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A Crisis of TrustJun 25 '02 (Updated Jun 26 '02) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Read, rate and then read some more.
What's going on here? This guy (that's me) is still new! so how the hell can he be writing about the Web of Trust? Well I'm not really writing about the Web of Trust. (please don't hit that "off topic" button yet). What happened is that some kind and intelligent (suck, suck, kiss, kiss) people have decided to trust me (I thank them for that) and my first reaction was to immediately add them to my WOT (shallow creature that I am). Then I thought about it. Why should I do that?, I asked myself. Do I trust these people? I certainly don't distrust them but then by that logic I should add everyone to my WOT and spend the next few years of my life deciding who NOT to trust and remove accordingly. Obviously that would be a total waste of time, not to mention completely against the principle of the thing. So now I'm having a crisis. What is this WOT thing? (that's a rhetorical question - please don't post an answer in comments!) If I don't reciprocate by trusting will I find myself off their lists? Do I even care? (the answer to that question is yes or you wouldn't be reading this now). Then thinking about the WOT got me to thinking about reading and rating reviews. I don't just read anything that comes along. To date I've chosen to read reviews based on what I personally find interesting. This may exclude a lot of you or it may exclude a lot of your content. I'm not interested in cigars & I don't smoke them. Cars don't excite me too much so it's likely that I won't read too many reviews there either. I don't have children so the Kids and Family section will probably remain a mystery to me too. Having said all that I can also see the day where I'll be reading and rating reviews that are irrelevant to me personally but are written by people I've grown to respect and (here's that word) trust. It doesn't take much surfing around here to realise that there is an awful lot going on besides reviews. Many intrigues and dramas. Many people upset about this, that and the other. Friendships and rivalries flitting through cyber space. In otherwords this website is like any group of souls who find themselves together in one place - hierarchies begin to form and a community is born. When this reality became apparent to me my first reaction was to runaway (you see at heart I'm really a cynic). I was directed to Epinions by a search on a particular hotel in Rome. I found out what I needed to know and booked a room (wait for MY review sometime near the end of July). All of sudden I found an outlet to start me writing. I've been wanting to write for years. And over those years I've actually enrolled in a few writing courses here and there but with little success to show for my efforts (or lack thereof to be more precise). Epinions gave me immediate feedback and I found myself, like a Rhinestone Cowboy, receiving mails and comments from readers I don't even know. This in turn inspired me to double my efforts. Even a cynic like me enjoys praise and the pursuit of same. But hold on a minute here! Isn't this supposed to be about consumer reviews? Shouldn't I be judging based on whether a review informs me about a buying decision? Well yes ... and no. A review which contains all pertinent purchasing info necessary can still be a badly written review, so first and foremost to me is the quality of the writing. A wise writing instructor once told me to read the sports section of the newspaper. His reasoning was that sports must be one of the driest subjects to write about: "Johnson kicked the ball 50 yards. Smith caught the ball and ran. They scored." Only a talented writer can make that into a gripping story. Blah, blah, blah ..... What has any of this got to do with the Web of Trust? This is what I've decided will work for me on the Web of Trust. I think I'm too new! here to trust anyone as yet. I need to read and rate a lot more. I need to discover who's who and how they write. Do I like how they write? Is there a feeling of authenticity about their writing? Then I have to ask myself if these feelings are consistent throughout their postings. I've been doing a fair amount of reading in the Members Section looking for insights and advice. Some people have a formula and I think I'm probably headed that way. In the meantime I'll just keep reading and rating (and writing). If I keep coming to your profile and reading your stuff and rating you "Very Helpful" I've no doubt you'll end up on my Web of Trust. p.s. Just an idea - maybe newbies shouldn't have the Web of Trust feature until they've been here for a while. Why should I be able to join and then immediately start trusting people? What's wrong with having to establish a commitment and prove yourself first?  |
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