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." target="_blank"> 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 all,
Today, the topic of my post is the ‘Pre-Write Review Page’feature.
How it useful for write review?
Pre-Write review page will allow you to find the product you wish to review easily by our Intelligent Search Feature
Now yon can reduce the steps to find a product by navigating through so many pages.
How do I go to this page?
By clicking “Write a Review” link on the HEADER.
What I need to do for searching a product in Pre-Write review page?Simply select the category in under which the product is listed from the drop down list.

Type the name of the product in the text box.

Our Intelligent Search will show you the list of product names.

Select the product name you wish to write review.

Write Review button will be shown once you selected the product.

Click on Write Review Button.

You will land in the Write review page of the product.

Now can start writing review.
For Example you want to write a review on “Bachna Ae Haseeno” Movie
Our Intelligent Feature will show you the list of products starts with “B” since you begin type “B”
Then keep on typing Ba, Bac, Bach ….
The moment you find the product, select it and press write review button
Hope you will understand and will find it easy while writing reviews
Check out the screen shot in My Photo gallery for your reference.

If still you can't find the product, you can find through navigating from Categorgies page by clicking the category name below the Pre Write Search

Regards,
Vikram

I'm sure you've all noticed the huge amount of coverage MouthShut.com receives from the media. Almost every week, some newspaper, magazine or TV channel features your favorite--MouthShut.com

While I get to take all the credit, I know in reality, the credit belongs to you- my dear members who love MouthShut.com and who refer it to friends and family.

Two such coverages I thought were noteworthy.
1. I wrote a column for Moneylife magazine. You can read the article here:
mouthshut.com/help/pres-11sept-08.php

2. Yours truly was featured on the cover page of the June 2008 issue of Winning Edge Magazine.
This article can be found here

The reason, I'm personally asking you to check our media coverage is simple. I want all of you to take pride in the fact that MouthShut.com has YOU reflected in some form or other.

You are mouthshut.com

Love,
--Faisal

PS- I would love to hear from you- send me an M2M

If you're a regular on MouthShut.com I'm sure you caught the surprise festive discount that we introduced for two days, from Sept.2 thru Sept 4, 2008. During this period, prices for many gift items that you were always dreaming to buy but could not afford, were reduced. Infact many items were being sold at more than 70% discount
(check https://mouthshut.com/diary/jhcgnspu/Ganesh-Chaturthi-Discount)

Some of you have voiced your concerns at the recent increase in the prices of few items. Yes, we're aware of that and we're trying our best to control it. Remember, inflation is also a product of demand greater than available supply. If too many people want the same gift, prices may go up. We need to diversify our purchases. You too can help control inflation by purchasing items that are not bought by many.

In the meanwhile, MouthShut.com's Gift team and I are working hard to reduce some of the prices.

The response to our 2 day festive discount was exciting. Many airplanes and beach villas were bought. We're thrilled that you are enjoying them. Keep your eyes and ears open for more discounts in the future. You never know when the next discount scheme starts again.

As always, it pays to be alert on mouthshut.com

Love you all,

--Faisal

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 all,

Today, the topic of my post is the ‘M2M Thread’ feature.

What is the ‘M2M Thread’ feature?

M2M Thread enables MouthShut members to keep track of all conversation between their friends.

How is this feature useful to you?

You can see the conversation history of what you wrote in an M2M and what reply you received for it (till date) between you and your friend.

How can I see the history?

• Login and go to your M2M Inbox
• Read a M2M from your friend.
• You can see a message M2M History with ‘Member ID’ (Click to show)
• Click on “Click to Show” link.

Now you will be able to see all the history of M2Ms between you and your friend.

What is the advantage?

Instead of searching for individual M2Ms and my response to it and all 'to and fro' responses, you can easily see the message which you replied or received by checking the history.

Hope you found this post helpful.

Regards,
Vikram

Hi all,

Today's topic is the importance of Tags and Titles in ‘PHOTOS’.

Instead of viewing only photos, people can now see the Title and Tags related to that photo

What are title and tags?

Title is nothing but a name of the photo. A tag is a simple way for you to label your photos.

Why do I enter tag?

Tags are titles related to the photos you upload. Use whatever words you find useful so that they are easy to sort and retrieve. For example: If you are uploading a photo of yours which was taken while playing football, then your tags can be football, game, your name etc.

How do tags helps

Tags are useful in categorizing the photos and in getting better search results. In future we will have search option for photos by tags.

What are the rules for writing Tags?

There are no rules – just give appropriate word, give space or comma for each tag and don’t use the same word

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 - https://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