“A man is a man because he can be proud. It doesn’t matter if he is really unique. The inner perception that he is unique and the attitude of forever seeking differentiation and elitism from the rest of his species is what makes us humans. Without that, we wouldn’t have been any different from deer. A deer doesn’t seek any such differentiation. Millions of deer are exactly identical in behavior. That is how animals are but not men. Each man wants to be different. And, inevitably, it is only the ego of being different that makes him feel different. Ego and pride are therefore the most brilliant things that make us humans.”
---------------- |||||||||||||||| ============ |||||||||||||||| ----------------
When I first stumbled on the homepage of MouthShut, I saw the face of one “Itikasharma” on the star writer’s column. I felt quite interested. I had reached a MouthShut review after a Google search for a Chevrolet car. I clicked the Home tab and found this female staring at me. I read her little profile there and felt stupid. “ATTITUDE DEFINES ALTITUDE. She has developed a very good and positive attitude towards life”. Then I saw someone else’s face when I re-visited the web-site. I wanted to read that Chevrolet review again. This gentleman had written, “Actually, being an optimist I see life in a very positive way…”. All right, so these are the Star Writers that MouthShut has to offer. What first impressions do I get about the web site?
1) The Star Writers here write their own profiles. I always thought that Star Writers should be appointed for their popularity or accomplishment. So it would mean that the profile should be appreciation given to them by others. It’s really funny that Star Writers here are asked to praise themselves. It basically means that choosing Star Writers here is a lot like fulfilling some formality. It’s not a selection based on merit. It’s not like a prize or an award. So Star Writers are just lucky crap.
2) The profiles are vague and vain. “I’ve got a positive attitude towards life”. What the bl*ody hell does that mean? It basically means nothing. It’s just very cool to say that you have a positive attitude. Nobody can verify if the claim is correct or wrong. Nobody can say you’re bragging too much. “Positive Attitude” can be displayed by giving Very Useful ratings to everyone and such stupid and vain antics. Then this “I have a very analytical mind” kind of statement. The writer will then write a review divided into sections. Analytical mind? Or stagnated brain? All these are vague statements and terribly vain. I suppose a Star Writer should instead write something like “I try to bring <insert special characteristic here> in my reviews so that it makes for interesting reading but also informs the reader about everything.” The profile is for a Star Writer and not for a Star Dot Star!
Then I read the “magnificent” review of the day. The English was quite unimpressive. It was in fact grammatically incorrect. The information provided was also elementary. A review should be on the entire subject but it should be able to bring out a) the specific aspects of it that make the product different and b) those faults in the product that can go unnoticed. The review in question was about, I think, a credit card. What are my impressions?
1)Review of the day is not always a great review. I think they are chosen only after judging the number of members who rated the review and basically nothing else. I once even saw a review that only had a “Useful” rating become a review of the day. I have a feeling that this review was ‘made’ a review of the day and not ‘awarded’ that status.
2)Reviews that get there are from select few members. I think there’s an ‘elite circle’ here. And all the big deal statuses go to them. It’s natural that such a thing happens but it’s crap.
The final blow was when I read a review from this one “Juggernaut”. It was supposedly his last review announcing his “retirement” from “the forum”. Now, if this is a forum, then it’s pretty stupid to think about “retiring”. You’re not “appointed” here for a “duty” from which you “retire”. You come here to speak what you wanted to and once you’re done you gracefully shut up. But I think Juggernaut will disagree. And I was quite unimpressed when I saw the way in which he was replying to comments. I’ve read two/three such “retirement” reviews. I think all this is crap. My impressions?
1) MouthShut has ambiguous purposes. Is this a consumers’ forum for writing reviews? Then all this Star Writer and Review of the Day stuff itself is pretty out of place. Add to that these narcissists like Juggernaut. I think the whole purpose is lost.
2) Members seek some sort of self-actualization. I don’t think members focus entirely on writing good reviews for other consumers’ interest. I can notice an attempt to carve a literary niche and become popular as entertainers with words. Grammatically incorrect words at times!
So now tell me. How do you expect me to rate this site high? I’ll tell you how. Read the opening lines. I think you’ll understand. If you don’t, then read the next line. MouthShut helps you pamper your ego.
-------- |||||||| T H E R U S T I C H A S S P O K E N ||||||||--------