Keeping it fresh...Apr 13 '06 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Time for a ramble. Tips to help you hang on in there.
I’m sure there are plenty of newbies out there who look at us old timers, and wonder just what it is that motivates us to continue writing review after review, year after year at Epinions. After all, the vast majority who stumble across the site fade away after only writing a single review or two. Community rating standards aren’t so high that writing a VH review presents much of a challenge after a while. Put just a little time and effort into your review, and hey presto: a VH is in the bag. The thrill of writing a VH review eventually fades. Of course, there can be a nice community spirit out there and we like to keep in touch with each other by reading each other’s reviews. Alternatively, we enjoy cultivating foes and lurk on their pages muttering darkly that we wished we could treble block them. Either way, for purposes good or ill, most of us are swept into this thing called community. For some of us, our Epinions account reads like some kind of demented consumer blog. Anyone interested enough can read my back catalogue of reviews and discover the sequence of my vacations, my reading habits, my music purchases. Hmm, it’s a scary thought that anyone could be that interested (given my mother isn’t a silver surfer). Finally, there’s income share. I’m not going to grumble about earnings at Epinions, as I’m sure my monthly income boosted as it is by a CL payment is higher than most. However, I could still work 3 hours extra in my job and earn more than I do in a month here. As none of these benefits completely explains my longevity on the site, I’ve recently been thinking about the things that keep my activity fresh at Epinions. Here goes: Write about anything you wish With the general ambition to gain (and retain) hats, I’m sure it’s easy to get pigeon holed into just one or two categories. I’d personally soon lose interest in Epinions if I felt that all I could write about is travel. To the other extreme, I would be over-faced, if I felt I had to write about something in a particular topic area next, just because I hadn’t written there for a while. I know my music reviews aren’t particularly inspiring, but if I want to tell the world about what I’ve been listening to, then I do. Likewise, I wouldn’t be ashamed to pick up the odd “H” rate, if I were to write on a topic I had never tackled before. Heh, if the mood takes you, drop something strange into your tea and hang around writer’s corner for an evening. If someone is offended, as long as your review is well argued and not too abusive or offensive then it’s their problem not yours. Keep Epinions into perspective I know that some reviewers feel some kind of pressure to get a new review posted within a particular time span. I must confess I like to write around four reviews a month and am somewhat disappointed in myself if I don’t. However, I don’t write just to play the numbers game, and gaps in my output simply signify a period when real life intruded into my hobby. Likewise, I always remember that for most of us Epinions is a hobby, not a living, not a social club and certainly not a life. Sure, I'd advise that we always try to produce our best, but there’s no need to get het up over the odd stray comment, the odd revenge rate or the odd flame. It scares me when reviewers over-react. Read what you want to I suppose I’m too wet and polite, but for a long time I felt obliged to read everyone who read me, read most of the things people on my WOT wrote, and keep an eye on my preferred category. After a while, I really started to resent my time at Epinions – I always felt pressurised to read and rate a huge list of must do’s before I could get to read what I wanted. I have a demanding job at work; I don’t need to replicate it on my evenings and weekends. While I still have my alerts set, I don’t actually look at them now from one week to the next. I regret that I miss some reviews and my review member hits have dropped by 20-30+ each review, but overall, I’m far happier hanging round Epinions again. Don’t let hit stats rule your life If I did, I would never write another book review. Stretch your writing Given my apparent love of mixed metaphors, mangled tense and manic punctuation, you could argue I always stretch my writing ability. What I’m talking about here is stretching writing style. Enjoy your writing at Epinions and keep it fresh by being creative and brave. Do you tend to use a set template for your reviews because they get VH rates, and are easy to knock out quickly? I’m not sure what satisfaction I’d get from doing that, so why not try out different ways to present your reviews. I don’t claim to have the best writing abilities on this site and my account is littered with some spectacular failures while trying out different styles, but hey ho, I'm having fun and hanging on in there. I do try to continue to vary the way I write just to make things more interesting. It makes me feel even better when things go well (and of course, the worst writing failures can still always be salvaged with a little savage editing). Try to write about different things. Do you usually get down on your hands and knees under the table in a restaurant, so you can write about the cleanliness of the floor in a review? Do you always take a notepad with you so you can describe breakfast in minute detail? Do you write a paragraph about every song on a CD? Why not focus on different elements for your next review. Alternatively, do you tend to use the same headings for your review? Why not attempt a new structure. Why not think of different ways to start your review – rather than use a monologue, use direct quotes from people who have spoken about the topic you are reviewing. Alternatively, why not start your review with a description of something that happened part way through your experience and then work backwards? Don’t create self-imposed constraints… ______________________________________ As I state on my profile page, I’m not sure whether to be proud or ashamed of such a visible record of my time on this site. However, tonight is my fifth anniversary of discovering Epinions and signing up. A milestone (or millstone) indeed. I thought I’d celebrate by sharing some of my tips for a long, happy and productive time on Epinions. I’ve managed five years, and who knows there may yet be another five in me. Now I’ve shown you mine, I’d love you to show me yours! Give me a love fest and drop any tips you want to share onto the comments section. ________________________________ cr01 asserts his right to be associated as the author of this review -2006-  |
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