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An Armchair View Of The New Epinions. Only $65.93 Income Share Required To Cash Out!Nov 03 '01 (Updated Nov 08 '01) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line There are some wonderful people here at Epinions!
The last two months have been extraordinary. The cowardly attacks on America of September 11 changed our world forever in an instant. So many changes. Escalation of security all over the world. The common mail box has become an instrument of terrorism and a conductor of fear. The threat of chemical warfare is ever present as the scourge of anthrax spreads by the hand of an enemy from the shadows. Australia has joined with the United States & her Allies in the war against terrorism and today our headlines carry the news that a holy war has been declared upon our nation also as a result of our stance & participation. Whoever would have thought on September 10 that this would be the climate of our world on November 3, 2001. Nothing stays the same, but in recent weeks, we have all had plenty of changed circumstances to adapt to and one bad news story after another. This is not to say though that there has not been good news also in terms of the love, strength & unity which has arisen from all of this. In the scale of things, compared to the enormity of the burden that others are bearing right now in light of recent events, the October Epinions bombshells & the fallout from that are just a squirt of dirty water from a very small water pistol. The big black cloud of disillusionment and anger which drifted over Epinions since those unfortunate announcements were made has not emanated from monetary concerns alone. I believe that it is representative of how people react in any relationship when they feel that above any other consideration, they are not appreciated, valued nor respected. Unfortunately for the Epinions management, the manner in which the announcement was made concerning the removal of earnings for member hits, the demise of the content partner program and the end of members having the option to edit and delete submissions* (*which has since been reversed), smacked of plain insensitivity to the people of the epinions community. If ever there was a web site where people are integral to the site's success, it is this one. Difficult and unpopular decisions must be made in business. Here was one of those, however, even unpopular decisions can be made more palatable by effective public relations & a common sense approach, the element missing here. It was a defensive stance, the removal of the ability to edit being a protective measure against an expected negative response to the changes to the payment structure & earning opportunity at Epinions. The people revolted. Mutual distrust. Although certainly the changes to the Epinions remuneration were disappointing to all, it was really the cutting off of editing rights of contributions without warning, the manner in which this was thrust upon the members, and the fact that it was thrust upon them at all which enraged the masses. It was if you like, the final insult, a bad decision poorly conveyed which although now reversed, told the Epinions community by its very implementation just how much they are valued, respected & trusted. We all know that Epinion's Members don't write just for the income! The time and effort far outweigh the earnings. Yet, the little bit of compensation makes the whole thing that much more fun and considerably more interesting. It's silly, but true. Epinions is banking on the members continuing to write and rate just as they always have because, despite all, they enjoy writing, thrill at having contributions published, gain satisfaction from the feedback of other members & appreciate the social aspect of the site. Whether this will be sufficient to not only keep the Epinions member core contributing, and at the same kind of levels as previously, only time will tell. I have to say though that having read the transcripts of the last two chat's on October 25 & 30, 2001 , I found it a little like being in one of those sales meetings where you don't quite believe and can't quite get your head around what you are being brainwashed with by the sales manager. The ability to be able to market one's content partner site & increase outside non member hits has made the Epinions site more enjoyable to participate in for those of us who are so inclined.Good for the members. Good for Epinions. The new Epinions environment will exist without this aspect which is a great shame and I expect that Epinions will notice a big dent in nonmember hits from this source. There will be an exodus from this site over the recent changes. For some, it has become a matter of principle which cannot be resolved and for others the level of enjoyment in participating in the site is not enough to justify the time and effort required to do so properly. My guess is that a large proportion of the disenchanted will plan to stay for a month or two to test out the new income share levels and make the decision on their Epinions future after that. Looking into my crystal ball again, I can see that Epinions will attract less new writers to the site to fill the gaps as members will be marketing the site less, there will be reduced word of mouth referrals and there will be some fallout from all of the negative feeling presently about this site. This means that in my estimation, the Epinions management have maybe a couple of months, probably 6 weeks to come up with some incentives to replace that which hath been taken away and some positive public relations to repair the goodwill damage. Not necessarily equivalent remuneration, yet, a gesture all the same. A sugar pill at least. Something so to give those teetering on the Epinions edge an opportunity for graceful turn around, a reason to remain, a reason to feel excited about Epinions again. The decision to restore editing and deletion on the site, whilst appreciated by members, could not erase the injury entirely, but is an initial gesture in the right direction. Let us look with hope for a miracle to drop from the Epinions skies for as in life, as surely as changes can happen suddenly for ill, the reverse can also certainly apply. Epinions is a microcosm after all. Until then, only $65.93 to go before I can cash out. How many income share years will that be? I have mentioned to some this week with tongue in cheek that we international Epinions members might engage in some kind of demonstration, to send a message to Epinions management that the $100 cash out minimum must surely be reduced in line with the recent changes & limitations to Epinions! Alternately,perhaps Epinions might be persuaded to pay our earnings to date to the American Red Cross to assist those affected by the September 11 tragedy rather than leaving them rotting away in their Epinions coffers. There are some wonderful people writing for Epinions with a collective wealth of life experience and talent. Wouldn't it be great if some of our stars could be welcomed to contribute to the enhancement of the Epinions site & the business in a practical way so that Epinions could improve its performance and move into profitibility. Comments anybody? Thanks for reading & God bless.  |
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