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A lot of content...but where's the $?May 26 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Post accurate and detailed reviews, read those of others, and rate them fairly. But don't count on Epinions to pay the rent.
First of all, I want to say that I think epinions is a great idea. Members review items, products, services, places, and just about anything else you can think of; other members read the reviews, rate them, and comment on them if they so desire. The ratings motivate writers to write grammatical, detailed reviews, unlike the sloppy one-liners you often find on Amazon.com. In addition, there's the Web of Trust (although I haven't really explored this feature yet), which allows members to designate others whose writing they appreciate. As a reader, I have been happy with epinions. But I've been disappointed about the royalties. When I first got on epinions, I was thinking, "Wow! I can review a couple of products, and if people like my review, I might actually get paid for it!" I have yet to get paid any significant amount. For a review I wrote back in January, that has been read by 142 members, I made a whopping $0.48. That's right, something like 1/3 of a penny for each viewer. I've written other reviews, including a few rated "Very Helpful" that have been read by 20-44 members, and none of them have made a cent. Am I doing this for the money? Not entirely; I've posted reviews on Amazon and other sites just to express my opinion and help other people out. And I intend to continue posting here. But at least those other sites don't pretend to pay the reviewers who add content. Epinions should either pay its writers a meaningful royalty (a penny for each view, and maybe two when the review is rated "Very Helpful", would be plenty), or just be honest and say "You're not going to make any money on this site." I'm curious about people who have managed to rake in some dollars posting reviews. If you are among them, I would welcome an email explaining how you do it.  |
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