"Writing is turning one's worst moments into money." - J.P. Donleavy (Helpful Advice for New Members)

Member Name: ILoveJackDaniels

Product:	Helpful Advice for New Members
Date:	18/07/01 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Community, Penny for your thoughts?, Sharing your experiences

Disadvantages: None so far

There is no secret formula to dooyoo, more the pity, but there are some useful pieces of advice that new users should try and remember when whiling away the hours here. I have found a selection of quotes that with any luck will stick in your minds and help your experience at dooyoo be a great one.

"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure--which is: Try to please everybody." (Herbert Baynard Swope).

Pay attention to these words, for though this man might not be a member of dooyoo, he knew what he was talking about. To make the most of dooyoo, don't try and make everyone happy. Speak your mind - that is what people will pay attention to. If you try to make everyone happy, you are unlikely to find yourself writing the kind of controversial reviews that spark conversation and incite decent discussion.

"The best way to become a successful writer is to read good writing, remember it, and then forget where you remember it from." (Gene Fowler)

Learning by example is a great way to grow as an author. The most popular authors all have a very distinct style of writing. Some are sexy and exciting (Sexy_Kay is a very good example), and some are simply crammed with useful information and humour. Whatever they have done, they have created a style of writing that appeals to people and thus they find themselves writing reviews that are read by hundreds of people. Remember that there are a lot of writers on dooyoo, and to stand out from the crowd you have to be original and write exactly what you think of something - whether it's good, bad or worse.

Do try, though, to remember whose reviews you like to read. Read everything they've written if you like their style. dooyoo relies on people reading the reviews that are written, and unless you read other people's reviews, it is unlikely they will read many of yours.

"Without a sense of caring, the
re can be no sense of community." (Anthony J. D'Angelo)

The community aspect of dooyoo should not be overlooked. The OpCom message boards and chat room (see bottom for links) are all hotbeds of activity during evenings, and here you have a chance to meet and talk with other dooyoo members. It is a great opportunity to let people know who you are and get to know a few of the more experienced writers - even pester them for advice while you are there!

"A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in the experience." (Elbert Hubbard)

That is why we are here, and that is well worth remembering. dooyoo is a place to share your experiences and help people to learn from your mistakes. At the same time, it is a chance for you to tell people what you have tried for the better. If you liked something, or benefitted from it, try and make comparisons to the competition weher relevant and possible. People always like to know what makes one product better than nother.

"You don't write because you want to say something; you write because you've got something to say." (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Don't write reviews just putting facts on paper. Include facts in what you write, definitely, but don't let that be the limit of your reviews. They are called opinions because that is what you should write - your opinion. Anyone can find out facts about anything, especially with the power of the internet, but it is people's experiences and feelings that actually help better decisions to be made.

"The terminal point of addiction is what is called damnation." (W. Edwards Denning)

My final word of advice is - be VERY careful. Dooyoo is addictive. Try to avoid churning (writing short opinions and thousands of them just for the cash). Make sure everything you write is well thought through and presents your case as intelligently as possible. You will find that more p
eople will read what you write if you impress them with your wit and charm than with your ability to type fast...

###### A Few Useful Links ######

OpCom - The Opinionated Community Forum can be found at http://dooyoo.community.everyone.net/commun_v3/scr ipts/directory.pl

The Chat Room can be reached through the forum or at http://dooyooforum.tripod.com and is busiest in the evenings from about 8pm.

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