A century and probably the last review for this year! This is my 100th review @ Mouth Shut and I thought I should dedicate it to Mouthshut.com. Mouth Shut as you all know is a wonderful online site where you will find all kinds of information---books, music, places, colleges, educational institutions, computers, software, household articles, career guidance, websites health issues, etc.
Hence, when we write a review, we have to take care to make it useful for other people who read it.
Writing
Be honest to yourself: To write about any topic, first ensure that it interests you. If it does, you will add facts, personal experience, passion, and pleasure/displeasure and do justice to the review you write. If not, it may seem to be just a feeble attempt to write. I have tried to write on a few topics that does not interest me. I just wanted to write on a topic I had not written about. Result---those reviews were colossal disasters.
Be honest about the subject: While writing keep in mind what you have liked and what you did not. Do not write to invite comments. I have read a few reviews with 100+ comments that has no actual substance
After the draft, check for spelling mistakes, for foul language if any (if you have used, rephrase it), format it a bit so that the review is easy to read. Don’t be rude (do you like when people are rude with you?)
Trust and Distrust
Most of the time I feel that I would agree to or like the review (even if I disagree with it) written by a particular person. When it becomes the case, I add the person to my trust list.
I have noticed that when someone writes a comment that the writer may not like, the person is promptly added to the distrust list. This is a very kiddish reaction. Aren’t we all matured people here?
In some cases I have noticed that some members have not written any review, but have a lengthy distrust list and few in the trust list.
My personal take is that when a member adds someone to the distrust list, MS should automatically prompt the member to write a M2M to person justifying the reason why (just as it happens when you select a NU rating---you have to enter a comment why you are doing so).
Rating
Writing reviews may get a bit too boring. Rating adds to the interest level of the writer. They are curious to know whether the readers have accepted or liked their writing. So it is like adding a little spice to the review.
Personal opinions should not come in the way of rating a review. There are times when I disagree with the review. For example, I don’t like a movie and somebody else liked it. I may rate the review as VU because of the substance in the review, the way it is written, the justification why the person did not like it.
Don’t use ratings for the game of tit-for-tat. You gave me a low rating and so will I. this is not the right way of ratige a review. Rate the review, not the person or the opinion.
Commenting
Comments are like the wonderful garnish that’s added to the already spicy review. Though ratings inform you about the acceptance level of the readers, comments tell what a reader liked about your writing and most importantly what they did not.
Commenting is the most effective way of giving feedback. The list of UVs, Us look good on the left hand frame of the page. But somehow you don’t understand what the reader liked. It is nice to know what the readers liked about your review.
When the comments are SU, it is a little disturbing and tallest I like to know why a person has not liked it, because that’s the way I have improved. Comments helped me improve. At times I am wary about adding comments because the writer gets hostile. :)
It adds value when the writer writes back too. This is something I learnt recently (around Aug-Sept of 2005), as late as this. Earlier, I was under the impression that my job is done after writing, reading, and rating the reviews. Probably it was compounded due to the fact that I did not get much time to spend on MS. A dialog is much better than a monologue. :)
Reacting to Comments
Value other people’s opinion about your review as being their own. Remember they are not targeted at you. So don’t take them personally and react to it be adding the person to your distrust list.
Find out why a person did not like your review. If it is a positive criticism, use it to improve your writing. I have done that.
Star Writer
MS must accept the writers who write well as starwriters (irrespective of “with picture or without picture profile”). If they want the picture, they should accept writers with the pictures they have provided (even if it is cartoon). We tend to associate a name with a face or a picture---what ever it is. Don’t give importance to the picture. About 2 years back, to be exact on 14th Aug 2003, Arti (from MS) wrote to me saying, “You have been selected to be the next Star Writer of MouthShut.com.” I was asked to send the hard copy of my photograph. I did not do that and so I did not feature as the starwriter… What the heck, I am still here alive, kicking, and surviving :)
I have added may faceless members to my trust list because I trust their reviews (not their faces).
Suggestions to MS
Prompt people to enter comments (or atleast to sent M2M) if they choose to distrust a member, justifying why.
Should increase the upper limit on words.
The reviews which have just a few lines and trash to fulfill the lower limit of the words should be pulled out.
In some cases members should be allowed to write multiple reviews. For example if I have written a review on a serial 2 years back saying how wonderful it is then, I should also be given a chance to write another review about it saying how horrid it is now. They are two separate reviews (totally different opinion about the same subject by the same person, but at different point of time.
MS Points—what do I do with them? I am still not aware of it. Can someone enlighten me please?
MouthShut.com is a wonderful way of writing your opinion about a product, sharing views, meeting new people, and learning about new (old and existing) products in the market. Keep it up MS!