My membership was given a harsh review, so I'm writing about how I feel as the person who was reviewed.
I hadn't noticed at all, but my membership was given a harsh review in this paid note. (lol)
And what's more, I had no idea that this note was causing quite a bit of controversy.
Well, they are writing harsh reviews of other people's notes and selling them for money, after all.
My honest feeling is, "Well, of course there are pros and cons, right?"
After that, Koji Okamura, who wrote the review, wrote a reflection note saying something like, "To all the membership owners, thank you. And I'm sorry," so I thought I'd take this opportunity to write my thoughts as the person who was reviewed!
- Honestly, I didn't feel good when I found out.
Honestly, I had felt a sense of discomfort ever since Mr. Okamura signed up for my membership.
Because this person is definitely, absolutely not the persona for my membership. (lol)
I run my membership for beginners in side hustles or freelancing, or for people who are thinking, "I want to try this!", but looking at his profile, Mr. Okamura definitely has more experience and skills than I do.
I wondered why he signed up, maybe he's just gathering information about memberships? I thought he'd probably just watch for the first month or two and then quit right away.
(And I learned this later too, but Mr. Okamura had declared on X that he would "join and review 100 memberships." I didn't even know that.)
Then, today, I was wandering around note and found Mr. Okamura's review article.
When I opened it, my name was there as I expected, buthonestly, the moment I saw it, my stomach churned and I felt uneasy.
It's an interesting project, but I'd hate it if it were written like a smear piece, and besides, this person is definitely not my target audience.
I don't really care to be told "harsh reviews" by someone like that.
In fact, there are people who buy my notes and give them high ratings, so why should I have to be made an example of like this?
The thing is, although I started the membership on a whim, I have been really struggling with the management policy and the content of the articles.
Without knowing those feelings, I felt like I was being used as a stepping stone to get attention... and honestly, it made me sad.
- I thought "I'll never read it," but 3 seconds later, I bought the article. (lol)
Because it was called a "harsh review," I was afraid that it might say something like "this note is trash," and above all, I didn't want to be made to cry by a complete stranger, so I thought I would definitely not buy this article.
...But, isn't it wrong to judge without even reading it???
Besides, Mr. Okamura did pay money to read my note, after all.
If I'm going to criticize, I should pay the money and read it properly before doing so. That's what sincerity is all about.
Besides, if they are reviewing 100 people, there must be other owners who are being trashed at the same level as me. That makes me feel a little relieved. (How awful of me)
I bought the article with a mindset similar to the saying, 'If we all cross on a red light, we won't be afraid.'
- When I actually read it, it was a review that I felt had a fair amount of sincerity.
I am the one who was 'harshly reviewed,' and while the content was quite strict,in conclusion, I wasn't actually that hurt.
I will keep what was written about my membership private since it is paid note content.
If I write too much, it would interfere with business.
However, I will state clearly that there were no expressions that could be called insults, as I had expected.
And the content of the review regarding my article felt like, 'Well, that's true.'
Other than the fact that the expression was milder than I thought, there was nothing particularly surprising.
The 'cause' that Mr. Okamura speculated was different from the facts (well, it is just speculation after all), but the evaluation of my membership was something I myself felt was an issue.
Even though Mr. Okamura is not my persona, it is a fact that he read the article objectively.
If the issues I felt and the objective evaluation match, I just think, 'I really have to improve this, don't I?'
By the way, I skimmed through the reviews for other owners as well, andI felt that the reviews themselves were conducted with sincerity.
However, since the review content is ultimately Mr. Okamura's subjective opinion, there were a few times I thought, 'Isn't that a bit off?', but that is what a review is in the first place.
- I don't think anything of the fact that it was done without permission.
In this series of events, there seem to be opinions that 'you should get permission from the owner to review,' but I don't think permission is necessary for this.
After all, when you write a review for a good product, you don't ask the manufacturer, 'Can I recommend this to my friends?' or 'Can I talk about my impressions of using it?', do you?
The same applies to note.
I am the one who released it into the sea of the internet and made it available for anyone to see (if they pay money).
If you don't want to be complained about, you should just write articles that don't invite complaints, or don't expose them to the internet (don't sell them).
'It doesn't make me feel good, but I don't have the right to blame them,' is my opinion.
- In any case, I want to praise the perseverance of reviewing 100 people.
Even now that I have finished reading the review article, while I still feel a bit uneasy, my honest impression is that the perseverance and effort to pay for 100 memberships, read them properly, and review them properly is amazing.
And Mr. Okamura, who analyzed 100 memberships, I would love for you to start a membership yourself.
I don't think there is anyone else who has analyzed memberships as much as you have, so I am curious about what kind of articles would be posted and what kind of readers would gather if someone like you were to run a membership.
Once again, Mr. Okamura, thank you for your review!
I also wrote another article in case there are any membership owners who were hurt by this... Please read it if you'd like.