Aug 12, 2021 05:25:26 AM by Muhammad U
Is this the right news? and we can also boost our proposals by spending additional connects.Thats heaven for freelancers then..A big thanks to Upwork.
Solved! Go to Solution.
Aug 12, 2021 07:12:21 AM by Vladimir G
Hi everyone,
As many have already pointed out, some of you may have noticed an option to boost proposals by spending additional Connects. This is an anticipated test we plan on releasing soon; however, the curtain was pulled back a little too soon! The features mentioned here will be halted until further notice when this test is ready to roll out. We're working on this new feature and will share all the details when they are finalized prior to launch in September.
Aug 14, 2021 12:59:14 AM by Gergana K
Renata,
You and all the others who have expressed their indignation at this half-baked, poorly thought out idea are right. But in the meantime, in my mind's eye all I see is Upwork middle managers huddled in a conference room in Santa Clara cracking jokes about the "talent" losing their marbles over what UW undoubtledly thinks is a brilliant masterplan.
Aug 13, 2021 11:57:37 PM by Maria T
Viacheslav K wrote:
Maria T wrote:But, if you already have the information, why can't you share it so we can judge the idea BEFORE you launch it?
It would really be nice, for once.To be fair, in theory anything could work/not work but you need to test it on real data before you can judge if it's good or bad.
What I am asking is that they put forward the "idea".
What it is, how it is supposed to work, how it affects freelancers and clients, what expense would it entail, how it will appear on the client side, how it will affect NOT using it, etc ...
They already have this documentation, there is a video (which I couldn't see) and there will be a "read more ..." already created.
I don't think that to know "if it will work" you need to launch it first.
These kinds of things are what the new vice president should pay attention to.
Aug 14, 2021 01:45:45 AM by Viacheslav K
Maria T wrote:What I am asking is that they put forward the "idea".
What it is, how it is supposed to work, how it affects freelancers and clients, what expense would it entail, how it will appear on the client side, how it will affect NOT using it, etc ...
They already have this documentation, there is a video (which I couldn't see) and there will be a "read more ..." already created.
I don't think that to know "if it will work" you need to launch it first.These kinds of things are what the new vice president should pay attention to.
I just never saw a big company ask their userbase before implementing a new feature or change. They mostly put it out there and look at stats. People rarely like change. I'm not that thrilled about this change either. Most people didn't like the creation of JSS, 2-6 connects per job or the removal of the free connects per month. But I do see these things improved the platform in the long run.
Aug 14, 2021 02:04:56 AM Edited Aug 14, 2021 02:44:57 AM by Nikola S
Viacheslav K wrote:
Maria T wrote:
What I am asking is that they put forward the "idea".
What it is, how it is supposed to work, how it affects freelancers and clients, what expense would it entail, how it will appear on the client side, how it will affect NOT using it, etc ...
They already have this documentation, there is a video (which I couldn't see) and there will be a "read more ..." already created.
I don't think that to know "if it will work" you need to launch it first.These kinds of things are what the new vice president should pay attention to.
I just never saw a big company ask their userbase before implementing a new feature or change. They mostly put it out there and look at stats. People rarely like change. I'm not that thrilled about this change either. Most people didn't like the creation of JSS, 2-6 connects per job or the removal of the free connects per month. But I do see these things improved the platform in the long run.
Most big companies who fail to consult their userbase or factor in their opinions and/or experience with their product or service sooner or later fail. Just because not consulting customers (and yes, freelancers are UW's clients too, since we pay **Edited for Community Guidelines** of money in fees and connects) in the past has been the norm doesn't mean it's an enlightened way to go forward and grow the business.
Aug 14, 2021 02:09:57 AM Edited Aug 14, 2021 02:45:40 AM by Nikola S
Viacheslav K wrote:
Maria T wrote:
What I am asking is that they put forward the "idea".
What it is, how it is supposed to work, how it affects freelancers and clients, what expense would it entail, how it will appear on the client side, how it will affect NOT using it, etc ...
