In Basque mythology, Odei is the spirit of thunder and the personification of storm clouds.
– I hope FC Athletic Bilbao fans will not mind me using this name. 🙂
ODEI™ stands for “Objective Detailed Expert Information.” Let me explain.
Table Of Contents (T.O.C.):
1.ODEI™ Introduction
The Internet offers an ocean of information. Thanks to smartphones, that is available wherever we are. “How do I patch a punctured bicycle tyre?” can now be Googled even on a mountain, far from home.
A problem I see is a lot of unreliable information. Some websites look professional and have articles that appear to be written by experts, but upon close examination (by a real expert) they are revealed to be written by a “content writer” after a few hours of Googling.
Companies pay “content writers” to write about stuff they know nothing about – because having a lot of articles on a website “is good for the SEO.”
I believe that quality is more important than quantity, and that substance is more important than form.
Every week I get offers to take some money for publishing an article written by a “top-class content writer.” My answer is always this:
If you are an expert in a field or have a really interesting story to tell, I’ll be happy to publish your article for free. In other words: I publish only good quality articles. Even more simply put: I don’t publish low quality “link building” posts for money.
All that is written on my guest posts and advertising policy page.
If you wish to contribute, contact me via email:
my name (relja) @ this domain (bikegremlin.com)
– written “strangely” like this to avoid spam robots.
This way, BikeGremlin websites remain a reliable source of reference and reminder for myself. Of course, they are all published publicly, so anyone can use the info to help themselves. That’s the beauty of the Internet when it is not being abused for making money – and one of the ways to make the world a better place. 🙂
My article discussing: “Is BikeGremlin a reliable source of information?“
2. Why do I write all these articles?
Writing articles has many advantages even for the expert writing them. Here are some of them:
Filling in any gaps of my own knowledge
When I’m writing a post, on any topic, I try to write so that even a “novice” can understand. I believe that a man can claim to know something, only if he can explain it to a layman (and/or a child).
Now, when I start thinking and writing with that in mind, I easily see if there are any things that I myself haven’t figured out well enough – and do more research/reading/learning/testing… This is a surprisingly effective method that has worked for me both with school and work. Well worth the time invested.
Personal reminder
Information that I’ve personally gathered and published are, at least for me, the most reliable. I often use my websites as a personal reminder and reference. Sometimes it is fun to read old posts and see how stupid I was. 🙂
Post on hosting providers’ technical support even got me some job offers – that was unexpected.
Practising my English
I had studied English for over a decade, got a Cambridge FCE to show for it, but foreign language, like most other skills, gets rusty if not used. So all this drivel is also a perfect opportunity for me to practice my English writing. While my sweet Tarzan English voice gets practised and can be enjoyed on BikeGremlin YouTube channel.
Easier answering of frequently asked questions
For questions that people often ask, it is easier to just give them a link to a post I had already written, than to answer the same question 1000 times. And it feels good to share knowledge and experience, helping the community.
Getting help from the other experts
When I have nicely documented all that I’ve done (and, perhaps, messed up), it is easier to get useful advice from various experts. A detail that may seem trivial to me, or that I forget in a few months, might turn out to be important.
Earning money
The last, but to most, not the least important. 🙂 Yes, my websites make some extra income.
Here, money is an inevitable consequence of doing what’s good and right – not the primary or starting goal. That’s an important difference and how it should be: I’m doing what I’d be doing even if I didn’t need any money.
I’m using AdSense ads (see my Google AdSense experiment) and, when writing about products, I use affiliate links for those I like and would recommend (if they offer an affiliate program, if not, then just links). I had started doing it for free (practically publishing my cycling notes and charts online), but it’s not bad earning some profit (if nothing is sacrificed in terms of quality for that). The downside is that I occasionally get called out for shilling. 🙂 Can’t please everyone.
Update 2023: I’ve switched to using Mediavine monetization platform – it’s a lot better.
Addition: another logical question I occasionally get either explicitly or implied – no post, review, or test I have published was ordered, much less paid, by any company unless explicitly stated otherwise at the start of the article. Would have been great if they were. 🙂 My texts are mostly long, detailed and probably boring for most people – suppose it’s not really something companies would sponsor in terms of boosting sales. If any company still wishes to pay for my time and effort in testing their products, I’d be happy to, under the following conditions:
- Suggestions are welcome, but the contents of the published texts are up to me. If I’m writing about a product, I must publish all the flaws, along with the good stuff.
- You can get the text for a review before it is published and are free to ask for me to not publish it. Think that is fair if you’re paying. But I will not edit texts to make it look better than it really is – that’s where I draw the line.
- All the reader donations are more than welcome – How to support BikeGremlin.
Helping people
Last, but not least important: based on the feedback, my articles and videos are helping many people. The good feedback, good vibes and positive energy are rewarding and that is a great motive to keep going. 🙂
3. Can I contribute?
If you are an expert in a field and wish to contribute to the BikeGremlinODEI™ project, contact me via email:
my name (relja) @ this domain (bikegremlin.com)
– written “strangely” like this to avoid spam robots.
For sponsoring this website, you can use Patreon. BikeGremlin Patreon account is linked at the bottom of each page.