The Bathtub is Your Urinal
Jun 21 '01
The Bottom Line Risk-taking is the one key to self-improvement
You’re going to hear a lot of fancy talk from up on high telling you that Epinions.com exists for the sole purpose of helping consumers make buying decisions. Recently, the higher-ups posted a ratings criteria in the member center which outlines exactly how to rate reviews according to their consumer helpfulness. To that, I say "PHOOEY!" (One of the advantages of writing for Epinions.com is the ability and the excuse to use words like "Phooey" and "Balderdash" that I’d never find use for in real life.)
See, I grew up as the kid who turned his Twister mat into a swamp wherein He-Man and the Battle Beasts lived in happy camaraderie. I didn’t use Silly Putty to copy news-print for hours at a time; I rolled it into a ball and threw it at people, or, when I needed G.I. Joe to walk on the ceiling, my Silly Putty became the gravity boots that held him there. In other words, objects were defined by their usefulness to me--not by manufacturers’ intentions. Though a thousand cardboard backs told me how to use a yo-yo, they didn’t prevent me from transforming it into a vicious weapon against the creatures lurking in the shadows.
I’ve never shed that mentality, and the world is my playground. So is Epinions.com.
Deciding exactly why you write/ read/ lurk here will be the best thing you do for yourself at Epinions. Deciding what Epinions means to you and what benefits you reap will form a basis for all other decisions you make here. How to rate, what to write about, who to read—all these decisions stem from one basic, personal ideal, which itself comes from answering the question "Why am I here?"[1]
When I contemplated my own Epinions-existence (very zen), I came up with the following definitive answer: "I contribute to Epinions for no other reason than to better myself as a writer." Everything else—friends I’ve made, products I’ve discovered—has been a byproduct of self-improvement. Anyone who tells me that I can’t use Epinions as a tool to improve my own writing will receive the same reaction as if they had admonished me for using a rock to hammer a nail—the long, cold stare. Yes, Nirav, that includes you.
In my head, this essay is intended for those who use the site to improve their writing. Feel free to use it any way you wish.
Writing reviews requires a certain amount of pretense—you have to believe that your perspective on a particular item remains valid when communicated to another, unfamiliar person. Let’s face it, we’re all raging egomaniacs. The benefit that Epinions provides for its authors that other sites—those centered more on creative-writing—lack is that Epinions requires an adherence to form and topic. Self-awareness only travels so far, and, inevitably, an author will need an external force—say, a kick in the nether-regions—to push them outside of their comfort zone, forcing them to improve. Epinions’ inborn structure provides this external force—it prevents us from simply masturbating our ego all over the computer screen by providing a set of challenges and thereby promoting creativity. Those who can apply their wit to a product review will likely improve their skill at a greater rate than those who write the same poem with different words every Monday night, because writing a successful Epinion is leagues harder than writing in free form.
Consistency is the death of good writing. [2] Consistency leads to complacency, because a writer who remains content to repeat the action over and over and over again does nothing to strengthen their skill. But consistency and, thus, complacency can be avoided by expanding and refining your writing style. [3]
Expand by taking a new approach to each article you write. Write within a topic you haven’t written in before. Or, use a unique form to write within a topic with which you’re familiar. Expansion of your writing style will inevitably lead to greater risk-taking which—fail or succeed—can only lead to self-improvement if you’re willing to learn from the success or failure of your efforts. Of course, in order to be willing to take the greater risks, you have to be willing to make mistakes—and, what’s more, embrace those mistakes as opportunities to learn.
sundogg99 once wrote "If there is nothing but uncritical adulation for my opinion, I've spouted bromide, and have done nothing to advance anyone's critical thinking." I would strongly agree, and add that if you’re not absolutely terrified about the reception of each article by the folks in the Epinions community whom you respect, you’re probably not working hard enough or taking great enough risks. In other words, you’re becoming complacent.
Granted, you’ll be hard-pressed to shake things up every time you write—great inspiration just doesn’t strike that often. That’s where refinement comes into the picture.
Refine your writing by analyzing your own Epinions as well as those of the writers whom you enjoy reading. (Not the ones you’re merely told that you’re supposed to enjoy) Figure out what works and what doesn’t work for you, and attempt to apply that knowledge to your next Epinion, or even parlay that knowledge into its own Epinion. [4]
For me, Sordid-1 and annexation both work brilliantly within the form Epinions has provided to give birth to extremely entertaining (the laugh-‘til-you-bleed variety of entertainment) reviews of actual products.[5] Conversely, sumo_rhino and Fez_Monkey often find clever uses for their natural bent toward creative storytelling.[6] I also appreciate and, frankly, attempt to emulate Sloucho’s method of using a product as a springboard to launch into discussion of a social issue or pop-culture philosophy. [7]
It’s up to you to find the writers who do it for ya, and to figure out why they do it for ya. As an added bonus, if you approach each Epinion with a mind toward thoughtful critical analysis, you’ll be simultaneously improving your own reviewing skills, as well [8].
No one will ever write the perfect Epinion—it’s an impossible ideal, because each member has their own set of standards, determined by their own definition of what Epinions means to them. So, rather than attempting to strictly mold your writing around a set of standards provided by someone else, use the standards provided you to discern which work for you and which may not. Only then can you begin to learn how to successfully color within the lines, when to color outside the lines, and the best way to crumple up the paper and hurl it at that annoying kid across the street. Because, baby, Epinions is your own personal coloring book—you just have to figure out which crayons you want to use.
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[1] The greatest starter-kit I’ve yet read on how to accurately decide what Epinions.com means to you is "Annexation's insane vision- Epinions: The Role Playing Game" (http://www.epinions.com/user-review-2AB1-2F993B8A-3A13E7FC-prod3), which allows you to begin to glimpse Epinions.com from six different perspectives.
[2] This quote has been blatantly ripped off from an entire chapter of Michael Shurtliff’s Audition, which simply states "Consistency is the death of good acting."
[3] Incidentally, Christoff provides a compelling argument against complacency toward others’ work here at Epinions with "El Distrustos Revolución" (http://www.epinions.com/content_1555013764)
[4] nathsmom often does this brilliantly with her Member Center editorials.
[5] If you don’t believe me, check out Sordid-1’s "The Torsos of Space People Have No Genetalia" (http://www.epinions.com/content_23138504324) for a near perfect (and quite hilarious) example of writing in any form.
[6] For example, peep sumo_rhino’s "Madame Cure-Me and the Misanthrope Isotope" (http://www.epinions.com/content_1422762116) or Fez_Monkey’s "Fremont Freak-Out" (http://www.epinions.com/content_25408147076)
[7] Oh, just read anything by Sloucho (http://www.epinions.com/user-sloucho), dammit.
[8] Chris_Maverick has an article which promotes the idea of gauging the success of a work of art by what it wants to be, as opposed to what you want it to be—which I’m gonna promote because it falls perfectly in line with my critical ideology, and because it’s so damn good. (http://www.epinions.com/content_1039638660)
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Epinions.com ID:
repulsemonkey
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Ambassador of Epinions Love (and sometimes BBQ)
Location: Oops Upside Your Head
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 192 members
About Me:
Love me.
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