They already have this documentation, there is a video (which I couldn't see) and there will be a "read more ..." already created.
I don't think that to know "if it will work" you need to launch it first.These kinds of things are what the new vice president should pay attention to.
I just never saw a big company ask their userbase before implementing a new feature or change. They mostly put it out there and look at stats. People rarely like change. I'm not that thrilled about this change either. Most people didn't like the creation of JSS, 2-6 connects per job or the removal of the free connects per month. But I do see these things improved the platform in the long run.
Viacheslav, no offense, but I don't give a **Edited for Community Guidelines** what other corporations do.
A lot of people here are sick of running into implementations that appear by surprise. Many times you find out that they are trying something because the "lucky ones" have found it working and do not know what the issue is about.
Upwork is fortunate to have forums where you can gather feedback without having to implement anything.
And regarding the underline, and in my opinion, JSS proves to be a disaster for its lack of "human part" and its mysterious way of working, the cost variance in connects for the proposals I don't think has made UW go better or worse (and now they want to change this for another invention), and the free connects per month ... well, they gave them again, although less and you can also earn them with interviews, so ... it didn't work too well, right?
I am very angry that the potential of a forum like this is not being harnessed to make Upwork truly the freelance work site it could be.
Aug 14, 2021 02:22:20 AM by Gergana K
100% agree with Maria.
About JSS in particular and the way it is calculated - its mysterious algorithm is a classic example of "black box" AI: inscrutable and unaccountable, yet with significant impact on the ratings of those whom it is designed for. What Upwork fails to realize is that a top-rated, top-earning freelancer's JSS that has been negatively and unfairly affected by a client who leaves poor feedback either on purpose (out of spite to punish a FL who refuses to do more work than agreed on or for a lower price) or because they are genuinely unaware how much even a slightly less-than-perfect private feedback can affect this metric ultimately diminishes that FL's earning power and, by extension, UW's profits.
Aug 14, 2021 03:29:05 AM by Viacheslav K
Maria T wrote:I am very angry that the potential of a forum like this is not being harnessed to make Upwork truly the freelance work site it could be.
I completely understand your frustration. Sorry, I didn't intend to justify their actions. I just saw far worse management on many platforms like Youtube or Twitch where they would just remove monetizations from people channels or shadowban them without any notice even if those people earn a living from there. I had my adsense account banned years ago and I never got any explanation why. After the Upwork fee was increased to 20% I kind of gave up because there's a very slim chance of influencing their decisions.
Aug 14, 2021 04:20:48 AM Edited Aug 14, 2021 08:51:22 PM by Renata S
Viacheslav K wrote:
Maria T wrote:I am very angry that the potential of a forum like this is not being harnessed to make Upwork truly the freelance work site it could be.
I completely understand your frustration. Sorry, I didn't intend to justify their actions. I just saw far worse management on many platforms like Youtube or Twitch where they would just remove monetizations from people channels or shadowban them without any notice even if those people earn a living from there. I had my adsense account banned years ago and I never got any explanation why. After the Upwork fee was increased to 20% I kind of gave up because there's a very slim chance of influencing their decisions.
Viacheslav,
YouTube is a platform where people post cat videos and waste time (I'm not judging this; it's what people do). Although some people have been able to earn a substantial living there from other things--and some people do in fact make a substantial living from the cat videos--work-for-hire exchanges are not the type of activity YouTube was created to facilitate. Upwork is a platform where at least some freelancers (maybe most) work to secure contracts to pay for rent/mortgages, food, and other living expenses for themselves and their families. Bad management at YouTube hurts YouTube. Bad management here has a far more personal consequence to the majority of Upwork users.
Aug 14, 2021 04:36:24 AM by Phyllis G
Viacheslav K wrote:
Maria T wrote:What I am asking is that they put forward the "idea".
What it is, how it is supposed to work, how it affects freelancers and clients, what expense would it entail, how it will appear on the client side, how it will affect NOT using it, etc ...
