CaptainD’s Ten Commandments Of Epinions
Apr 15 '04 (Updated Apr 21 '04)
The Bottom Line Ten things you might find helpful to know (okay, okay... eleven...)
CaptainD’s Ten Commandments Of Epinions
One
Do write about what you care about – if you don’t, it will show, and then why should your readers care? In if they don’t care about what you write, why should they read it?
Two
Do research your topic – as I’ve found out, there are many members that will very quickly point out your errors! (I won’t name names, but you know who you are… :-P)
Three
Do take a break from epinions every now and again – even if only for a couple of days – you’ll end up feeling like a prisoner to your computer otherwise.
What is also a good idea is to sometimes take a break from writing actual reviews - which is what I’m doing for a few days. I feel uninspired to write any new reviews but I do still feel like writing – so I’m concentrating at the moment on Member Advice pieces and will perhaps do a few more Writer’s Corner pieces. These won’t bring me any money but the important thing is I’ll still be writing, and I won’t be writing reviews just for the sake of it. I have done that a few times in the past and, while I’ve still ended up with VH ratings, I haven’t been happy with the reviews I’ve written – and at the end of the day my personal opinion of my work is still the most important opinion to me.
Four
Do leave a comment explaining why you’ve given a review a bad rating – particularly if it’s by a new member. You won’t always have time to do this of course, but if you can it’s worthwhile. If you know already that someone’s a revenge rater there’s no point subjecting yourself to it either, so personally I wouldn’t bother rating or commenting in that case – make your own choice about that one.
Five
Do try to occasionally read the express reviews and guide good writers towards “proper” reviews – explain the reason why they will benefit more from it, they will thank you for it. You will also be privileged to read some truly awful reviews there, and it will make you feel better about your own writing!
Six
Do join epinions-related user groups if you’re invited –you’ll be able to get to know members more in these groups than just by reading their reviews, and of course they’ll get to know you. Try to at least visit the sections other than the “Rate My Review!” sections and make a post in some of them at least once a week.
Seven
Do admit in your reviews if you’re not sure about a particular point and can’t find out – people will respect your honesty, there will probably be someone who can point you towards the right answer, and they will not be so likely to rate your review lower due to you missing out the fact. (Yes it does happen.)
Eight
Do write each review with the person who knows nothing at all about it in mind. One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen new members (and occasionally not-so-new members) make in films is write a fine review – as long as you’ve already seen the film and know what it’s about! There can be a fine line between telling enough and too much but if I read a review of something I know nothing about and, having read the review, still know nothing about it, it won’t matter how good the rest of what you’ve written is, you’re still only going to get a SH or perhaps an H rating.
(That said, if I read a review that’s basically a plot description / technical specs / etc, but little more, it’s still not going to get a VH rating. Another common mistake.)
Nine
Do make lots of comments on other reviews – not only is this a good way of getting reads / rates / comments in return, but it’s the best way of getting people to “know” you and start to associate your user name with your personality. Be complimentary but genuine in your comments and don’t “rubber stamp” (“Hey there! Great Review!” x 1,000…), and if you’re offering criticism make is constructive not destructive. A little craziness also helps get you noticed – my insanity is 100% natural, but some try to make out they’re mad when in reality they’re worryingly sane.
Ten
Do put the word “Epinions” in any email you send to another member (unless you have come to know them and they’ll recognise your email address). Since most of us get tons of spam, a lot of emails from other members might get deleted without being read otherwise. (If you have emailed a member and not got a reply, it might be worth trying again with epinions included in the subject line.)
Eleven
Do (okay so I couldn’t quite stick to ten) – take notice of people’s comments on your reviews, update them and let people know (don’t forget to include a link!) so they can re-rate. You might not think it’s worth it, but believe me, it is. (Wish I’d realised this a lot sooner!)
Well, they may not be the most mind-blowing hints in the world, but I think they’re helpful and also tend to be things that newer members might not have realised – at least, I didn’t realise them all until I’d been here a while. I hope someone finds something here helpful, anyway.
Thanks as always for reading.
CaptainD
Related Links
CaptainD’s Guide to Epinions – Second Edition (may be updated one day…)
CaptainD’s Guide to Writing A Really Bad Review
CaptainD’s Guide to Building a WOT
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