My three years of experience with Gushcloud
/8 MAY 2015 Update: A lot of you know that I took this post down the day I posted it. That was because I was told back then that it was the wrong time and as much as I didn't want to bring harm to anyone, I couldn't help but feel bitter that I wasn't able to express my side of the story. But oh well, now that all the drama has subsided, I have decided to live it again.
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I guess 3 years ago, I picked a path and embarked on a new journey that has made a significant difference to my life; Never would I have known I'd be back here today reconsidering my choices.
I am no longer your 16 year old sweetheart. 3 years back, I would've kept my lips sealed and sucked it up but that's no longer the case. For a good 2 years, abiding by my managers' preferences regardless of my own interest was something I was taught to believe that all bloggers were supposed to do. - It wasn't until last year when I started to question the unusual operations of Gushcloud because of an insane amount of questionable incidences.
Disclaimer: This post is written based on my 3 years of working experience with Gushcloud and the reason I'm writing this is not to defame Gushcloud nor to jump on the bandwagon of the entire Xiaxue/Gushcloud saga.
I thought it's just time I finally clarify something - I HAVE NEVER BEEN CONTRACTED TO GUSHCLOUD.
I know it may come as a surprise to many of you because I've always claimed to be their "influencer/blogger," but it was only because I was being gracious towards them.
As one of their pioneer bloggers I thought I would be in an appropriate position to give my honest comment on everything that has been happening because it seems like none of the influencers dare to breathe a word on how they truly feel nor to air their grievances even though I'm aware that many of them would agree with the things I'm about to say.
How it started...
It all started in early 2012 when I was approached by both, Nuffnang and Gushcloud at the same time to be contracted as one of their bloggers.
I eventually chose Gushcloud because they offered me much more than what Nuffnang did - And because I was pretty young back then, my dad stepped in and took over all the discussions.
As my dad has over 20 years of experience in the advertising industry, I trusted him when he suggested that I shouldn't sign the contract and be tied down to Gushcloud, so I didn't and I never did.
However, despite not signing, I was rather faithful to them (or should I say naive?) and agreed upon any requests they asked for. I took up every assignment that was given to me even when my dad repeatedly stressed that I wasn't fairly paid and I shouldn't. I didn't heed any of his advices and even fought with him every time we had a conversation pertaining to Gushcloud.
How it went down...
As far as I know, in 2012 most of their payments to me were never punctual and everything accumulated up to xxxxx amount in that year alone. Their reason was always, "Clients have not paid us yet." I don't know if that's true, it's still a mystery to me until today.
There were several times where external companies came to me and wanted to engage in my services, however I was reprimanded by my manager and was told that I should pass them any jobs henceforth. Which I did.
However, for some unknown reason, almost every potential client didn't revert to me after Gushcloud handled it on my behalf.
I was not alone in this, even Jian Hao experienced similar situations too.
Just so you know, Jian Hao, Danial Ron were recommended by me to join Gushcloud at the beginning of 2013 and not long after, Julian Tay, Yahya, Ridhwan came along because of Jian Hao.
After I got closer to Jian Hao, I was then introduced to some other people of the same industry in early 2014. And as time passed, I started to discover how I was severely underpaid and was paid even lower than many other bloggers in the market whom statistics and engagements were far lesser than mine.
I wasn't exactly pissed or anything, because I always thought it was already a privilege to be earning that sorta money, but I was a disappointed and one thing for sure, I kept my cool and continued working with them - The only different thing from then on was that I learnt how say "NO" to the things I felt uncomfortable doing or which devalue my worth.
There were many other reasons which contribute to my official departure, but I guess I'll let bygones be bygones and I suppose there isn't a need to point them down for every single petty mistake they've made, but that doesn't mean that I agree with the things they've done or are still doing whether is it to me, or to someone else.
All in all, I just wanted to say that some of them were really nice and offered help when I needed, but I started having my doubts when I learnt many things about them.
Were they were really nice, or did their public facade masked a side of Gushcloud I never knew about?
At some point, I felt like I was just their money making tool and perhaps the friendship we had wasn't real.
I must admit I'm pretty close to a few of the staff from Gushcloud and because they have been looking out for me and provided me with the little things I asked for on several occasions, I always found it hard to sever ties with them because I chose to believe they aren't what people think they are.
However, the person who would once be the first to stand up and say "I believe in Gushcloud" has turned into someone who isn't able to make an affirmation on whether they are capable of all the things which people are talking about. - Which is why I have decided to make it clear that I'm no longer part of their committee.
And dear clients or potential business partners, you can now contact me directly at naaomineo@gmail.com for any business enquires.
Thank you. :)