They already have this documentation, there is a video (which I couldn't see) and there will be a "read more ..." already created.
I don't think that to know "if it will work" you need to launch it first.These kinds of things are what the new vice president should pay attention to.
I just never saw a big company ask their userbase before implementing a new feature or change. They mostly put it out there and look at stats. People rarely like change. I'm not that thrilled about this change either. Most people didn't like the creation of JSS, 2-6 connects per job or the removal of the free connects per month. But I do see these things improved the platform in the long run.
I'm not sure which big companies you are familiar with. I've worked with many, across many different industries, and I've never, ever seen a company test a new idea in live production where it could directly affect revenue and customer relationships. Yet, UW does that with us all the time -- tests new features and functions in OUR live production streams and sometimes disrupts our businesses.
Objections to this practice have nothing to do with generalized resistance to change. The JSS was already established when I joined the platform but many of us actually welcomed the elimination of monthly free connects. And the tiered pricing scheme (2-6 connects per job) makes some sense in theory, it just was horribly implemented. No, the problem is that they are constantly tinkering with the guts of the system -- the mechanisms that enable clients and FLs to find each other and set up contracts -- in ways that are more often disruptive than constructive. They look at their metrics dashboards and say, Let's try this and see what happens. And they try it out on OUR live production line -- which makes no sense because it's also their live production line. UW operates at such a scale that they can justify any lost opportunities that occur as the cost of improvement. But for individual FLs and clients, the losses can be real.
Maria is simply asking to be informed about this next "improvement" before we are ambushed by it. IMO it's a perfectly reasonable -- if utterly futile -- request.
Aug 14, 2021 04:45:13 AM by Maria T
Phyllis G wrote:
Viacheslav K wrote:
Maria T wrote:What I am asking is that they put forward the "idea".
What it is, how it is supposed to work, how it affects freelancers and clients, what expense would it entail, how it will appear on the client side, how it will affect NOT using it, etc ...
They already have this documentation, there is a video (which I couldn't see) and there will be a "read more ..." already created.
I don't think that to know "if it will work" you need to launch it first.These kinds of things are what the new vice president should pay attention to.
I just never saw a big company ask their userbase before implementing a new feature or change. They mostly put it out there and look at stats. People rarely like change. I'm not that thrilled about this change either. Most people didn't like the creation of JSS, 2-6 connects per job or the removal of the free connects per month. But I do see these things improved the platform in the long run.
I'm not sure which big companies you are familiar with. I've worked with many, across many different industries, and I've never, ever seen a company test a new idea in live production where it could directly affect revenue and customer relationships. Yet, UW does that with us all the time -- tests new features and functions in OUR live production streams and sometimes disrupts our businesses.
Objections to this practice have nothing to do with generalized resistance to change. The JSS was already established when I joined the platform but many of us actually welcomed the elimination of monthly free connects. And the tiered pricing scheme (2-6 connects per job) makes some sense in theory, it just was horribly implemented. No, the problem is that they are constantly tinkering with the guts of the system -- the mechanisms that enable clients and FLs to find each other and set up contracts -- in ways that are more often disruptive than constructive. They look at their metrics dashboards and say, Let's try this and see what happens. And they try it out on OUR live production line -- which makes no sense because it's also their live production line. UW operates at such a scale that they can justify any lost opportunities that occur as the cost of improvement. But for individual FLs and clients, the losses can be real.
Maria is simply asking to be informed about this next "improvement" before we are ambushed by it. IMO it's a perfectly reasonable -- if utterly futile -- request.
+ 1000
And thanks for the hopes
Aug 14, 2021 05:12:33 AM by Viacheslav K
Phyllis G wrote:I'm not sure which big companies you are familiar with. I've worked with many, across many different industries, and I've never, ever seen a company test a new idea in live production where it could directly affect revenue and customer relationships. Yet, UW does that with us all the time -- tests new features and functions in OUR live production streams and sometimes disrupts our businesses.
Maria is simply asking to be informed about this next "improvement" before we are ambushed by it. IMO it's a perfectly reasonable -- if utterly futile -- request.
