Everything you (did not) want to know about Epinions.Jul 14 '03 (Updated Jul 16 '03) Write an essay on this topic.
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In net years, I’m a dinosaur at Epinions. I came on board June 25, 2000, which was after the big money days but during the one-cent and sometimes three-cent per hit era. For any newbies, those pennies used to clink-clink right before your eyes with every reader to the review. I stumbled in while researching some product I was thinking about buying. I have no clue what product that was at this point, but I remember my initial hit being researched based. As I clicked around, I realized that I could share info about things I’d already bought and loved or hated and even pick up a little pocket change. That sounded like something I would enjoy. A few high profile members hated my stuff from the get-go. There was one restaurant chick (long gone now) who made it a point to SH every piece I wrote in restaurants. When I clicked and read her reviews, I discovered that she copied the menus from restaurants. Of course, I could ask for menus or snatch one and do the same, but I figured that I was bored to tears reading menus, so I decided to take the SHs without comment and do it my way. Once I tried to explain in comments why I would rather hear what it was like to visit the restaurant covered and what might be good to eat rather than the menu, but I got ignored totally on that. This member got loads of hits. I didn’t. What did I know anyway? There was also a beauty chick who prided herself on low ratings. For a while, I thought it might be important to write something she considered “worthy.” When she did VH, I could see it was only because I ranked up and had a title. My reviews stayed true to my own voice. She went away after a bit, but she came back. The standards had changed when she bopped back in, and her shake-and-bake reviews with all the information from the side of the products did not play as well as in the beginning. The “dish” that she did not look as hot in person as on her profile picture probably made a difference too. I think she also worked another EP member over in a relationship. Those were just tidbits I picked up in very old comment sections. My classic Epinions “friend” is the guy who wrote and told me that he would rate 8 of my reviews if I rated 8 of his. That sounded really weird to me—even the number cited was off the wall. It would be just a blip on the radar if he were not in the top levels of the site even now. He’s in the top 20, and I do wonder how many hits he got with that email about back scratching. By the way, I did not take him up on that. I always hoped people read the reviews I posted, because they wanted information on the product (or topic). If I wanted a feel-good feeling, I’d go to a Tupperware party. The first review that I wrote that got any notice was a letter format editorial piece about stray cats http://www.epinions.com/kifm-review-48AC-318D97E-396F5C81-prod1 . I was upset and worried that my kid might have to get rabies shots. Rather than preaching about spaying and neutering (which probably would not do any good), I thought I’d just put my heart down on paper (online) in letter format and hope that the piece might make a difference. It was right off the cuff and caught the attention of a big time member (a very nice one I might add). Big time member emailed that she loved my piece and that she had posted the link at Epinion Addicts http://www.epinionaddicts.com She explained that if I wanted to be successful at Epinions that it would be a good idea to join EA. That was a bit confusing at the time, because Epinions did not have any information about EA. When I clicked over, I found that I could not see anything on this mentioned site unless I joined up. I was able to figure out that this was a club with a focus on Epinions, and it seemed a bit like cheating to me to buddy up at another space to get more attention. It ought to be enough to write my best and hope that my reviews would help someone looking. That was pretty simplistic and pretty “off topic.” It wasn’t long before I got a hat. That first one was Home and Garden. The next month (or soon after) it was gone. This was when the computer was picking the stuff. Every month I seemed to get a hat and lose one. I’ve been hatted in a lot of categories, but none of them stuck (other than books and online that I’ve had in recent months). I’ve always written about what I wanted to and when I wanted to write which does not play well with computer selections. An editor (now called advisor) told me that I’d be better off specializing in a single category early on. I didn’t think that sounded like much fun, so I’ve always written in a lot of categories. Someone who worked at Epinions sent a nice Christmas card with a note thanking me for my work in Home and Garden shortly after that initial hat. That’s really the most impressed I’ve been with the company. The girl that took the time to send that card with the personal message hand written inside was fired along with the other employees who worked with writers. This was when the dot coms took a big downturn. The first big brew-ha-ha that I stepped into was when I read a write off by the early fathers and mothers of the site. I’d never really liked write-offs. As a casual member, I found it off-putting to see all that inside stuff up with WO listed. To my way of thinking, it was great to boost a section, but it looked like self-promotion to list it WO and give all the other folks involved and usually at the top of the review (which is what viewers see first) in days gone by. It often pushed a less solid review right to the top (then and now). I did check out this WO though, because it involved the members in-the-know. I thought I might learn something. After reading the editorials about how Epinions paid big mega bucks (one member made over 10 thousand in a single year) and how it was so unfair that they cut the amounts down, I wrote a review (now deleted since it was only timely at that time—and I’ve always cut outdated reviews) called something like “Why None of Us Are Important.” Basically, I said