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Journalism is becoming ever more competitive as the next wave of boomers burst into the news business. A coveted spot among the 5 Top Rated articles requires everything you've got. One member of the Writers Guild of Canada shares some the ways to get ahead in the media rat race.

15 Tips to a Top 5 Article:

1) Be first to post about a major political event, crisis, or scandal – but not just ‘first’ – the first to informatively explain the story in a non-sensational and fair manner. Provide a balanced proportion of information by offering interviews to representatives from both sides of the issue. Include an objective secondary source or witness who can verify the information you publish. Footnote or reference material, while keeping the article under 200 words or roughly the time it takes to read the first 2 paragraphs and click “Vote.”

2) Publish a very funny inside joke about eRep or eCanada; associate it with an equally fun pic. Being a culturally sensitive, equal opportunity mosaic, eCanadians are prudish so avoid anything sexually suggestive or uninhibited. Any satire must also be politically correct and follow the rules of ethno-linguistic propriety.

3) Wait until a slow news day – anything that strikes a fancy with the public can make it to the top. Ideally this in between party president and congressional elections. Anything after congressional elections is taken up with gratuitous training wars and character assassination in preparation for the presidential elections.

4) Post an article in a newspaper that represents a political party – many members vote on the article and write inspiring support that, in turn, encourages players from other parties to spam the comments section. Positive feedback loop = votes.

5) Post an article explaining how to get into a battle. Try to be the first to give a link to the battle page along with some tips and a small dose of patriotism.

6) Be the 2nd to 8th player to post about a battle that began in the last 12 hours. The later you are to post behind others, add increasing increments of patriotism and vile hatred of the enemy (include pics of flags and soldiers).

7) Be the Prime Minister or a Cabinet Minister who publishes an important news announcement affecting the country. Keep it simple and direct to avoid controversy or mass confusion. Include a pic of an inspiring celebrity or a patriotic symbol.

😎 Be famous and have tons of subscribers and say something at least half-interesting or funny. Don’t try too hard or you’ll look needy. It’s also best to post articles in a variety of countries and offer cash incentives under 3 CAD. Expect only a 5% return on investment, but with 1000+ subscribers, it nets at least 50 votes per article.

9) Interview somebody famous where they say something at least half-interesting or funny. Don’t worry too much about formatting. It’s the name that counts.

10) Own lots of organizations that you can use to vote up the initial release. This gains the attention of those who only read articles with at least 10 votes. If you have no cash to pay for lots of orgs, you’re probably not important enough to get voted up anyhow. Resort to #11.

11) Own lots of eRep player accounts that you can use to vote up the initial release. This gains the attention of those who only read articles with at least 10 votes. If you haven’t the impudence or technical know-how to break eRep rules, you’re probably going to have to work hard at it honestly or by following the other 14 rules listed here.

12) Contact friends with lots of Orgs. and ask them to vote, then contact people in your political party, the people in your CAF squad, the people on your friend’s list, the people in the Off-topic forum folder, the people whose papers you subscribe to (remind them you are a reader and liked their last article, if you can remember it – better look it up to be safe), and last but not least, use every single shout in a 30 second period. Spreading them out across the day would only annoy people with long attention spans.

13) Create a scandal or spread a rumour that is at least half-believable. Associate it with well-known eCanadians: celebrities, politicians, known troublemakers, players that respond with irate comments in articles, or someone new-ish who is trying to break into politics and is not part of the dominant party.

14) Write an article that informs the public on how to improve their game in the business or war module. Do not write about the political module – it is lawless and subject to change at a moment’s notice. And nobody cares to learn about the media module…which begs the question, “Why do you even want an article in the Top 5?”

15) Copy and paste jokes from a website. Do not worry about choosing a theme or arranging them in a particular order because the only way such an article is going to get into the Top 5 is by employing #10 through #12. When not in the mood for a kitten joke, rant – repeat #10 through #12.


If you want to actually learn something genuine about the media module and tips on writing an article, keep an eye on the WGC’s (Writers’ Guild of Canada) new forum folder located right below the Master Archives http://ecanada.forumotion.com/writer-s-guild-of-canada-f60/ You can also wait to enrol in the University’s journalism course (under development…for a while longer).

Can’t wait for either and feel like a newb when it comes to publishing an article? Check out dabman’s article that offers a few good tips: “The Many Useful Tricks of Formating Your Newspaper”

A Member of the Writers' Guild of Canada