I've given examples above about how tech giants do new features and changes.
This change was a leaked and was reverted. What change did they ambush without notifying users beforehand?
Aug 14, 2021 05:20:15 AM by Phyllis G
Viacheslav K wrote:
Phyllis G wrote:I'm not sure which big companies you are familiar with. I've worked with many, across many different industries, and I've never, ever seen a company test a new idea in live production where it could directly affect revenue and customer relationships. Yet, UW does that with us all the time -- tests new features and functions in OUR live production streams and sometimes disrupts our businesses.
Maria is simply asking to be informed about this next "improvement" before we are ambushed by it. IMO it's a perfectly reasonable -- if utterly futile -- request.I've given examples above about how tech giants do new features and changes.
This change was a leaked and was reverted. What change did they ambush without notifying users beforehand?
As I clicked 'submit' it occurred to me you'd respond with some reference to 'tech giants'. I don't have time to summarize the ways in which tech giants screw stuff up. I have gutters to clean, so also don't have time to list instances when UW has ambushed FLs with tests of new features and functionalities with no notice. You may not have been around long enough yet to see it happen. You can research it in the forum if you're interested.
Aug 14, 2021 05:20:40 AM by Maria T
Viacheslav K wrote:
Phyllis G wrote:I'm not sure which big companies you are familiar with. I've worked with many, across many different industries, and I've never, ever seen a company test a new idea in live production where it could directly affect revenue and customer relationships. Yet, UW does that with us all the time -- tests new features and functions in OUR live production streams and sometimes disrupts our businesses.
Maria is simply asking to be informed about this next "improvement" before we are ambushed by it. IMO it's a perfectly reasonable -- if utterly futile -- request.I've given examples above about how tech giants do new features and changes.
This change was a leaked and was reverted. What change did they ambush without notifying users beforehand?
Personally, I have seen several threads in which, suddenly, questions appeared about "something" that had been activated in some profiles and people had no idea what it was.
And by the way, some people don't like being used as guinea pigs without warning.
Aug 14, 2021 05:26:02 AM by Petra R
Viacheslav K wrote:
What change did they ambush without notifying users beforehand?
Most of them. Including turning into Upwork. The hateful "Boost your proposal" thing just appeared. Usually things change and we are informed that from now on, things will be like X. (Some stay, others go away again). Some stuff appears and we're not even told about them (maps on profiles, rockets and stars on profile pop-ups, reports vanishing etc etc.)
Aug 14, 2021 05:55:22 AM by Viacheslav K
Petra R wrote:Most of them. Including turning into Upwork. The hateful "Boost your proposal" thing just appeared. Usually things change and we are informed that from now on, things will be like X. (Some stay, others go away again). Some stuff appears and we're not even told about them (maps on profiles, rockets and stars on profile pop-ups, reports vanishing etc etc.)
Being part of software development, I'm a bit surprised to see these reactions. I've seen a lot of software being changed and no mention of that in the patch notes/news. It happens a lot with smaller changes. The "Boost your proposal" was a mistake and it was reverted which happens. Upwork was never known to be the most bugless software out there - servers die, buttons don't work, people see black screens. The biggest changes I remember were always notified ~1 month before they are applied. And I've already explained why they won't be doing surveys to know people's opinions before starting to work on a change or feature.
I am very curious what online services and software you use that don't to these things.
Anyway, I don't need any more hate towards me and I won't reply here anymore. I'm sorry if I offended or angered anyone, it was never my intention.
And since this was an issue before: I'll my post are my personal opinion.
Aug 18, 2021 09:29:40 AM Edited Aug 18, 2021 12:16:26 PM by Renata S
Viacheslav K wrote:
Petra R wrote:Anyway, I don't need any more hate towards me and I won't reply here anymore. I'm sorry if I offended or angered anyone, it was never my intention.
And since this was an issue before: I'll my post are my personal opinion.