that Epinions had needed to build content and had it at that point. They didn’t need any single member any more. They had enough hooked. In fact, it was more helpful in terms of money to the company to turn loose the big guns who did pull in more hits and money. Why pay a lot out to a few when lots of others would do it for free? This editorial did not win me any friends and in fact ticked off some of the real old timers. I only know of one from this group still around, and she will not read my stuff for love nor money. I do like her reviews though. The main hard hits I took around this time were that I had a hat at the time and that I SHOULD know all this old history and if I didn’t, then I didn’t deserve to be hatted. Yes. I did get an email that said that specifically. I’m not sure how I could be expected to know history when I came aboard later and since I didn’t spend time reading up on sites outside Epinions. Still, it seemed like a good idea to check out that offsite place (EA) and try to beef up, so I would not step in any more cow piles. It’s sure not like Epinions sends out any background or guidelines. I’m not sure what I clicked there, but I started to get mega emails that looked like personal conversations, so I emailed to be taken off the list. This probably did not make me very popular (again). I joined and unjoined in the same day, but I couldn’t figure out the settings back then. They are more streamlined now, or I’ve gotten smarter. I continued to read and to rate like always but tried to keep my head down. This was obviously not a place where you just did your own thing. If I didn’t like all the shipping charges listed in a review on an online store, then it was better to keep quiet on that. Apparently, a lot of people (and those who had lots of hits) liked all manner of strange stuff tossed in. It was way more complex of course, and some members had more information and some did not. I would stumble in and say something like I didn’t see how some of the stories related to the product, and I would get “oh dawling” replies that made it obvious that the writer had a backing that did want to know about “wink-wink” stuff that excluded casual shoppers. It looked like I would (by choice) be in the “did not have the info” category, so I tried to keep a low profile. The real defining moment in my time here was when a member took offense when I rated his online review of Made in America (an online site) NH when he said that he never used it but wanted to wax eloquent (or profane) on why everyone should buy American. The real bee in his bonnet was that he wanted to dictate the area and the length of online reviews. He wanted to go back to the “shorter” reviews. In any case, this member emailed where I work (both my day job and my freelance job) with 16 or so emails that he linked through my profile picture link which went back to my work space. The emails included everyone from my immediate boss to the president and dean as well as campus security. The long and short of that—he said that I was a stalker and that he was scared for his safety and wanted protection (when I didn’t know a thing about this person and where he lived and so on). Since he used a generic email account and some very goofy sounding online handle, his credibility was not so good. Still, that is not the kind of thing that anyone wants to deal with. If something bad comes up at Epinions, do not expect any help. Though some members did take exception about this episode (and one even linked a photo for me from him home page), the site wheels did not respond to emails about the problem. The only time it was addressed was when the site owner questioned me about taking a CL position. I cited that episode as something that would make me hesitate to ever do anything very high profile at the site. The response was: “Gosh. Did we look into that? Did we ticket the member?” I said no and that I didn’t want anything done online about it. I’d handled it months prior on my own. Epinions has always indicated that the more you share, the better you will fare at Epinions. All I can say to that is that you’re crazy if you put up anything that really identifies who you are and where you live. I ended up having to change all my contact information and got an unlisted phone number after lapdogboy made it clear that he knew “everything” about me. When I saw all the “Sixteen things about me” write off pieces, I shuddered. It’s really easy to take basic information like that and trace someone down. When a member here wrote an editorial that she would like to find someone to have sex with on Tuesday or Thursday from blank to blank times (can’t remember that much detail—but those were times when her kids were in day care), I used just a few bits of information from her profile and a couple of reviews and had her phone number and a map with directions of her house. This took maybe five minutes. I did email and explain that she had given way too much information, but she said that she wasn’t worried about it. I swear I could make up some of the true stories here. They are just too bizarre. After that problem with the emails around town, it did seem like a good idea to watch (and join) offsite boards. If I had some idea that something was brewing, then I could stay away. All I wanted to do was write reviews. That’s what drew me and what brought me back. If I could avoid any of the dramas, which seem to come with this territory, then I would do that. It’s certainly not worth rating a review honestly if you’re going to spend a couple of weeks trying to sort out problems from doing that. If something bad was going down, I didn’t want to accidentally step in it. The offsite boards were very enlightening. If you do want information, then you’ll get it way faster at the boards than bopping around the actual site. There are a few key members that Epinions keeps in touch with. They spill the beans which may or may not ever be tossed out at the mother site. The big boards now (as far as I know) are EA and verbalmudslide. There are also other boards where specific members get together and talk. For instance, I’ve been invited numerous times to join Top