Crossroads?. Review on Mouthshut

I have absolutely no right to submit a review of Mouthshut. I have only been here a couple of days.

After all, it is the oldest trick in a fairly young book. Join an opinion site, and write a review of the site itself, because that’s the category to get most reads.

But not everyone is quite so mercenary. And I happen to believe that the best time to comment on a site, is once you’ve taken time to explore it, but before you’ve been there long enough to become immersed in it.

This is me trying to be objective.

Firstly, may I say that I have only read two other reviews of Mouthshut. Why? Because when I dutifully follow Home>Internet>Community>Websites>Mouthshut, there are no reviews displayed. I can only assume this is a gremlin, but at least I have not been influenced. (As an aside, perhaps someone can explain this?)

My first impression?

Enormous potential.

My second impression?

At a crossroads.

We have seen opinion sites come and go. What makes Mouthshut different?

Well, geography, for a start. Opinion sites were spawned in the US, and where the US leads, Europe inevitably follows. And they bred, to saturation point. They cannot all survive. But Mouthshut brings the perspective of another continent (although in this internet world, we are all one small planet, and for that I can only give thanks). But this site, I suspect, has opened up the concept of consumer interactivity to an even wider audience.

And that Mouthshut will be a success in its homeland, I do not doubt.

But can it hold its own on the universal stage?

I sincerely hope so, but this depends on a number of factors. Hence, as I say above, a crossroads.

For Mouthshut has to make a hard decision. To remain dedicated to its parent continent, or to become a truly international concept. The two are not entirely compatible, but neither are they incompatible. At the moment, as an “outsider looking in”, I feel I have stumbled on a very good Indian consumer site, but I also feel intimidated by the site’s home-orientation. Yet I am only here because of some very effective international marketing. So it must be the site ownership’s intention to go global.

Two hurdles to cross, then.

1. Can Mouthshut expand it’s category coverage to be truly international, which is essential to capture the global traffic, without it’s original members feeling they have been “sold out”, and losing its country-specific feel?

   
   




2. Can Mouthshut convince potential contributors, and more importantly, sponsors and advertisers

   
   

that it can make the transition successfully?

I hope so. Because let me return to my first point. This site has potential. It has a freshness. It is not a clone of the established opinion sites. It feels as though it has been invented from scratch. Don’t ask me to explain that. It’s a gut feeling. But I have, and still do, contribute to many sites. I know how they work, and how they feel. In this age of technology, there is still room for intuition.

I have not yet tried suggesting new products/topics. I shall. Therein, I suspect, lies at least one of the keys. If Mouthshut wants to attract contributions from throughout the globe, which it obviously does, then it will be receptive to a truly international product arena.

But there is one final factor, which will make or break this venture.

So many contributor-orientated sites take advantage of the fact that there are many, many frustrated writers out there. Ordinary folk like you and me, who get a buzz from seeing their work in print, and get a big hit from the feedback. But despite so many vowing that they don’t do it for the money, the truth is that a financial reward, however small, is an essential, if often denied, part of this whole process.

Sites which have naively relied on contributors’ vanity as its own reward have come unstuck – badly.

If Mouthshut wants to play with the big boys, it must declare its payment policy, in detail, very soon. I am not scaremongering. Management, just have a look. Just have a look at the number of new contributors who joined as a result of your marketing. And look at the number of those who wrote two or three reviews, then stopped – waiting – waiting to see what happens next.

In my brief time here, I have found Mouthshut to be a refreshing and friendly place. And I make no apology for repeating, I see great potential.

Potential which will be realised with astute management.

The next few months will be critical.

I await with hope, and great interest.

I wish this site every success.