Cowboys and Indians (Feedback and General Suggestions for dooyoo)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Feedback and General Suggestions for dooyoo
Date:	27/03/02 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See op

Disadvantages: See op

I suppose it’s inevitable that when you care about something so much you feel compelled to write about it so this is general feedback about Dooyoo and suggestions to improve (hopefully I’ve got this category right this time but if I haven’t I’m sure someone will tell me). Apologies if there is any overlap with other Dooyoo categories but my sense of organisation isn’t what it was.

***The Story So Far***
Well, I mentioned recently that I’d been around for 3 months. If you turn back the clock to November last year then I was blissfully unaware of sites like this. The odd venture into my favourite footie sites and the occasional personal finance one was about it. Then, I really can’t remember why, I signed up for Ciao at the end of November and posted an op. Low and behold, all this feedback suddenly appeared and I started looking up other writers’ work and reading and rating. Anyway, just before Christmas I noticed this Dooyoo thingy mentioned and having seen it so many times I enquired with Angus Reid what the score was. He said it was a paying site just as good, if not better than Ciao. So I stuck my toe in the water and posted my bested op about my website. Crikey flip I got awarded a crown thingy. I didn’t know what to do with it; I didn’t even know what Dooyoo miles were until Scotgirl pointed me in the right direction. Cripes, I liked this site!

So 3 months later and I have a circle of friends and am writing regularly. I value the friends I’ve made online but that’s another topic.

***What is Dooyoo?***
You may think you know the answer but, forgive the pun, Dooyoo? It seems to be a site that promotes the submission of consumer based opinions on everything from cars to washing machines. This enables other readers to take advantage of your knowledge and make an informed consumer decision. However, how do you arrive at that opinion and how do you convey that m
essage? Are you a functional writer or do you like to be creative in your message? There is a community section so is it a kind of social club as well and, if so, who is it meant to cater for as some writers use the community section solely and don’t contribute to the consumer driven section? I suppose it’s probably all of these but the pleasure is in the finding out and this is what I would encourage any new or existing member to do.

***So Why Do You Write?***
A key question for participants on sites like this. There are all sorts of answers:
 Feedback & friendship. I suspect a lot of writers crave comments and write for the social interaction. Hey, that’s OK and its compliments your existing friend base or maybe extends or substitutes it. Whatever the reason, this is a major reason for writing.
 Pride. A lot of writers simply want to write as well as they can and crave crowns. They may not always get them but they want to be told that their op is excellent etc. Hey, that’s OK too.
 Pleasure. This is the closest to my own motives. I love to be different and write with invention. If I get comments saying that my stuff made people laugh then I am made up. Creativity in writing is one of the finest things that the human spirit can encounter and just because you are writing a consumer opinion doesn’t mean you can’t be creative.

***Community Spirit***
I love the spirit on the site. The absence of guestbooks is more than made up for by the humorous threads that build up after an opinion has been submitted. Op.com seems to be a parallel universe providing a forum for more informal debate more akin to chatrooms but no less invaluable to it’s members. For those that haven’t been on Ciao.co.uk there is a mechanism (guestbooks) to leave personal messages for other writers where it doesn’t necessarily relate to the opinion that they have just written. I personall
y haven’t got time for the more informal aspects of Dooyoo but by all means read the opinions on this one, as again, it has its very own category.

An important forum is Speakers Corner, which allows writers to debate topics such as Life after death, post Afghanistan and so on and is one of the most popular features of Dooyoo. I’ve engaged in some of these debates and find them stimulating and well worth getting involved with. Again, by all means pay a visit, as I’m sure you’ll find it rewarding.

***Creators & Destroyers***
Not long ago I saw a phenomenon on Ciao that really annoyed me. Certain writers were going around underrating other folk’s work just to get them to re-visit it and leave a comment asking them to have another look. It struck me as some sort of power trip. My point is this: these folks are destroyers. They simply see the site as something to manipulate for their own motives. Those that create tend to be positive in both their writing and behaviour. It’s so much harder to be a creator but the end result is so much more worthy than the folks that going around looking to criticise. There is a fine balance to be struck between rating fairly or harshly and it’s a hard one to call but, here again, there are plenty of fine opinions already written on this subject for new or existing members to read.

***Serial Underraters***
I realise that there is another category for reading and rating so I’ll be brief (I’ve already posted on that one). The term serial underraters was used on some feedback on an op I posted earlier which I wasn’t sure what that meant. However, recently I’ve been awarded a couple of Somewhat Usefuls that I kind of understand the reasons for. However, surely there is a spirit on the site so is this spirit a positive one or not? As I pointed out at the time, this particular op took a great deal of time knowing full well that I wouldn’t
get a crown for it. Yes, I understand that it may not convey the formal image that Dooyoo wants but then, like a say, surely there’s a little common sense and discretion available when it’s clear that someone has put a lot of work into something. The people that gave me the ratings needn’t worry ‘cos I realise pride is a sin and I’m guilty as charged. For me, I simply wouldn’t rate something SU unless it was one of the "one paragraph merchants" that float onto and off the site from time to time. If you happen to be one of those 2 people then please don’t go thinking that this is a go at you because it isn’t. I’m simply using it too illustrate a point.

Revenge raters also fall into this topic but I’ll leave that one for the correct section so, by all means, go and have a look at the respective category under Dooyoo.

