Epinion-lution Nov 15 '00    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet This is a story about the evolution of an Epinions writer. When I originally signed up is when the majority of the pay-to-surf sites were popping up on the web. I figured wow, 30 cents to 10 cents per read, man I can make some real loot here. So I checked some stuff out, wrote a few reviews and watched the money roll in. I was semi-satisfied with the results of my endeavor. I didn't bother to read many other people's reviews. I read a good amount but not like I do now. A few months later, maybe 2 or 3 I'm not really sure, Epinions bumped its payscale down to 3 to 1 cents per read but they added the monthly income share bonus. Pretty cool idea but the money wasn't coming in fast enough for me. So I started writing "fluff" reviews. I was worried about making money. I also liked to keep my epinions short and sweet. I filled them with technical stats and facts but really didn't mention too much of hands on experience or real life info. I used the site to "inform" people of what they were buying, technically, and it basically sounded like I was trying to "sell" the items to the readers. I learned this was the wrong thing to do. I also didn't care about grammar, spelling or punctuation, which is the basic template for a great review. I don't care how informative a review you write, if it's not grammatically correct then chances are you aren't going to get a good rating. I had noticed that my web of trust wasn't really growing and that I was getting a lot of "recommended" and "somewhat recommended" ratings to my reviews. This bothered me, no one wants their opinion to be somewhat recommended, so I started to read a lot of the more popular reviewers. Checking out their styles, seeing what they were writing about and how they were going about getting their opinions read and rated well. And finally, I had an epiphany. I said to myself "Chris, write informative and in depth reviews of things you know, love and hate. Help the reader make an informed decision of what they are getting into when they purchase these products" To me, now it's just a showcase to show off what knowledge I have on a product, and helping others make a choice. It's not just about the money anymore. To be honest, I'm not well off but I don't need "fluff" money and I don't want the embarrassment of being "not recommended or somewhat recommended" and not being trusted. Since that time, I have written some EXCELLENT reviews on products. I include facts in my epinions, personal life experience and personal opinions on products that I use, have used and checked out (because I plan to use) For the past 4 months I have been using the money I make from epinions and donating it to AIDS and Cancer research. Much more important uses for this money then using it for personal gain. However, It's now time for me to get back in school so I'll be using 50 % towards my education (A good cause) and the other 50 % towards research on various things like AIDS, Cancer and World Hunger (Even better causes) I invite you to read my epinions, start from the beginning of my membership here. See the fluff I used to write, then check out some of my newest reviews, and how quality filled they are. I have evolved, 200 % in my eyes to an excellent epinionater and I feel many people agree (my web of trust has since tripled) I'm not the best there is, I never claimed to be, but if there were to be a comparison, the new djsplendid is 1000 times better then the djsplendid who joined this site. http://splendidreviews.epinions.com Go there if you'd like to see the evolution for yourself.

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