Some random day in January during my freshman year of high school, my best friend came up to me talking about this website she had come across. I've always been a little jaded, so I took the recommendation to check out this weirdly-named platform with a grain of salt. I had never seen a writer's community before, so Wattpad was a dream come true with its free literature as far as the eye could see. Over the years, they've grown into the largest website of its kind and gained some notoriety along the way. People pay attention when more than a few people are getting their books published off of a small Canadian website. That attention attracting corporations instead of people is where this problem began.
[Below: Suggested accounts similar to the one being read (#NoMoreBullying Challenge) between chapters]
Let me clarify here: there has always been some form of advertising on the Wattpad platform for as long as I've used it. There have always been advertisement banners and videos on the desktop site to help pay for the domain and maintenance. Nearly every website leases out a little space to desperate advertisers in hopes of covering a couple bills. Capitalism by Wattpad is not a new introduction, its intersection more akin to a fog slowly permeating every pore. What scares me is that it seems so benign, the transition so normal, that I didn't even notice until it was blatant. I didn't notice until the writing started becoming secondary to the commercials.
Whoever designed the desktop website put all the pop-up videos and banners off to the sidebar, the place you put something to be noticeable but not distracting. Pushing shampoo and travel sites wasn't the focus of the website, writing was. On your mobile device, there was the occasional picture advertisement or small banner scattered throughout, but again it was never distracting from the literature. The app didn't have any massive banners or videos because the design made it impossible to do without disturbing your reading.
That sentence is no longer accurate.
[Below: The new between-chapters section for certain books]
In the middle of a book, in between the chapters, you are now forced to view an advertisement (almost universally a video) before continuing. This site has strayed from its mission to spread the joys of reading and writing in a world where only a fraction of all creative content is shared on paper. In an honest attempt to grow into a bigger website, Wattpad has crossed the fragile line between paying their rent and selling their soul.
In simple terms, Wattpad is letting commercialism stop reading. That's the harsh reality here. Super Farm Saga Heroes is given the same priority as finding new stories. Some Bubble Pop 2000 game is being sold to me as better than discovering new members of the community. Wawa Hoagie-Fest is sold to me as just as important as finishing a book.
There have always been popular writers, but Wattpad has never tried to take advantage of their popularity in such a blatant and inappropriate fashion before. Even if my view of whatever inane advert supports the featured author, that's not how I want to support them because viewing that video isn't really supporting them. When I feel the need to support an author, I buy an e-book from them off-site or I vote on their stories or I tell my friends they need to read their awesome book. I'm showing the author that I care about their writing, not some corporation concerned with views.
[Below: Earlier attempts at advertising on the platform]
I can't say I'm honestly surprised. After all, this isn't the first time that Wattpad has gotten into bed with corporations and brands. Their first attempt, called "native advertising" because the writer worked a product directly into the story itself, was a fairly successful way to generate revenue while still supporting writers. Even though "The Fault in Our Stars" movie or Sour Patch Kids were sneaking into the community, it was all about the literature made by whoever agreed to the gimmick. I guess the freedom to ignore their efforts was a premium for which Wattpad was no longer willing to pay.
The new videos are shameless capitalism aimed at naive readers who have no higher expectations for the site.
I cannot stand behind it.
There are few things more communal than language. I may be the only one to string together syllables in this specific order, but I will never truly own these words. You can trademark whatever you want, but you cannot prevent people from saying the words behind it however and whenever they want. Words are not mine or yours, they are ours. No one owns English and no one ever should. At its very core, language is about sharing freely and openly.
As a writer's community, a place dedicated to sharing a language, this should not be a foreign concept. If I wanted to pay for literature, I would go to "Radish" where I need to money to fully enjoy the application. That is all Radish will ever be - a service, an application, a bill. Radish by nature cannot be a community because all of its members are not equally invited to share. I made myself a Wattpad account to share my own writings and to read those of others. I made a Wattpad account not to commercialize my cell phone, but to liberate my readings.
I love featuring and promoting authors, but I want it done the right way. I love voting for author's in the Wattys (annual reader's choice awards), not watching advertisements to "show" "support". If it were any other app, I would boycott them - but I can't do that to something so near and dear to my heart. Instead, I'm going to send this out with my own request to Wattpad: Choose community over commercials, support reading.
