CIAO v's DOYOO - See this battle of epic proportions, through the tender eyes of a NEW MEMBER. (ciao.co.uk)

Member Name: dolphin_style

Product:	ciao.co.uk
Date:	20/06/01 (234 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: More reads

Disadvantages: Less Money Per Read

Ok, now the crisis has passed I think its only fair to write a proper opinion on ciao.yk.com. And justify the amount of reads I recieved for an opinion which was not, It was only supposed to be infomation for worried users. So thanx to ScotGirl and co. I have been persuaded to re-write the entire opinion here goes....

....I shall write this opinion, in the way which I think is most useful to dooyoo users, this been to compare these 2 similar sights like-for-like.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT
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From my personal exprience I feel that the community spirit on Ciao! is better, probably because I've got to know members there in a lot more detail. I hope to do the same here on dooyoo. The feedback I have been reading from other users is that dooyoo has the better community spirit, I can see where they are coming from, and some points they raise, such as more comments posted, jusitify this. However my vote is still with Ciao! at the moment.

STAFF
*****
This is a touchy area, I dont want my self booted from either site for making any comments about particular staff.So ill leave this one open, however I mus say I have had numerous emails of dooyoo giving me advice etc. ( Thanx Jo Starr). On the other hand I havnt recieved any from Ciao. Dooyoo wins this one.

ACCOUNT FACILITIES
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i feel dooyoo restrict users slightly by not allowing html commands to be intergrated into their profiles, maybe this will change soon. But one thing dooyoo does definately wipe the floor with, is the ability to upload your picture instantly, rather than wait weeks for the staff of Ciao! to post yours. Another thing i like about dooyoo is the little box that sits in the top right hand corner of your screen; telling you how many mile you have. To find how many reads you've recieved on Ciao! you have to go to the "your account" section. But the major factor that I feel dooyoo needs, and I think they may be
introducing soon, is a guestbook for other users to leave general comments, rather than those specific to an opinion.

LAYOUT
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There both rather similar, sept dooyoo is green and Ciao! is orange. Personally i prefer dooyoo, its more pleasing to look at, and is has a better structure in place. And the fact that it has the little "real-time" account miles is a very helpful tool.

THE MONEY
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I have purposely lef this 'til last as I feel it is the least important factor, even though it is the reason the majority of users actually write. As we all know, on dooyoo you get 10p per opinion written, this is the same as Ciao!. Personally I feel that this should be abolished all together and earning should be 100% "reads" based. This would elimate churners, and those doing to make a quick buck, if that is still possible. however dooyoo pays 2.5x as much as Ciao when it comes to reads ( maybe this is due to the fact that Ciao! has approx. 3 times as many users as dooyoo), dooyoo pays 5p per read, compared with Ciao's 2p, however this is balanced out by........

.......THE NUMBER OF READS
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On Ciao! I seem to recieve alot more reads, and members seem to return the favour of reading there opinions, alot more regularly. I don't know why this is, maybe its different for other members?

WHAT CAN YOU SPEND YOUR EARNINGS ON???
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Dooyoo wins flawlasly in this catorgrie, compared to Ciao!'s measily cash/i-points option, Dooyoo's wide range of options is a breath of fesh air. But on Ciao! if you opt for the cash option, you can be payed when you reach £10, rathet than dooyoo at £50. Is this good or bad????

PAYMENT
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I currently do not have enough miles/money to request any payment from either site, but as soon as I have I will update. From other members, I believe dooyoo to be the bett
er, quicker payer.

OH YES AND...
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You cannot use question or exclamation marks in your titles on Ciao!, which is very, very annoting when trying to express your self.

Summary: