| Product: |
The dooyoo guide system |
| Date: |
16/02/08 (190 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Give something back to the community we love
Disadvantages: Can be a thankless task
If there is one kind of review that's likely to pull in the reads it's a navel-gazing opinion on dooyoo or its members. Seeing as I've now been a member of dooyoo for exactly 7 years (as of the date of this opinion) I thought it about time for some navel gazing but I want to do it properly. We could all write 150 or even 500 words on dooyoo and its members and earn our 50p (or not, in this case as I've purposely chosen a Speakers Corner topic). In fact, these topics are probably about the easiest to churn in (and, because of the memberships love of navel gazing, will earn read miles too) but, quite frankly, I'm getting rather tired of reading the same negative moans about this and that, reads, miles, so-called abuse, real abuse and invariably guides. Sometimes the guides get off lightly with a "and there are guides around to help" statement. At other times guides are accused of being underhand, biased, rude, unwelcoming and nepotistic (if that can be applied to a bunch of people who, in the main have never met and certainly are not related!). So, is there a positive spin to guiding? Are guides needed? Could YOU be a guide?
Of course, this opinion will be far too long for any self-respecting skimmer so if that's you then move on now but don't forget to hit the NU button before you go because (a) as far as you're concerned any op that's longer than 10% more than the minimum word count is too long to bother with and (b) it'll have shown me that you've read at least this far.
Although I've been a member of dooyoo for 7 years I've probably only been really active for a portion of those years. I seemed to miss out 2004 entirely and my first 6 months or so on the site saw very little activity. That was me being stupid really - dooyoo paid per op back then (as they've just started to do again) and also per read at a much higher level than now. I could have raked it in if I'd wanted to. However, I have been an active member of various opinion sites throughout those 7 (or more elsewhere) years.
I am currently, at the time of writing, the category guide for Banking & Finance and Campus & Careers. It's a role I enjoy immensely and one which lets me feel that I'm giving something back into the community that has made me, in general, so welcome.
It was my indecision that resulted in me guiding two categories. I said that I had no preference for one over the other and so was given both! In fairness, both categories are quiet and so it's not too hard to keep up with all of the opinions that are written in them. In fact, I'd love for there to be more!
OK, so I may be biased, but I think that guides have an invaluable role within the Dooyoo community. To my mind they are the visible presence of Dooyoo on the site on a day to day basis and provide eyes and ears to a corporate entity that, until of late, has remained rather obtuse. The appearance of an active "DooyooTeam" as a member of Dooyoo has brought that corporate entity further into the public eye, but, with the greatest of respect, there's only so much the folks behind "DooyooTeam" can do.
Guides, at least in theory, should provide an easy conduit between members and Dooyoo and vice versa. In the past guides have been referred to as the Dooyoo police, and, whilst I don't like the connotations of that, it is a description that fits a little part of the role. So, what do we do?
"The Police Role"
Dealing with this one first, and, quite frankly, it's the bit I hate most not because it's hard but because it makes me cross just how many people see fit to abuse the site. All guides have an "abuse link" at the foot of all opinions that can be used to alert Dooyoo to fraudulent or troublesome use of the site. We can't ban members, delete reviews or anything like that, but we do report breaches of the rules, particularly plagiarism and offensive material. It's then up to Dooyoo to do what they will. Dooyoo can't read everything that's posted on site and so the guides are invaluable in this role. Be very aware that there are some great noses for an opinion that is plagiarized or is otherwise not what it seems and Dooyoo do know about them!
"Making Opinions Useful to the Consumer"
A role that is almost a bit of site policing is that of notifying Dooyoo when things are in the wrong place. Often new members can get in a fix here (and I often see it in the Careers section where people review McDonalds food in the category for McDonalds as an employer). Guides help sort this out. Sometimes it's just sheer laziness that sees opinions in the wrong place - the category you want isn't there so you dump it somewhere vaguely near. If you have trouble getting an item listed then do speak to any of the guides. They can find out if there are any problems (eg there have been issues in the music and film categories) and will help you get the miles you deserve from making the suggestion. An incorrectly placed opinion is of little use to the consumer!
"Helping Members"
Wow! What a wooly category! It could cover so much, but in reality, it covers so little. You see, members don't often use us! Guides are, in the main, genuinely there to help. If you're not sure where to put an op, if you don't know how to make a suggestion, if you've got some feedback that you'd like to make, if you just want to know how to get a member to stop pestering you, speak to a guide. We'll all do our best to try and help you out and, if we can't, we might know a man (or woman) who can.
