guides will be responsible for 25 new pages, 12 hours of updating (i.e. on the Go Team), and 10 questions or answers weekly. You will be able to do this work whenever you like so you can easily schedule it around your other writing obligations!

5. NEW FEATURE: We're moving payments of Guides to – wait for it – weekly! The week after you perform your work you will get your PayPal payment. This was one of the most requested features from our writers and we're thrilled that our new flat-rate system will make this easy to implement.

6. NEW FEATURE: Mahalo Dollars will be removed from page management and creation. You will not have to worry about the conversion ratio anymore! Mahalo Dollars will be limited to Mahalo Answers where folks love them and the fun stuff they can buy with them. You've told us that real writers wanted to be paid in real dollars and we've listened. No more conversions! Everyone will have 31 days to cash out their Mahalo Dollars (cash outs can occur anytime in July – no cash outs as of August 1st).

7. Mahalo Dollars will only be used in the Mahalo Store going forward. No more cashing out for real dollars (gift cards and donations will still be available).

8. NEW FEATURE: A group traffic incentive of $100 each will be shared between Guides for every month that Mahalo breaks the previous month's traffic.

9. NEW FEATURE: A group revenue incentive of $100 each will be shared between Guides for every month that Mahalo breaks the previous month's revenue numbers.

10. NEW FEATURE: A quality incentive will be given to a selection of pages and Guides each month based on our Community Team's judgment.

There are going to be many questions and comments on these changes I'm sure. The small number of folks who had the killer revenue pages are going to be disappointed, and the majority of folks who were not breaking $500 a month are going to be excited.

We understand change is hard, but our intention is to build a system that creates a vibrant, fun and profitable experience for everyone.

I'm sure there will be some issues we have not anticipated, and you can expect us to pivot, as all start-ups must, if something isn't working.

Mike Bracco and I will be discussing these changes in a town hall meeting today, Wednesday, at 11AM Pacific time (2PM eastern). Join us here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mahalo-tutorials

We look forward to your feedback.

All the best,

Jason McCabe Calacanis
Mahalo founder & CEO

PS: If you have any questions, comments or concerns you can always reach me directly at jason at mahalo.com
PPS: We are discussing this issue here on Mahalo Answers: http://jc.is/jasonmessage