***Dooyoo Like it straight or a little bit funny?***
Here’s a debate close to my heart. This site seems to fall into 2 camps. Those that want opinions submitted in a strict consumer-orientated delivery and those that like humour in their read. It’s horses for courses but I belong to the latter. What we need to decide is are we going to let these 2 approaches live in harmony? I kind of get the feeling that, just now and again, the squeeze is put on creativity in that those that try it come up against other writers who really don’t see the funny site and just assume that you are an idiot. It is eminently possible to convey a message in a humorous, off-the-wall manner and it is scientifically proven that this method is better understood and retained than a drier delivery. This is because the brain works by association and a picture painted is worth a thousand words. I mean consider now the things that you remember best. They will always be things that stand out and a valid memory technique is to exaggerate something in order to memorise it.

>***How to sell***
Product reviews are about writing your experiences of a particular product. You will talk about it's features and benefits and make a recommendation or not as the case may be. Dooyoo is a business and needs to generate income. If reviews lead readers to making a purchase online and the site gets a cut through it's link then hoorah. Like any advertising, the reviews that lead people to buy will be the entertaining ones. I mean, which adverts do you remember most? It'll probably be the best and worst as the principles of advertising work on the premise of recollection and awareness. How you go about this is a matter for debate but links in with my point about straight reviews versus those with humour and invention.

I love to read off-the-wall stuff and it’s the biggest, single reason for me writing at all. I respect those that don’t particularly go in for these kind of antics but maybe that is the point – I respect your stuff so are we going to allow these 2 different approaches to co-exist or not?

***Politeness costs nothing***
I suppose I can be a bit tetchy at times but then I’m only human. I get a little frustrated if I feel that someone is being terse. If you don’t like a writers stuff and are going to rate low then please make clear the reasons why in a manner that’s friendly and understood. There is nothing worse than getting a dismissive comment that supports a poor rating. Again, this happened to me recently but it was sorted out very amicably with the writer concerned who, to be honest, was very eloquent when I actually talked to him via e-mail.

A very important position on the site is Community Guides. I’ve already said that I have nothing but admiration for the job that you do. I mean, there is no formal pay and the reading must take ages. My only comment would be to not lose site of your impact and influence. As a manager, I am constantly told that
my team mimic me (God help them!) and I don’t see that just because you are operating in a different environment that this is any different. A loose word or a small mistake is amplified because of who you are. Just something to bear in mind you lovely bunch of guidesters.

***Paranoia***
I’ve heard, more than once, that there is a conspiracy theory doing the rounds i.e. certain members are scratching each other’s backs to ensure that the majority of crowns go to a few. Struth...what can I say? This seems so far-fetched it’s untrue. To gain a crown all that needs to happen is one member nominates another and the good folks of Dooyoo make an INDEPENDENT verification. Unless they are involved in this subterfuge themselves then how can there be a conspiracy? Maybe somebody could enlighten me but I never imagined stuff like this cropping up when I signed on.

***Staying sane***
I really do wonder about the long time effects of staying online too long. Again, it has its very own category so I won’t go into too much detail. However, a long time member of Ciao left a mark on me by posting an op all about how she had conquered Ciao and it was time to leave for pastures new. Don’t get me wrong ‘cos she was and is a lovely girl but she left her "secrets" behind which made me wonder whether it is possible to stay sane after prolonged exposure to a consumer site. I mean, the suggestions included posting ops at midnight to get the most time on the server, leaving nice messages for new members to get circle of trust additions and so on. It all struck me a bit strange and I suspect members on Dooyoo eventually succumb to "alternative behaviour".

***Suggestions for improvement***
 So much gets written about crowns that it has its very own category so I won’t go into too much detail. Suffice to say, that this system is far, far superior to the rather bizarre system on Cia
o where the same old writers walk away with monthly prizes of up to £30 a time. If you are unhappy with crowns try writing on Ciao!
 I would like to see something similar to Ciao where an opinion that doesn’t necessarily fit into any one consumer category can be written. On Ciao you can post under a category "Everything that starts with.." and then the category runs from A to Z. So, if you wanted to post, say a pantomime starring the members of your COF then you can without being pulled up for not being consumer-orientated with your output.
 I personally recommend that most writers should take a break from the site from time to time. I’m convinced time online encroaches on your day to day behaviour eventually. I mean, how can it not when you’ve posted something and within minutes you’ve got 30 or so folks crowding you with comments?

I hope that this opinion makes sense and I would like to thank those people that have made me feel so welcome. I’m considering a break myself just now as I’m getting Dooyoo fatigue at the moment and think it’s best to disappear for a few days.

Hope you all have a great Easter and see you soon

I couldn’t really finish without some more alternative suggestions for the site in the spirit I think that the site is meant.

 I think ~charliechuckle~ should be put in charge of all future crown awards as I know he would only crown those ops with the word poo in them
 The Miss Dooyoo contest should be instigated immediately if not sooner as long as Alkaliguru is the judge
 No further opinions about birdcages should be accepted unless the measurements included are precise
 King Herrod’s pet giraffe and hippo should be made Community guides within the next 48 hours.
 Dooyoo characters should be made to participate in online plays at least once or month.

Thanks fo
r reading

Marandina

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