Reviewer board(s). These are private boards. I don’t go for that. I don’t even like checking major boards for the scoop. I think all members should have the same information and at the same time. Epinions does sanction these boards—at least EA. I’m not sure they think so much of verbalmudslide http://forums.verbalmudslide.com/index.php?c=7 . Some of the EP employees post from time to time at EA. The last one I remember is in a private space for Online TRs and Advisors (who must sign up to view and must also have the titles). Basically, the mother site wanted help rating a flood of online reviews merged over from DealTime with the buy out. That was covered fast by members online and viewing the request. Members have always been good about pitching in with free labor. There have been times when I’ve considered giving up Epinions. If I had known the inside stuff before I started writing, I would never have joined and put up reviews. I didn’t have a clue when I began posting, and I’m sure there are many things that I don’t know now. In fact, today I discovered that I could sign out and that a heck of a lot of members are community blocked. I’ve just played it signed in. The way it appears, twelve bad boys or girls trust me. My numbers go down by 12 when I sign in vs. sign out on that WOT thing. Gotta love those wild children that love ya even when some of the straight arrows do not. By the time I did know more, I enjoyed the writing and contact with members (or some of them). I think the whole set up is kind of like the psychology experiments where people are more likely to keep trying when it’s hit or miss rather than a hit every time or a miss every time. I think these experiments were with some kind of soda kind of machine. I know I lose my quarters in some and occasionally get 2 or 3 Pepsi Colas from others for the price of one. I could go in the store and get a soda, but the machines are so much more interesting. I do think Epinions has the perfect experiment set up to keep people coming back. I keep looking for a big announcement that it was all some research project by a university to see what makes people tick online. In fact, I did find a study about the site a long time back. It was written up by a grad student who nailed a few things but missed a lot of other things. One thing I do know is that many of the people who play at EP are real and are just who and what they say. I didn’t name any names before this rewrite, but I decided that it was important to give credit too. I’m sure I’ll leave out a lot of folks who have been great, but chalk it up to old age. Well, I’m not that old. But anyway. The person I’ve been emailing the longest and most often is watchdoctor2000. He’s never been real active at the site, but the reviews he put up are top notch. He watches out for me and gives me safety tips for online. Thebob is a high school kid who I’m sure will be a professional writer some day. I hope that some of the information I shared will help him, and I know that I learned a lot from this kid with a big heart. I’ve lost contact information for him, but he’ll always be in my heart. Gramie is a real gem. She’s never posted a single review, but she liked me and started reading my work. She suggested that I would enjoy hanging out (online) with 2buzy. She had me pegged and was so right. 2buzy is like a sister and our contact is only in comment sections. That’s hard to explain. It just “is.” Another member who has always read my work but doesn’t post a lot is patsysv. When I cleaned out my WOT, I dropped her (no posts in a long time). She emailed and asked about that. It was a really nice email. She had been reading me all along, and I had not been checking those kinds of things. I felt like a dog. She is one classy lady, and she will always be on my WOT even if she never writes another word and never reads my stuff. I’m always thrilled when I do see that she has posted. Badkitty (-: I came down on the “no butts on profiles” side. She knows that. I just saw it as a “kiss my . . .” in the profile spot that pops up. All I can say is that her heart is way bigger than her butt (and guys will like that other part of her down lower on the member page which I think works great). We’re tight, and if I could do anything for her ever, I would. She’s one of those friends for life people. All she needs to do is call if she needs me. Just like in offline life, some folks seem great and then are not so great. No surprise there. And especially in a forum where anyone can be anyone (but usually get caught if they try to misrepresent). The biggest disappointment for me at EP was when a preacher pretended to be a young military guy and got popped for that. He had both accounts going and members loving both personas. Though I didn’t send in money to help the guy out under either name (some members did), I felt bad that I liked the older “father” and the younger “solider.” One interesting thing I’ve discovered is that there are a couple of high profile “girls” here that are really guys. I do so hate to disappoint some of the fellows who may think that they have crushes on these chicks, but they just play female at EP. I’m not sure why they think that dressing up in skirts is a good thing online, but the pull in some hits with the “little old repressed me” deal. If you stick around at EP and write pretty well, you’ll get some notice even if you are just yourself and don’t use any smoke and mirrors. It does take some time if you’re the slow and steady type. Most of the great-gun types get lots of hits, hat fast but disappear. I think that is why a lot of old timers are slow to WOT members. Some are pretty stingy with that. I know that I’ve been around for eons and have both hats in books, but I’m not WOTed by any of the CLs. I could wonder how I would qualify for hats when none of the decision makers trust me, but I figure that different members use WOT in different ways. Anyway, don’t take it personal if someone doesn’t put you on the list. Some people WOT faster than others. In some cases, no matter what you do, a specific person would never WOT you. Don’t lose sleep over it. I’ve been hatted for some time now, but those