Epinions is a great loss to the internet
Yesterday I learned that Epinions.com is shutting down the community aspect of its website. It won't be accepting anymore new reviews. (It officially started disabling the website yesterday.) A huge part of their reasoning was decreasing participation. Sadly, I was one who wasn't keeping up. My activity has been practically been non-existent since my father died. I've just had too much on my plate to do much writing or rating.
For those who aren't familiar with Epinions, it had some of the best consumer reviews on the world wide web. Its contributors took a great deal of pride in the quality of the content they posted. When they wrote reviews, there was a lot more to them than "This CD rocks!" or "This movie sucks!" Many of the music reviewers could talk about the subtle nuances of the instruments. Movie reviewers might concentrate on the director's camera angles. Novel reviewers can understand the importance of pole-to-pole character growth. Travel reviewers actually spent some time describing their personal experiences visiting a hotel or destination. Unlike the users of Amazon.com, Epinions's users appreciated reviews that had more than a 200 word paragraph. Many were better than some professional reviews. Unlike Yelp, it didn't manipulate its automated system to allow (or extort) businesses to pay for favored treatment.
Epinions's writers have been told they'll be issued their last royalty payment on March 6. I'm am currently going to be looking for another home for my reviews. I currently have 292 reviews posted there. I'm going to poke around for another place for them. Hopefully, I can find another that pays something, but they may come here.
For those interested in seeing my reviews there, please go to: http://www.epinions.com/user-adriennefoster
For those who aren't familiar with Epinions, it had some of the best consumer reviews on the world wide web. Its contributors took a great deal of pride in the quality of the content they posted. When they wrote reviews, there was a lot more to them than "This CD rocks!" or "This movie sucks!" Many of the music reviewers could talk about the subtle nuances of the instruments. Movie reviewers might concentrate on the director's camera angles. Novel reviewers can understand the importance of pole-to-pole character growth. Travel reviewers actually spent some time describing their personal experiences visiting a hotel or destination. Unlike the users of Amazon.com, Epinions's users appreciated reviews that had more than a 200 word paragraph. Many were better than some professional reviews. Unlike Yelp, it didn't manipulate its automated system to allow (or extort) businesses to pay for favored treatment.
Epinions's writers have been told they'll be issued their last royalty payment on March 6. I'm am currently going to be looking for another home for my reviews. I currently have 292 reviews posted there. I'm going to poke around for another place for them. Hopefully, I can find another that pays something, but they may come here.
For those interested in seeing my reviews there, please go to: http://www.epinions.com/user-adriennefoster