The Odyssey is an online platform that allows writers to write about pretty much anything they want.
It is a great resume builder for college students who join their university's branch, as well as other independent writers. There are a vast array of articles on Odyssey that deal with topics such as relationships, school, and open letters.
Now if you aren't a writer for Odyssey, you may have seen articles pop up on your social feed. The articles Odyssey shares on their Facebook tend to receive way more views than those who do not (I can vouch for this). However, there is one common theme…
It is the same articles over, and over again.
I cannot count how many times I have seen the articles "Stop Being Lazy: Why You Should Always Look Cute For Class," and "An Open Letter To The People Who Don't Tip Their Servers." I would bet it is at least every other day the Odyssey posts about these, if not every day.
I know the main objective is to get views, which in turn leads to more ad views and revenue for them. However, I am very tired of seeing the same articles (which are good articles, I have read both of them), when there are so many more. Yes, we can go into the debate if wearing yoga pants is acceptable classroom attire, and we all should understand by now that waitresses make less than three dollars an hour.
I wish the Odyssey would give some credibility to its other creators, rather than just reposting the same thing.
Universities all over the country have a group of writers. At Towson, I believe we have about 30. That means thousands of articles go into review and get published every single week. However, the articles on the social media pages are always the same, always.
Maybe it is just more apparent to me since I write for this platform. However, if I was just a reader, I think I would catch onto this trend, too. I would want other writers not only to have the opportunity; but also as a reader I would like to see some new content.
I think the Odyssey could do a better job of doing what they set out to do: give creators a voice.
