Dear Friends:

Hope the new week has begun well for all of you. At MouthShut.com, it begins with a bang. I take this opportunity to announce a new category - Employers. Yes, you read right - Employers it is.

You can now write reviews on your employers. Our engineering and product teams have burned the midnight oil to come up with this brand new category where you can talk about your employers. Good, bad, ugly ... whatever ... your review should be truthful, honest and YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE. Let the world know about the company where your services were used.

As an example, your review can contain any/all of the following points:
Company Ethics
Work Atmosphere
Remuneration
Leadership Vision
Overall Experience

Please click here to view this category: http://www.mouthshut.com/produ
ct/categories.php?cid=21

Regards,
Jasmine Ahuja
Head - Member Support
MouthShut.com

Dear Friends:

It's time to collect points once again. Like last time, the points are going to be very high, but this time it's just not just the SMS which will get you points, but also good old REVIEWS. Start writing reviews on any product listed on MouthShut.com and earn 100 points per review.

Yes, one review can get you 100 points. So, write as many reviews as you can and get 100 points per review.

The last date to get 100 points per review is September 30, 2008.

Regards,
Jasmine Ahuja
Head - Member Support
MouthShut.com

Here I am once again, continuing the thread of my last diary post.

Categories and Products
I have noticed that some members tend to get confused between the terms product and category and use one for the other. Members write in to me saying that "I have submitted a new category called Nokia N72. When is it going to be posted?" Or "I want to write about Saris. When will you add it as a product?" Now, Nokia N72 is a product and Sari is a category, or rather a sub-category. While a product is usually added within 2-3 working days, a category takes time. At times we do not add a category immediately as the addition of a new category involves deliberation on issues like validity, relevance etc. Once these issues are addressed at the internal level do we take a decision.

Why does MouthPad take time?
Yes, MouthPad does take time, occasionally. You might retort: "Hunh! Occasionally? It's occasionally prompt." Yes, MouthPad usually takes 2-3 days to be processed but at times it does get delayed due to certain reasons.

Am putting down a few here:

Huge queue
A huge queue of MouthPad requests is the main reason for the delay. The content team huffs and puffs its way through a lot of requests. At times, some requests are totally irrelevant, some are in between and require a lot of tweaking - all this while the quantity of the requests is mind-numbing.

Bulk upload and addition of new categories
Every month we add products in bulk (hundreds and thousands of products) in various categories. The addition of the same delays MouthPad because the system used for the addition of "Bulk Products" is the same as used for adding MouthPad requests. Also, new categories and sub-categories also cause delay. However, we are trying to come up with a solution to this problem.

I would encourage you friends to have patience. A lot of members simply post reviews in irrelevant categories. Please wait for at least the regular 2-3 days. And if you have a random thought, do post it as a Diary.

Formatting Issues
I know that most of you format your review with a lot of love and care. However, the current MouthPad feature does not support formatting. Our content team tries its best to format but the way they would format your review would be different from the way you would. The best way to resolve this issue is to get into the edit mode and format your review the way you wish to, once it has been posted.

I close now. Awaiting your reaction.

Regards,
Jasmine Ahuja
Head - Member Support
MouthShut.com

Hello everyone: Was just having a discussion over chai with the content team - the same guys who work on MouthPad. They shared some interesting insights on the pattern of MouthPad requests, the ruminations of which I decided to make into a Diary Post.

While most of the MouthPad requests are straight forward and pertain to products - books, cell phones, movies, web sites, travel, hotels, restaurants, etc there are some which leave the content team scratching their heads. For instance, certain members want to write about festivals (Onam being a recent example), some about traditions (child marriage, Sati etc), some want to express themselves about human nature - greed, lust, friendship etc. So the requests sent in usually read like this: General Advice on Child Marriage, General Advice on Sati, Tips on Winning Your Girl Friend, General Advice on Onam.

Members, I would encourage you to use the Diary Post for such topics. I'll tell you why.

An advice is usually linked to a product category. So for instance, while General Advice on Indian Classical Music would find its roots in the Music category and Tips on buying a cell phone can be traced to the cell phone category, General Advice on Onam or Tips on Winning Your Girl Friend do not have any parent category to fall back upon. Yes, earlier we did try to squeeze in such requests but now the Diary Post is there to take care of such topics. I would encourage all of you to get into the Diary Post if you feel strongly about issues which do not fit into the product-review pattern instead of thinking "Will they accept, won't they accept?" Some members are determined to put jottings meant for the Diary Post into the review section. A few days earlier, a member wanted to write about God. So what did she do? She wrote about God under the channel God TV. Our compliance team deleted the "review" and posted it in the Diary Section and also sent the member an M2M informing her about the same. The member was livid and posted a review on MouthShut, a negative one of course. Not satisfied with this, she called up our office and demanded to speak to someone senior. She was transferred to my boss who heard her out. He tried explaining to her the dynamics about why and how her review was deleted and why a Diary Post was necessary for her "review". She was very, very, angry and refused to listen to anything he said. Finally, he asked a her a simple question.

