I don't care about you
Jan 04 '04
The Bottom Line It is unfortunately harsh but I don't care about you. Well, probably I don't. Not yet, anyway. Please remember that when you write a review.
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You tell me something important about your subject and also something potentially interesting about yourself if you start a review with something like this: For decades I have studied the details of Etruscan pottery so I know that the 16-hour PBS documentary All About Etruscan Pottery will be of interest only to those who have made the pottery their lives' work.
And you've certainly got my attention if you write something along these lines: Senator Oliver Twisted once shoved my six-year-old daughter's face into his pile of uncut heroin so I do not believe his autobiography's claim that the senator is a good guy.
In instances like these, the bits of information about the reviewer are intriguing. They make the reader want to know more about the work in question and probably more about the person writing the review as well.
On Epinions, however, you are far more likely to encounter reviews that begin with autobiographical details as empty as, "I watched this movie because I saw it on the shelf at Blockbuster." Yeah, you and about 10,000 other people. Life is not long enough to allow time for reading 10,000 reviews that start like that.
Take, for example, this opening sentence, variations of which litter the Epinions landscape: "I read this book because my brother-in-law said it was good." Note how the addition of just a few significant words can transform this into something that might actually be worth reading: "I read this book because my brother-in-law said it was good and now I know never to trust that *&#@#&#'s advice ever again."
Some people lead lives full of exciting high points. They are like mountain goats that jump from Alp to Alp, trading one magnificent vista for another even more majestic. The rest of us have lives that are mostly so flat they could be faxed. There is nothing wrong with that, unless you think it makes for something that someone would want to read.
In most cases, leaving yourself out of the review is a very good idea. Tell us about the book, the microwave, the wine, the toy, the movie, the hotel or whatever you are writing about. Rarely include information about yourself when it is relevant. By then, we'll know enough about your judgements and will care about the life that led you to them. Or about a little of it anyway.
I got the idea for this piece while I was standing in line at Walgreens waiting for a rain check because the tuna fish that was supposed to be on sale was sold out and the manager said they couldn't substitute another kind or even substitute sardines, which would have been all right with me even though I think they taste funny, although not as funny as anchovies, which I do not like at all.
See? You can write better than that.
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Epinions.com ID:
eplovejoy
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Peter William Warn
Location: Buffalo, New York
Reviews written: 351
Trusted by: 304 members
About Me:
Help us compile the definitive list of groundbreaking movies: http://www99.epinions.com/content_5192196228
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