Viacheslav,
People disagreeing with you and pointing out what they feel you can't see isn't the same as "hate." I wish people would stop using that word to mean that others simply don't agree with their opinions. It's a word that comes with more potent connotations than the experience you are describing and I feel it should be used with greater discretion.
It's true the forum might not be the best place at all times for polite, friendly discussions, and people's responses to your opinions might not always appear warm and fuzzy. The first discussion I participated in quite a few years ago was about changes to the JSS. I don't feel that my opinions or frustrations were any less valid than anyone else's--but not everyone agreed with them. However, eventually some of the views of other freelancers did help me realize something larger: the JSS scores weren't only about how I did my work; they could be influenced by how I managed my contracts and the way I selected projects. So I learned something from reading other people's opinions about it.
Actually, the JSS might be a great topic to discuss in relation to this new initiative. Parts of the JSS design were very poorly considered (and the history of having to deal with that may be a source of my impatience with your "anything can work" comment).
No-feedback contracts used to be considered "negative information" about freelancer performance. So, if you closed a contract without getting feedback from the client, it could negatively affect your JSS score. To me, "no feedback" meant "no information" (and it still does).
The consequence to freelancers was that it added a lot of completely unnecessary stress to deciding something as inconsequential as closing out an inactive contract--even if the interaction with the client had been positive. If you couldn't reach the client to communicate that the contract should be closed and that you needed them to leave feedback, it would amount to a negative hit to your JSS score if you chose to close it. Added to that, the hit might potentially be substantial if you timed it in a bad way. This resulted in people having to devote mental energy to when and how they did something as simple as closing an inactive contract. You needed to consider whether closing it might have a negative impact on your score.
In my line of work, people are often very busy and quite "in their own heads." Once their work is done, they can sometimes be quite hard to contact. To me, it feels unprofessional to nag busy clients to leave me stars on a rating system once the work is done.
What I need from Upwork is a platform that facilitates my interactions with clients, not a system that gets in the way of those interactions or contributes extra stress to them. I don't think the current initiative is at all good for clients. I just talked to someone who was new to the platform, and it sounds like a disorienting experience being a first-time client. Allowing freelancers to "boost" their applications in the presentation order won't make it any less disorienting.
Aug 14, 2021 05:55:55 AM Edited Aug 14, 2021 06:00:30 AM by Renata S
Viacheslav K wrote:
Phyllis G wrote:I'm not sure which big companies you are familiar with. I've worked with many, across many different industries, and I've never, ever seen a company test a new idea in live production where it could directly affect revenue and customer relationships. Yet, UW does that with us all the time -- tests new features and functions in OUR live production streams and sometimes disrupts our businesses.
Maria is simply asking to be informed about this next "improvement" before we are ambushed by it. IMO it's a perfectly reasonable -- if utterly futile -- request.I've given examples above about how tech giants do new features and changes.
This change was a leaked and was reverted. What change did they ambush without notifying users beforehand?
I used "guinea pig" as a search term and managed to pull these ones up:
https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/quot-Show-popular-projects-on-my-profile-quot/m-p/608394
https://community.upwork.com/t5/Coffee-Break/Anyone-else-noticed-those-quot-likely-to-get-hired-soon...
"Beta test" is also a useful one:
https://community.upwork.com/t5/Coffee-Break/Beta-Tests-Leaving-You-Wanting-To-Scream/m-p/641718#M43...
Aug 14, 2021 06:25:39 AM Edited Aug 14, 2021 02:53:57 PM by Valeria K
Renata S wrote:
I used "guinea pig" as a search term and managed to pull these ones up:
On that happy note, does anyone remember when they literally added "similar freelancers like ...(your name)" on YOUR profile? That luckily didn't last long.
**Edited for Community Guidelines**
Aug 13, 2021 08:41:05 PM Edited Aug 13, 2021 08:42:11 PM by Renante V
Valeria K wrote:Hi All,
Thank you for the discussion!
We will be sharing more information about this test when we officially launch later this year. We will make sure to get the questions brought up on this thread answered then.
