Whilst there are many consumer review sites on the Internet these days, to my mind there are really only two that constitute viable time consumption, service and competition, Ciao and their rivals Dooyoo.
Having been a member of the former for over two years now, I did in due course join Dooyoo too although it wasn't until about six months ago that I paid any real attention or time to Dooyoo (whilst on a ciao sabbatical).
Once I had made my concerted effort to test the waters on Dooyoo, i have to say, i never looked back. Because of the fact that Ciao is the most similar site to Dooyoo I will be making alot of comparisons, but make no mistake whilst appearing to be two of the same with a few differences, the experience of being on both sites is wholly different.
Well, on to the important things first, let's take a look at money matters......
***Rates of pay***
Your account doesn't consist of a cash balance, instead a system of Dooyoo miles is implemented.
Each member read is worth 30 miles Premier (crowned) reviews are worth an extra 1500 miles Monthly first reviews in certain categories can earn an extra 3500 miles
1000 dooyoo miles is worth £1 10 dooyoo miles is worth 1p
Now it might seem that compared to Ciaos PF (prize fund) awards of up to £20, that these are meagre pickings especially when you note that member reads on dooyoo are far lower that here too. You would be very wrong, weekly crown awards that cover alot of reviews, added to a fair quantity of the monthly competition awards (3500 points for first reviews in certain categories) and the higher 3 pence per read means that your balance can soon whop itself up to a descent return, far higher than you're Ciao are likely to ever pay. It is also a bonus to know what you have won your money for.
Running up to last Christmas Dooyo also had a period of offering double money for writing and reads, I hope to see them do the same again this year although I might be hoping for a bit much.
Reads tend to be far less than on Ciao, whether it is down to fewer members or lack of community features I'm not sure, but despite the fewer reads the 3p allowance compensates nicely.
Unlike Ciao, you can actually post work you have done for a previous site. You should make it known that this is the case and pre- posted work is slightly less likely to take awards as when in competition with a non- posted review the new one will take priority, don't let this deter you though as they still do very nicely-thank-you out of the crowing system and you reads are still paid at the same rate.
***Surveys and competitions***
Dooyoo until recently have not offered surveys as part of their earning structure, and indeed now is little different. However there has been the addition of a small tickable option in your profile that reads.... "Yes, please send me free vouchers, invitations to surveys and reminders for raffles (from time to time)" This newer option has been in place for a couple of months now, but I'm still unaware of anyone receiving an invite to any surveys. Whether it is in option that Dooyoo are exploring and haven't yet secured I don't know, but it would be a great if they did add surveys to the earning potentials of the site.
On the competition front Dooyoo have a nice little section specifically for competitions that are non review related and there are generally at least two (often more) a month. The majority a simple multiple choice questions and answers on a subject that the prize is relevant to, that you are just required to email the answer of your choice to the relevant email address. I have been impressed so far at the competitions, probably as I have won two this year already!! But seriously though, there are often multiple prizes for each competition and there does seem to be a good chance of winning. Prizes have included such items as show tickets, dvds,DAB radios, cds and goody bags. Winners are notified by email and listed on the sites winners page.
A monthly writing competition is also run for the first reviews written in certain categories currently computers, electronics, software and video games. For winning reviews there is an additional award of 3500 miles (£3.50) and they are listed on the community page for a month. Aproximately 20 monthly awards are made this way. These reviews are also eligible to receive crowns although one award is independent of the other. If you can manage to get both you'll have grabbed £5 plus reads!
***Getting paid***
Another area in which Dooyoo out perform all sites of this nature is the payment zone. Whilst far from perfect it is for me, far preferential. Your own profile page lists the miles you have accumulated and this links to they payment page where you will find your different options displayed.
Cash - The minimum amount of cash you can request is £50, but you will incur a £5 charge for any payments below £100. This might seem alot, but take it from me...it's not. I rang up enough for cash in less time than it took me to earn £10 from Ciao and with far less effort (admittedly with the Christmas extra earning promotion).Payment is made by cheque mailed to your home.
E-vouchers - Offering Amazon or Blackstar vouchers you can select £20 and increments of £20, with a £2.50 charge for each transaction (i.e if you order £60 vouchers at one time you will only get one charge). These are issued via your email.
Charity - Choosing from children in need, green peace, Imperial cancer research, NSPCC, RSPCA, Shelter, world wildlife fund, comic relief or even own chosen charity, you can donate anything from 5,000 miles (£5) with no charges.