titles don’t mean much. In fact, they are more trouble than worth it. I turned them back in, and I should come up clean the next selection round. If you’re wanting one, then do know that they make very little difference in the pay. Talking money is considered dirty here (unwritten rule), but my advisor hat brings in maybe $10 a month if I’m reading and rating a lot. In fact, while I’m talking money (which I know a lot of folks wonder about), I’m in the top 50 on hits and make about $50 per month. Might as well be totally un-PC while I’m at it. Also know that some other members will be really ticked when they see those titles and will try to catch you in a compromising position. I’ve had odd emails like the person who wanted the serial number on my Kirby vacuum. When I provided that (after several help-me-please emails with other requests for info on this vaccum), I never heard back AFTER I provided the serial number. I thought they really wanted info, but I’m pretty sure now that they didn’t think I could afford one and wanted to pop me in a lie. OOPS on them is all I can say. I’ve always played it straight. I make mistakes, but I don’t lie. A Kirby was a big purchase for me, but I could swing it. It’s right here beside me waiting for the new bags to come from an online vendor who had good prices. Marinermoose (another fav of mine) calls me the deal queen, and I know I do good online buying. I also know that Moose is once heck of an online shopper too. He’s one I follow and really trust when it comes to looking at purchases. To back up a bit, don’t think I’m blowing smoke about the “liar” card here. One game person (who may be up for a hat or may have it by now) flat out called me a liar when I confused some terms in games. I had all the links to show the pieces I discussed, and the CL helped me figure out where I’d confused some terms. No. I didn’t think my piece was VH to start with, and I’m not sure it is even now with the help from the CL to get all my terms correct. I’ve never had any problem with lower ratings. I’m not an expert in all categories and on all products. I thought that was why this was a consumer site and not a paid professional site. Perhaps I can be SH or even H on things I don’t know a whole lot about. Some other “dummies” out there may find it easier to understand my game review that simply tells it from a mom pov and about the kids and how they like it rather than including all kinds of pixel counts. Big time game players? No. That’s not going to help them out. I still don’t think that warrants a “liar” charge from a game player. Over time, I have become less and less engaged and involved in Epinions. While I do appreciate the space to write and a lot of the great folks, I don’t care much about all the games at the site. The latest mess was the Losers’ Club reviews from Ludlow press. While I think the publishers (small beans and trying to put out some “different” books) made big mistakes, I have to say that the EP reactions were so unprofessional that if I had clicked in as a consumer, I would tuck tail and run. If I ever open up my local newspaper and find a review that talks about how the book came to land on the desk and how the publishers are idiots, I will surely call and cancel my subscription. When I read about a book, I want to know about the book . . . period. This could be a great place, but it’s really not. The writers give, give, give. The owners take, take, take. The company (from what I’ve heard by the grapevine) is turning a profit. While I don’t think they could really up the pay (or much), they could listen and respond to members who make the product (reviews) that do make the money. When they needed that content really bad, they forked over $10K plus to one person in one year. I don’t know the max now, but I’ll bet that they may have to send 1099 tax forms to less than 100 members (those go out when the pay out is over $600 in one year). I’ve only hit that in one year. And, fellow writers (or some) will do you way wrong in a heartbeat. Most will never mess with you. But, the potential for that kind of abuse is sitting there waiting to happen. The system supports it. If the hits go up, then it’s good. My guess is that the best way to play this site is to read a lot and rate VH all the time to get high hits. Put a lot of folks on trust. This pushes the initial number of hits up which then means more outside hits. It also means that you don’t tick anyone off. Write on the high dollar products like electronics and computers. In some cases, Online can be pretty productive, but that is the exception and not the rule. I can’t say for sure, since I don’t game the space. But, I do gather from being around that these strategies are more productive. Nothing really guarantees success. When I hit a money maker in gourmet, one of the TRs always posts behind me and sweeps the money list the next month go round. Being a good writer can help, but it involves a way lot more than that. If you write a terrific review and get ranked down, don’t feel bad. Remember that a lot of other factors come into play. You could be a top dog if you did it full time, but who the heck wants to be a slave to a freaking web site? The whole Epinions thing looks pretty simple. You write about the stuff you buy and help out other folks. You may earn a little cash—but not much (or any). The bulk of the members here I doubt ever cash out. It’s really better to consider it a vanity site and just enough putting the words up and getting feedback from time to time. If you want to know what is going on, then look outside the site. You’ll never understand the inside jokes if you just play on the EP playground. Then again, you may not want to know all that stuff. If you run into problems, don’t expect the site to help in any way. They make it clear that they want members to “police” the site. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn’t. If you really want to play after reading this, then don’t take it seriously at all. I’ve seen a lot of good writers (and good people) pack up and leave. If you think about it too much, then you’re toast.  |
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