We will continue to gather feedback from multiple channels, including the Community here, and test results to determine the next steps with such features.
Suggestion:
Don't put the boosted bids at the top, let the bid order stay as it is, just highlight them and have a badge that says something like "Sponsored/Boosted Bid".
Perhaps the more connect used to boost the bid, the brighter the highlight color
Aug 13, 2021 07:05:21 PM by Illiassou I
yesterday, I saw a video when i have log to my account, telling me that now it is possible to boost proposals by biding more connects and I want to know how can I do it?
Aug 14, 2021 10:13:21 AM by Jordan M
I got a pop-up about a change in connects, in which you're essentially bidding to be first in the line-up of freelancers. It doesn't seem to have come into effect yet as I'm still seeing 6 connect minimum projects when I was told it would only be 1 connect. When is that starting?
Aug 14, 2021 10:15:53 AM by Martina P
Jordan M wrote:I got a pop-up about a change in connects, in which you're essentially bidding to be first in the line-up of freelancers. It doesn't seem to have come into effect yet as I'm still seeing 6 connect minimum projects when I was told it would only be 1 connect. When is that starting?
Hopefully never. But it seems they plan that for September.
Aug 14, 2021 12:59:08 PM by Maria T
Jordan M wrote:I got a pop-up about a change in connects, in which you're essentially bidding to be first in the line-up of freelancers. It doesn't seem to have come into effect yet as I'm still seeing 6 connect minimum projects when I was told it would only be 1 connect. When is that starting?
Well, to be the first, I don't know if it will work like that.
Because, I say, if 14 freelancers sponsor their proposal with the same amount of connects, which one will be the first?
And will sponsoring your proposal ensure you are above freelancers who are a better fit or have a better job history?
Doubts and more doubts. But hey, we will have to wait for September, although as Martina says, hopefully, we will never see it.
Aug 14, 2021 03:17:04 PM by Tiffany S
Maria T wrote:And will sponsoring your proposal ensure you are above freelancers who are a better fit or have a better job history?
Sounds like it, so most likely hire rates will decline and clients will leave Upwork. They must be expecting to make a lot of money on connects if they're willing to drive down business this way.
Aug 14, 2021 09:56:16 PM by Martina P
Tiffany S wrote:
Maria T wrote:And will sponsoring your proposal ensure you are above freelancers who are a better fit or have a better job history?
Sounds like it, so most likely hire rates will decline and clients will leave Upwork. They must be expecting to make a lot of money on connects if they're willing to drive down business this way.
I'm thinking, people can easily create client accounts and invite each other to create free connects...
Aug 14, 2021 10:04:36 PM by Petra R
Martina P wrote:I'm thinking, people can easily create client accounts and invite each other to create free connects...
They don't get free connects when they are invited.
Aug 15, 2021 01:06:52 AM by Martina P
Petra R wrote:
Martina P wrote:I'm thinking, people can easily create client accounts and invite each other to create free connects...
They don't get free connects when they are invited.
Right! I meant sending proposals.
Aug 18, 2021 10:08:58 AM by Robert Y
Martina P wrote:
Petra R wrote:
Martina P wrote:I'm thinking, people can easily create client accounts and invite each other to create free connects...
They don't get free connects when they are invited.
Right! I meant sending proposals.
I think that's what these job posts with hundreds of "interviews" are all about. Connect generators.
Aug 24, 2021 12:53:02 PM by Claudia D
Aug 24, 2021 01:01:45 PM by Ashraf K
Claudia,
Yes, I saw that along with many others but it was not functional at that moment. The new bidding system was released by mistake by Upwork and was rolled back quickly with an official update that it will be released in September-2021.
It also prompted an interesting discussion from all community members sharing their views, thought, and opinion on the proposed system, few in its favor and many against it.
You can follow the thread here
Aug 24, 2021 01:02:23 PM by Saddam H
Claudia, You are right as it was sent to freelancers but the decision will be permanently implemented in September possibly. I hope your case is solved?
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