"Are you trying to rate God? She was obviously taken aback. "What? What do you mean? How can anyone rate God?" My boss replied quickly. "But you have. You have given God 3 stars". And then she understood that she had written about God and given God TV a 3-star rating. It also meant that not only was her rating about God irrelevant, her rating on God TV was unfair. She kept the phone down, smiling, I presume.

I'm sure this post is going to attract bouquets and brickbats as usual. And yes, do not forget to write to me at jasmine@mouthshut.com or support@mouthshut.com. Have a great weekend. I'm going to watch Bachchan's The Last Lear tonight. What about you?

Regards,
Jasmine Ahuja
Head - Member Support
MouthShut.com

Hi everyone:

Tomorrow is Ganesh Chaturthi and it marks the beginning of the festive season in India. To celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, MouthShut.com has come up with a unique Discount Scheme for some very special Gift Items. We have looked at each and every Gift very carefully and the discounts have been thought of after much deliberation. This special scheme begins now and ends on September 4, 2008, 10:30 am. At 10:31 am, the original prices will be reverted.

So what are you waiting for? The Ganesh Chaturthi Discount is all set to begin.

Regards,

Jasmine Ahuja
Head - Member Support
MouthShut.com

On popular demand, we are now extending the last date to earn 200 points per Mobile message to September 15, 2008. So now you have 15 more days to earn a great amount of points. By sending your message to 56767 you will keep earning 200 points per SMS which you can use to exchange gifts for your friends on MouthShut.com.

Comments received on your messages will also be delivered to your mobile phone. In fact, if you post questions then chances are that a lot of members on MouthShut.com will come up with answers.

Send your SMS to 56767. It's fun, it's addictive and it will get you a lot of points.

Regards,
Jasmine Ahuja
Head - Member Support
MouthShut.com

Hi everyone:

These days, points are to be found aplenty on MouthShut.com. For almost every activity that one does there are generous dollops of points - reviews, comments,diaries, trust, registration etc. Read the following link to get the actual point-break up - http://www.mouthshut.com/help/
mspoints.php.

And as an incentive we have also started a special scheme on MouthShut where every SMS Review gets you 200 points. This scheme is valid till August 31 only. For this I will reiterate what Vikram stated earlier in his post - please register your mobile number with us, otherwise point allocation would not be possible.

It is thanks to you dear members that MouthShut.com has got to this stage. It has been a long journey and you have been an integral part of it. Points and gifts are one of the ways we wish to make the ongoing journey fun and colourful.

Before I end, just one word. We have noticed a few members spamming in the comments section. Till now we were a bit lax about it. However, on the complaints of a few members, moving forward, we would be deleting such comments. And this means, points accumulated via spam messages would also be deleted.

So get going and start earning points.

Regards,

Jasmine Ahuja

Head - Member Support

MouthShut.com

Hi everyone: To make your SMS Review feature a memorable experience, we have added a new feature. The comments which you receive on the web page of your SMS Review will also be available to you on your mobile phone. So, the minute you receive a comment, your Mobile Phone will go "Beep, Beep!"

While each SMS Review costs Rs 3/-, comments received on your Mobile Phone are absolutely free.

Let me know what you think of it.

Regards,

Jasmine Ahuja
Head - Member Support
MouthShut.com

Hi everyone:

Please go to your Account Page and check your points. Members who have written reviews and sent SMS reviews on August 9 and 10 have been awarded 200 and 100 points respectively.

A major chunk of survey participants too have been awarded 500 points for their participation. Other survey participants will be given points soon.

Keep the reviews, diaries and SMS reviews flowing.

Regards,
Jasmine Ahuja
Head - Member Support
MouthShut.com

Hi everyone: The week's about to end and I have some real dhamaal news for you. Time to earn some points folks. So get ready for some action.

You write one review and you earn 200 points.
You send one SMS review to 56767 and you earn 100 points.

Points mela starts 12:01 am Saturday and ends 11:59 pm Sunday.

So get, set, and go guys. Points will be added in your account Monday morning.

Regards,
Jasmine Ahuja
Head - Member Support
MouthShut.com