Giving Something Back: An Open Letter to the Community
Jul 06 '03
The Bottom Line It's all about the money.
I’m one of those little known worker bee writers that quietly toils away in the background on Epinions.
I write once in a while, read and rate whatever interests me, and post an occasional comment. I’m not a power user or a very powerful member.
On July 4th, I celebrated my third anniversary on Epinions.
Unlike a lot of folks, I have no major complaints about the site. I never aspired to earn anything or be anything, so I’m rarely disappointed. Hatless and penniless (Epinions pennies, that is), I plod along year after year.
Early on, I was an enthusiastic contributor. You see, Epinions, for a new member, is an intoxicating trap. And for a time, I was a willing captive. Trying to make a name for myself here gave me a sense of purpose. I became obsessed with counting hits and trusters until it finally dawned on me how meaningless and pointless those numbers actually are.
Awakening to the reality of Epinions became my downfall.
My sense of purpose gone, my enthusiasm quickly waned.
My writing, although always a pleasurable, intellectual exercise, meant less and less to me.
Read by just a few and rewarded with scant pennies a month, posting on Epinions just seemed senseless.
Money.
I’ve always said that I don’t write for the money. But this essay is going to be all about the money and about a renewed sense of purpose and reasons for staying and writing.
Epinions is teeming with members like me. Folks who will never be Advisors and never get bonuses and who will only earn the piddling little pennies of income share that Epinions so parsimoniously doles out to us each month.
I now have the not so princely sum of $2.10 in my Epinions account. I earn somewhere between a nickel and a dime a month here. As a U.S. resident, I need a minimum of ten dollars in my account to cash out. Think I’ll ever get there at that rate? Highly unlikely. Chances are I’ll just drift away one day and never come back.
And what will happen to the pennies that have been accruing in my account?
Epinions will keep it.
And what of non-U.S. residents who need $100 in their accounts to cash out? Think any but the most prolific and successful writers will ever accrue a hundred bucks? The average non-U.S. resident member will never see a penny of the income share they’ve earned.
And when they leave, Epinions keeps that money too.
A lot of kids write here; many of them as young as twelve or thirteen. But you have to be eighteen years old to cash out. Most of them won’t stay that long.
Epinions keeps that money too.
And, if you drift away for three months and don’t log on to the site, Epinions has the right to close your account and keep your money…regardless of how much you’ve accrued.
Epinions accrues a lot, but in actuality, pays out very little.
I want that money.
All of it.
In fairness, the membership earned it, and Epinions should pay it.
Now my $2.10 is not going to be of any great use to me. I couldn’t even buy a pack of cigarettes with it. But combined with all of the pennies and all of the dollars from all of the members who will never be able to collect, it could probably do a lot good for some folks who really need it.
That’s right.
Charity.
I’m suggesting that every member have the option of having any accrued but unredeemed amounts in their accounts donated to charity.
Let Epinions management together with the CLs pick about a half dozen worthy and reputable national and global charities. There are plenty out there from the American Cancer Society and UNICEF to Doctors Without Borders. Then let us each choose one as the recipient of our accrued earnings to be paid either at our discretion at any time in increments of at least a dollar or two, or upon the termination of our accounts.
Folks could still cash out if they want to. No one should be obliged to donate. But the option should be there.
Taking this concept one step further, I would like to have the option of actually writing for charity.
Epinions could set up user accounts for each of these charitable organizations with universal access by all members in good standing. We could then write and post reviews directly to those accounts with all future income share accruing to that organization.
Will Epinions accept something like this?
It’ll surely cost them money, both in programming and in all that additional income share they’d be forced to pay out. But there is something in it for Epinions too.
Let Epinions have the tax write-off for all of the money contributed.
And let their public relations people run with the concept. There’s a lot of good will to be gained here if hyped properly.
And for me?
A reason to stay and write.
A feeling that my scribbling may actually mean something to somebody.
I might actually write a real product review for a good cause.
And maybe others would too.
(Note to the membership: I’m just a little guy here. I am quite sure that Epinions’ management has never heard of me. My voice carries little weight. To have this implemented, we need some clout. Your clout. If you think that this is a worthy idea, please let Epinions management know about it in some way. Maybe we can all do something to make the world a little better through our writing. And maybe, having a higher purpose will inspire and energize us to write more often and more eloquently. And just maybe, some of us will stick around a little longer.)
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
rich2003dm
|
|
Location: New York City
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 171 members
About Me:
I broke my pencil so I'm probably done here.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.