"Crown Nominations"
My - here's a controversial one! Guides are selected by Dooyoo for being good writers and members of the site who are willing to take on additional roles. At the bottom of each opinion we have an additional "nominate" message box that we can use to alert Dooyoo to good ops. This is in addition to the standard "nominate" button that all members have. I'm guessing that it helps Dooyoo to distinguish guide nominations from others, but I don't know. One of the accusations often leveled at guides is that they have too much power when it comes to crowns and that personal differences between guides and members can get in the way. Well, who knows what Dooyoo do with the information that they get but I do know that (A) it's possible to get a crown without a guide nomination and (B) it's possible (although more unlikely, I think) to not get a crown even with a guide nomination. As for guide bias I think it safe to say that it's an argument that no guide can ever win. Of course we're human. We have our style preferences but I think most, if not all, are objective in their crown selection, at least so far as is possible. Personally I don't look at the identity of the author and I try and see the opinion with fresh eyes, attempting to put myself in the position of a consumer of the product in question. In this regard I'm lucky as my categories suit down to the ground. As a former finance lawyer in the City there's little in the banking category that will throw me and of course, I have accounts and insurance like everyone else. In the Campus section I know what I wanted to know when I went to Uni and what I want to know of an employer. I also used to interview at student and qualified lawyer levels and so again remained in touch with the "youth" of today. I can't state I'm 100% bias-free but I'd like to think I was as near as damn it!
So, why do we do it and would you?
Personally, I am happy to help Dooyoo keep the site in as good a state as possible. It lets me give something back to a site that I love. Tangible rewards are almost non-existent. You might get a mug or a t-shirt on agreeing to be a guide but that's really not going to sway you. There'll be those cynics who read this and say the reward is in extra crowns and so on but you're wrong! Yes, guides do get a fair few crowns but remember, Dooyoo have already selected them as being good writers so it's not that surprising. We certainly don't get extra ones (I think my own experiment partaking in the 30 in 30 competition showed that!). It's also harder for a guide to get a crown in the first place as the number of nominations has, in general, to be higher to prevent any nepotism. Dooyoo do have a bit of a formula for this.
There are some negatives to being a guide. You'll be expected to be whiter than white and the members will routinely remind you of this. You'll get the odd twat who decides that it's fun to try and abuse you, rate down your ops or bad mouth you here or elsewhere. A thick skin sees that off! In truth though, the level of abuse of guides has dropped and, with the support of Dooyoo, is pretty much a thing of the past.
So, do you fancy guiding? You don't need to be the best, just willing and suitable in Dooyoo's eyes (NOTE, not the guides!). I think it helps if you have an interest in a category and some kind of "expertise" as a consumer but this could just be the fact that you wash your hair everyday for the cosmetics section or that you love sport for the sports category. You don't have to be brainy or qualified in anything! Dooyoo are spectacularly bad at advertising guide roles despite repeated requests from the current guides. The best thing to do if you fancy a guide role is to contact Dooyoo (either by email or PM to DooyooTeam) or, if you want to learn more, contact one of the current guides. Don't be put off by the fact that the category you fancy has an active or established guide in the role already. Many of us would be only too happy to hand over the reins and/or to co-guide in busier categories. Many guides have more than one category and, ideally this wouldn't be the case.
Oh, and what about that mythical guide group?
Yes, there is a forum just for guides (and a few ex-guides). This exists really as a sounding board for Dooyoo to gauge opinion on a few things (often too late as they implement the ideas within minutes of asking our opinion) and as an easy conduit for guides to ask Dooyoo questions the answers to which might be relevant to other guides. There is a "no tales off the group" kind of rule to prevent certain information traveling into general circulation before it's ready (eg we had a bit of a heads up on the new reward system but not much detail) but really there's not much said on there that you'd want to take off anyway. Contrary to opinion in some corners it's not used as a place where guides slag off members and, in general, naming of members does not happen (through the choice of the guides, not at the behest of Dooyoo who'd be more than happy for us to name). I say generally because, of recent times and since the change in the rewards system, guide have been highlighting a few members for systematic abuse of the site simply because, in the early days, Dooyoo were struggling to keep up with the churn. We're more likely to have a go at Dooyoo here than the members of late! There's a degree of frank talking and, to Dooyoo's credit, they listen, even if they don't act on it. We do discuss improvements to the site, trying to get categories cleaned up, and whether certain things are within or outwith the terms of the site. It's not compelling though!
I do think that the guide's role is an important one and I'd love to see more people guiding. If you love the site, write reasonably well and think you have the time to read all or most of the reviews in a category on a regular basis (if there are loads then co-guiding is the way forward!) think about applying. We'd love to have you on board.
Summary: Could you guide?
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