I’m waiting for the day when we have to pay to write reviews ;-)
Jan 10 '02
The Bottom Line No matter how bad Epinions gets, I’ll always have fond memories of my time here. And I’ll probably always return to it at one point or another.
I have returned to a favorite category again – Epinion editorials. (I think it was the guilt complex set up by my last review. :-) I never wrote an article celebrating my one-year Epinions anniversary in September, which also coincided with my 300 WOT mark. So call this a very belated tribute piece.
But actually the real reason I’m back again in the General Comments section has three parts: first, this is my 101st review; second, I recently went over the 400 line on my Web of Trust; third, this is the start of a new year for me at Epinions.
It’s hard to believe where I’m at in my “career” here. Up until a year ago, I was grateful for my six – yes, six! – people who trusted me. I figured that my categories must just be unpopular ones and that I would always be kind of fringish. Then all of a sudden things started coming together.
~~~ Newbies, take note! ~~~
I suddenly had a dozen new people on my WOT, and my reviews started getting noticed. How did this happen? It was a combination of reasons. I started reading and rating a whole lot more, going beyond just writing my reviews, throwing them out there, and ignoring the rest of the site. I explored the different aspects of the community, reading reviews way out of my area of expertise (and out of my comfort zone, as well).
I think that this helped with the other cause of my “initiation” into the Epinions society. As I read more, I gradually picked up ideas and tricks to use in my writing and personality. You can see a big jump in the level of my writing style between December 2000 and February 2001, and I always thought it was because I finally “got the hang of it.” The true reason, however, was that I finally started expanding my horizons and seeing the type of reviews and writing styles that were out there.
And that sort of led to another important – indeed, vital if you want to remain motivated – point in my Epinions journey. I started establishing connections with different Epinionators. Not very rapidly, and not very purposefully I’m afraid – I really didn’t know what I was doing. But it was a step, and a very fortunate one. Making friends here is the best thing you can do as an Epinionator. I even rank that above improving your writing, which will come if you really care about the quality of your work. But without a reason for staying here, you won’t have any inspiration to write no matter how good of a writer you are.
Friends and allies at the site can keep you encouraged that yes, people DO care and read your epinions. If they are truly your friends and not just using you to gain popularity, they will tell you the honest truth about your writing (without worrying that you’ll take them off their WOT because of it). Epinionators who share your interests can be a windfall in terms of discussions, learning about great new products in the category, and (here it comes – the mercenary aspect of it all) ratings. (With no more pennies-per-hit, however, I don’t think it’s mercenary anymore.) They might also lead to discovering a new area that you hadn't ever really considered before.
How do you find these friends? You’ve got to look! Don’t expect them to come find you (although that will happen occasionally). I usually snoop around in my favorite categories – Books, Music, Movies, and Wellness & Beauty. Any interesting writers I find will be investigated and sometimes put on my alerts list. Most Epinionators I know love to get emails, so by all means if you have questions or something to say, try sending a cool writer an email. They’ll love it.
Whoah. A reviewer of mostly BOOKS can have a big WOT?
ANYBODY can have a big WOT. It does not matter what you review! I am still amazed that I have come as far as I have considering my subject matter – a lot of classic novels and Christian music. Some of the most unpopular categories, to say the least. If I can come this far with those topics, just think of the possibilities that someone with a broader scope of subject matter to work with could accomplish!
So how did it happen? I can honestly say, I don’t know. I noticed a huge growth spurt in my WOT after certain factors, such as publishing editorials or glamming up my profile page. Other than that, I can’t point to one thing and say, “That’s why I am where I am today at Epinions.” It’s mostly been dedication to writing consistently quality reviews that makes me feel proud of my time here, and that’s I hope what will keep me here for another year.
But why stay anymore? What’s in it for me
I thought it was just my categories that were making 3 cents per review in Income Share lately. After doing a little research, I discovered – nope, most categories at Epinions make exactly the same revenue! It’s only a select few that do in fact earn profit – the “popular” topics. Man, am I sick of that word! If you’re rolling in cash because of your computer and cell phone reviews – please, don’t tell me. I don’t think I could take it. ;-)
Anyway, unless you’re either a tech guru or an aficionado in a broad range of popular and unpopular categories (such as Bryan_Carey), the rewards at Epinions will not be monetary. The old “What’s in it for me?” routine falls flat on its face. Really, what is in it for us anymore? Basically, recognition and friendship. The recognition part comes in with the size of your WOT, the number of hits you get, and the titles Epinions giveth and taketh away. The friendship part is the contacts you make, the experiences you share, and the lives you touch.
For me, there’s one more part of Epinions that keeps me going: the open-ended market for writing. HUH? Being able to publish a review on a current product I’m interested in, seeing people respond to it, and knowing that I did my best to give helpful advice. When I have the “inspiration” for a review, it’s like something drags the words and thoughts out of me, something I have no control over. It’s fun, as well as a lot of work at times, and the huge array of topics and products available to write on means that most anything I want to write on, I can.
Epinions really knowing that I could write an editorial or a review on anything I was feeling at the moment and publish it right away was a great motivator for my writing. I’m a pretty touch-and-go writer ordinarily; if I get the “inspiration” I’ll whip up a story or an essay but otherwise I go for months without writing anything. Thus, just the fact that I’m WRITING is amazing.
Recently I’ve been challenged by my family that I’m in stuck in a literary rut. “All you write are epinions.” Is it true that this site dictates just one type of writing? In a way yes. You must review the product or the topic, otherwise your writing is useless. But the different avenues you can take to get to the goal offer a limitless pot of creativity to draw from. And the knowledge you gain from others’ epinions will widen your world every time you sign on.
I don’t know what the future of Epinions will be. I still get mad about certain aspects of the site – the many bugs, the non-existent customer service, the here-today-gone-tomorrow hat selections, the plethora of bad writers. Sometimes I feel so dead in my writing that I go for weeks without publishing a single review. I probably will be a bit less active as I start to drive and get a job. Yet for now I’m staying, and I don’t plan on leaving until they make US pay for the privilege of writing reviews. Here’s to another year and another 100 reviews!
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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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