Vouchers arrive very swiftly, usually within a day or two, cash however has been known to take up to four weeks. Either way it's quicker than its rival on the whole and you don't have to have submit bank details on-line.
***Using the site***
This unfortunately is where Dooyoo starts to slip, navigation can be a little awkward, the site is not as clearly laid out as it might be and things are often not well linked.
There is not a review archive as such although opting for the "newest reviews" tab located on the left-hand side of many pages gives you the option to select specific categories so at least you can check out a, the most rescent reviews of the day/week or month and b,you can select to see the latest reviews of just one category.
Product main categories are pretty obvious and lead by link to their sub categories. There is also a "speakers corner" (following along the lines of ciao cafe) that is reached via the community page.
Searching for categories or items can be awkward too, i often find items that aren't listed into categories , hence only stumbling across them by chance. The sub-categories don't always follow logical methods either, on one occasion I had to search through the cars category year by year under a manufacturer to find the model i wanted to write about, having failed to find it in a basic search.
FAQ and help facilities are at best, basic. The plus side of this is that most help pages lead to submission or email forms so you can ask directly about you specific area of trouble. Generally you will get a quick response too, the longest I have ever had to wait is 7 days and that is long by their standards. This is one area that they are much better at performing than its rival.
Writing and submitting reviews is an easy process, with submission and writing options clearly linked. Rating too is simple with a system in place similar to Ciao, you just read the review and select your choice of rating at the bottom of the page. Likewise the comments option is the same. One notable difference between Ciao and Doyoo is that on Dooyoo you have the option to write either a full review or a short review, handy as you don't suffer if it a short, simple amount of information you wish to pass on.
Linked by the community page/dooyoo interactive there is also a Dooyoo magazine, produced monthly. A good bonus with the site is that it offers a unique price comparison service, so if you are interested in buying an item you can compare available prices for different merchants whilst you are researching it viability.
Getting products added when you have been unable to find them can be glitchy and awkward too depending on the item, some items are very easy. You submit all the details and sit back and wait......and wait...... I must say though it is probably no worse than its competitor at getting new categories added and that they have made a concerted effort to catch up and push new additions. if they keep up at the rate they have done for the last two months they will have cracked it!
With reagrds to loading and accessing the site, I have no complaints. I seldom find it unaccessible and it always loads well and quickly in my browser. This is something that I find an important point, I get very frustrated with sites that are offline as much as they are online and sites that take 14 days to load a page.
***Community***
Whilst Dooyoo do have a community page, trust facilities and a score of your reviews, reads and ratings, it does not offer guest books or community status. This to my mind is a double edged sword. I should mention that many members do operate a guest book on Tooyoo (www.tooyoo.co.uk) to run parallel with their Dooyoo account.
With no community incentives and no formal discussion available other than by the comments section pertaining to individual articles, it makes it very had to get any rolling friendships or communtiy feel going. This also decreases the inspiration to write for status, fortunately descent rewards over comes this lethargy usually. Reads suffer greatly from this lack of community and despite the trust facility it just doesn't get reagular reads promoted and subsequently reads are very low.
On the plus side of the issue, clicking- cartels are unusual, sniping and nastiness isn't prevalent and you find more time to spend directly on reading and writing.
This is the biggest fundamental difference between the two comparable sites and is what makes each individual and unique. The point to make is that it really depends on what you want from your site...friendships or cash (although neither are exclusive of each other on either site).
***Your profile page***
In a similar format to Ciaos' profile pages, your reviews, statistics, profile information (as selected), picture (if uploaded),trusts and earnings are all listed here. Your profile page does have the extra feature of a "treasure chest" which lists all the reviews you have read and rated (very handy), although it doesn't have the guest book facility as i mentioned earlier. There is also the obligatory alert option.
***overall***
As an outlet for my literary talents and outsized opinions, it is an ideal forum that offers me a little remuneration for my time and trouble without insulting me with a pittance.
This site could benefit from a little restructuring , but I have certainly been on far more disorientating web pages. By comparison? despite being Ciaos main competitor it does have notable differences and rewards. From an earning and literary point of view I would place Dooyoo as the better of the two and as i am not really a social buisy bee I'm not sure that I do miss its community atmosphere, however if made to chose between he two i would have a hard time as I have made good friends on Ciao and I would miss that community heavily from time to time.
So, if you haven't ventured forth to Dooyoo then pay it a visit, you wont be disappointed.
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