TheDuke says:

This isn't really a challenge, although more of helping hand for Dooyoo to understand the members and hopefully, in return, a chance of a better understanding of Dooyoo for us. This is how it works:

You write an open letter to Dooyoo giving them your feedback on the site as well as any suggestions you may have for taking the site forward addressing any concerns you might have etc. The important thing is the feedback, so include as much or as little as you feel is appropriate to yourself. Don't worry if someone has mentioned a point that you want to raise? It's also important that Dooyoo see how many people have praise, concerns or suggestions about aspects of the site.

Then you do three things: first, you post your "opinion" on Dooyoo (the category is listed below) and include some blurb in it which I'll post below. Second (and this is the important bit) you email your opinion off to Dooyoo directly via the dooyooteam@dooyoo.co.uk address so that they can read it. Third, if (and the 'if' must be stressed here) or when you get a reply, then you post their reply onto the end of your letter thus giving a complete picture of your suggestions and concerns and how Dooyoo views them. Obviously, the blurb bit is important as people don't like you quoting their emails, so if a certain piece of text is included in the opinion, then they'll know what people's intentions are.


Dear Dooyoo,

I'm writing this open letter to you in support of TheDuke's feedback initiative although I've already recently sent you a similar letter in the form of an opinion in my Feedback & Suggestions review.

Initially I wasn't going to take part in this initiative as I didn't want to end up repeating everything I've said before, but I've since had a change of heart, feeling that it is important to contribute to a) support the initiative and b) try to include points from a different angle than I've done before.

What is slightly disappointing is that I have read a number of these feedback initiative reviews and they have mostly come from dooyoo's established members, and in the main those members that have been here either from the very beginning or pre-Aurora; the 'usual suspects' if you will.

Hoping that there are many other members who want to see dooyoo thrive again and get more involved in the community then it would be just as good to hear, by both the established members and you, dooyoo, what these other members have to contribute towards this initiative. In particular it would be interesting to have contributions from dooyoo members who used to be here and have started to come back or pop back occasionally, dooyoo members who joined post-Aurora and dooyoo members who have recently joined, because their thoughts are just as relevant and important as the 'usual suspects'. Then, I suppose, there will be a good cross-section of contributions from dooyoo members from the start of dooyoo to the present.

I don't want to harp on about all the problems with the site as many of us members are well aware of them and they have been included in many reviews (and comments) and likewise I'm sure you, dooyoo, are more than aware of what is wrong. What is frustrating from a member's point of view is knowing that you are aware of the problems yet you have done nothing about them, seemingly, and in some ways what is slightly worse is that there has been a kind of stony silence from you and a failure to acknowledge those problems that are plainly obvious for all to see and experience.

However, fair play to you as now you have included 4 useful links on the community page for dooyoo related forums, the capital letters fix so generously shared by Charlie Chuckle and the google search link to help members search better for things on dooyoo. It is a bit of a shame though that it took something like this initiative to get that achieved, but again it does show you are listening, finally. Now though, you have to keep the momentum going and keep the initiative.

The thing is attraction has never been a problem for you. Ordinary people continually join dooyoo, the trick is keeping them here. Making the site function better would go part of the way to doing that but, for me, I think another part is communication.

Do you remember the days when dooyoo was near 'interactive'? Remember the days of the dooyoo office web cam? Remember when there was much more interaction and feedback between dooyoo staff and us members?

It brought you and us closer. We felt more of a part of dooyoo and you were getting instant and valuable feedback from your members. That for me helped me and kept me here and it is testament to that kind of closeness that has not just kept me interested but many other members too who also were around and remember those earlier times.

Since Aurora that has all changed and many members have either drifted away or those who have joined since, who never experienced that kind of contact with you, have had nothing to keep them here.

Now I know many of those members from the early days might only have been here because of the generous financial rewards but you must take heart that since those rewards have shrunk quite substantially there is still a good number of members who are still here and I, personally, attribute that to a kind of sense of belonging here.

Nowadays though there isn't really much to keep new members here, is there? That could change though if you were more pro-active and more involved with your members. The community area of dooyoo could be a great vehicle to communicate with your members with things like a Q&A forum where a selection of members queries and the like could be addressed and answered by dooyoo staff. Rather than the somewhat impersonal dooyoo magazine then why not, again through the community area, encourage a more direct and personal approach to member participation there?

Further, knowing what a keen lot us members are and probably knowing more than you how the site is or isn't working then when these problems are pointed out then be honest about them on the community page and share some of your ideas with us and any future plans. I only say this as I'm sure the more involved the members feel in the direction and future of dooyoo, and the feeling that their contribution of ideas and suggestions are being listened to then the more inclined they might feel to stay and that really has got to benefit both parties hasn't it? Or else I feel dooyoo will just get staler and staler and fall way behind your main competitor, Ciao! Not because they are better necessarily but because dooyoo members will become so frustrated and feel like there is nothing to keep them here or encourage them to get involved in the community.

As David Brent says in The Office "Nothing ever changes by staying the same". This applies to dooyoo. I realise there are financial and technical restrictions that might not help change come so easily, especially with the albatross that is Aurora but by adding a more human and personal touch then change can be achieved that way and help the community flourish as it did for us members, us 'usual suspects', who experienced that human and personal approach before which has kept us here ever since.

Finally, let's hear from some more members, not just the 'usual suspects' but from those members like I mentioned earlier. It doesn't matter how long you have or haven't been a member, your input is just as valuable and just as relevant and it doesn't really matter if it's been said before. What is important about this initiative is that you get to say how you feel, what your thoughts are, good, bad or constructive.

The more people that participate then dooyoo will have more of an idea of how, hopefully, to go forward and help this site flourish again.



The above was sent as part of the Dooyoo Members' Feedback Initiative. The content is intended to provide constructive criticism for taking the site forward from the member's point of view, and has been posted to the site as an opinion. Your reply, if any is received, will be posted into the end of the opinion giving members a better idea of the Dooyoo and the site.


Capital letters courtesy of: http://www.chuckleweb.co.uk/fixit.php