“Helpful? Ha-ha – who cares?” or “Helpful? NOOOO, my whole life is ruined!”
Mar 19 '01
The Bottom Line How to deal with discouragement at Epinions – we all face it, but do we all know how to handle it?
Have you ever flung yourself into writing a long, detailed, expressive review, that followed all the rules of writing reviews here at Epinions only to get rated the next day Helpful?
I know you have. If you haven’t, you’re either a superhero or you haven’t been here long enough.
How do we deal with that kind of discouragement?
I have two instinctive responses to ratings of Helpfuls or Somewhat Helpfuls given to a review that I worked on ALL WEEKEND: stare in disbelief at the screen and spend the rest of the day obsessing about it, racking my brain for a reason why they rated the way they did (most don’t bother to leave a comment); or laugh with a smirk on my face at the nerve of some people as I dare them to downrate me and assure myself, “Who cares why they rated me or even why they gave me such a bad rating? Somebody thinks I’m helping them and that’s what matters.” At the moment, I’m in the obsession mode, because I’m depressed over one of my reviews that I thought was particularly articulate and that got really downrated. However, yesterday I was gleefully checking up on all my past reviews, and LAUGHING (yes, laughing) when I got Helpfuls.
It’s days like today that I wonder whether working so hard here at Epinions is worth it. Think about it. We’re getting paid a grand total of about 10 cents for reviews that, in the case of us dedicated writers, we put our heart and soul into writing. We’re getting rated Helpful for a 1000-word review, while the people who rated us Helpful sail off to rate a 100-word “what a bunch of crud” *review* Very Helpful with Honors. Our readership is small, yet we have something to say, and only a few people will listen. Does anybody really care? Where are the truly great writers? How did I get stuck among the 100-word writers who are here to make a buck and leave? How is it that articles here get rated so unevenly?
It’s days like today that I have to take a good, firm look at my reasons for being here. Am I here to get famous? Am I here to be popular? If so, I’ve already failed. Am I here to be the “perfect” writer? Am I here to have all Very Helpful ratings? Well, I disqualified from Day One. Or am I here to help that person who can’t make up their mind about a product? And am I here to give the world a great review, even if it isn’t read? Those are the real reasons I’m here. On days like these, when I am discouraged and overwhelmed, I have to remind myself that I’m here to help, to serve, to give. I don’t want to be one of those people who takes all the time, or writes for selfish reasons.
With that in mind, I encourage myself by reading comments from people who really do think what I have to say is worthwhile. They’re the ones who don’t rate me because they agree with me, but because they value the quality of what I’m saying. Although there aren’t many of them, they are out there, and I really do appreciate you.
So, having given myself a little pep talk about not giving up, how can I and those of you out there disheartened by negativity and injustice at Epinions deal with discouragement?
1. Identify the reasons you’re writing, and see if you’re accomplishing it. If you’re writing for money, and you’re making money, then you should feel encouraged. If you’re writing for money, and you’re not making money, then you should evaluate your priorities and decide whether to move on or change your focus.
If, on the other hand, you’re writing to be helpful to others, take an honest look at whether you’re doing that. When you read your reviews, imagine you are the average citizen, knowing little to nothing about the product or topic you’re talking about; and see whether your review informs, educates, and entertains. If it does, then stand tall and don’t pay attention to those losers who downrate you for no reason.
2. Respond in a positive way to downrating for no reason. Read: don’t return the favor. Instead of going on a revenge rampage, concentrate on improving your writing even more. Take the feedback (if any) that you get, and use it to really get picky with yourself. Don’t settle for anything less than great. Say (in your mind) to those people who downrate you, “You might not think my writing’s great, but I’m going to keep at it until there is nothing that you could possibly criticize for a valid reason.” And then if they keep criticizing you (i.e. rating you badly), remind yourself that they don’t have a valid reason and move on.
3. Don’t obsess. I know that sounds strange coming from someone who’s obsessing at this very moment, but it’s true! Obsessing about why someone rated you the way they did accomplishes nothing. If you’re truly evaluating the merits and flaws of your review, great; but don’t agonize over how you ticked the other person off. So what if someone happens to disagree with you? So what if you somehow didn’t click? If you’re really doing a good job, then that one or two poor ratings don’t matter.
4. Take a break from Epinions. This isn’t your whole life, for goodness sake. If you’re down from some undeserved Helpfuls, leave Epinions until you are able to smirk at those offensive Helpfuls like I am. Use your talents where they are appreciated. Watch a movie or play a game with your family. Write a book. Do anything but let your discouragement consume you. Hey, if you need to, eat chocolate ice cream while you read your ratings, all that saratonin (sp?) will help keep you positive.
5. Find someone else even more miserable than you. Getting out of your own misery to help someone else even worse off is one of the best ways I know to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Yes, you may be downrated and underread, but there’s always someone else with even more undeserved bad ratings and an even smaller readership. Encourage them. Give them a boost today. Band together with those of us who are discouraged as well and we can form a small community of formerly-discouraged Epinionators. Wouldn’t that be fun? I’m getting excited just thinking about it.
Epinions blues are no fun, but when you get them, and you will get them, suck it in, breathe it out, and keep on going. Ignore the losers and encourage the winners. That one or two Helpfuls is either undeserved emotional venting or a reasonable response to your review. Deal with it accordingly, and don’t let it get to you. That’s all I can say. (And hey, if you ever want to email me and have a whine fest, or better yet form a Formerly-Discouraged Epinionators Webgroup, I’m all for it.)
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Epinions.com ID:
Greatpilgrim
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Victoria
Location: FL
Reviews written: 272
Trusted by: 704 members
About Me:
April 25: My computer has now officially been broken for 10 days. WAHHHH!
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