Viewpoints Review

I was asked in late 2006 to be part of a Beta Testing team to help launch a new site. There was no name for the site yet.

It would be a place where people review a wide variety of products and services.  Some would have a lot of exerience and even expertise doing this, and others would have little to no experience but be able to give it their best shot.  

I was assured if I got involved I would be treated with kindness and professionalism and there would even be some appreciation in terms of some monetary compensation with a few strings attached.

I was quite frankly very skeptical and somewhat cynical that a site like this could succeed.  I have been involved for several years in another site for many years and I saw an increasing number of negatives at another site,  where the people who owned the site, the people who kept the site technically afloat were not as responsive, caring or involved as they should be. There was also way too many secrets and when paid members communicated wrong information to non-paid members--very little was done to stop the bad information, bad or rude behavior from occurring -- even when paid people were responsible for some of it.     There were ongoing and pretty large technical issues that persisted.. not just for a few months, but for more than 5 years and beyond..    The adding of categories was a confusing quagmire for not just months, but several years.  The seach engine was horrendous for over 5 years and in the last few years a flawed innefficient mess.  And response regarding concerns, and problems was utterly inconsistent and usually pretty awful with little or no follow-up. 

However, all these negatives aside, there were a lot of very talented writers and very warm and nice people on the site.  I'd say many, perhaps 60 or 70 percent of the best talent that was there, are gone, but there remains a lot of great and talented folks who continue to be part of the community..

So if there is a place out there that is flawed but well known and successful, is there a need for another type of community?

The answer is there is always room for better ideas, better more efficient programs and better and more positive attitudes when it comes to managing and dealing with people.

I can't say enough positive things about the people who started and keep Viewpoints running.   The response and feedback is fast and incredible.  I know that I am dealing with people with care about what they are doing, are good positive and very warm people and who treat other people BETTER than they themselves have been treated.

There will always be room for a site that wants straight honest and direct reviews on a wide variety of product and services.   Before I buy products, watch movies, pay for a service or waste valuable time using a free service-- I would like to know what people's experiences have been and how the subject of their review stood up or compares to other products or services.

Over time I can get to know the people who are writing about various things and decide for myself if this person is someone I can trust. They may not be experts or have deep technical knowledge about a product... but facts and figures you can GOOGLE and get anywhere.  It's the experience that someone has had and their qualified or even unqualified opinion that is invaluable to me.

We live in a world of fear and compromise.  A lot of people are very careful with expressing their feeling or opinions because they don't want to be judged harshly or thought of badly for what they express.   So people fudge the truth, or they avoid answering questions directly and honestly-- it's safer to do this.

You bet we need a place where people can express themselves without fear of recrimination or fear of being ostracized or alienated.

Viewpoints was in development for quite a while and theres some very smart people running things.  There are probably some people connected with Viewpoints that I don't know and will never know.  But the 4 or 5 people I do know, understand how to treat people.

You ask questions, you get answers and very quickly.  They are honest direct no b.s. answers.  If you happen to ask something that is truly none of your business, you STILL get an answer and often much more honest than  you would ever expect.

It's truly fantastic how open and direct the people who keep Viewpoints running truly are.

They are a focused group of people who understand how to treat a wide variety of different types and kinds of people.  They have also done their homework and have brought out a product that incorporates the best features to be found anywhere on the internet, and remain extremely user-friendly.  

It's not perfect.  There have been a large number of minor glitches and flaws that have been quickly (and I mean really quickly) fixed.  I don't mean quick fixed with a temporary band-aid either.. but really and truly fixed.

I have no idea how this is done, but I don't even want to know.  

The search engine needs more work.  It is already better than most search engines on sites that somewhat similar to this one--so it's starting out as a much improved product and based on how dedicated everyone seems to be to making things better, I anticipate than in a few months.. maybe even a few weeks, things will be working even better than they are now.

A lot of the changes and improvements have been the direct result of people like me asking for things to be changed and upgraded.  Voila... your wish is our command.  It's been done fast and quick.   When it couldn't be done in  a few hours.. you got a response back.  And then you get follow-ups.

Sometimes things can't be fixed, or can't be changed at the present time.  You get a few emails about this and sometimes there are options discussed.  We can't do this, but we might be able to do this-- would that make a positive different?

Never have I seen people so interested in making even tiny details better to improve the experience for everyone involved.

I wish I was able to write 500 or 1,000 more words than I am.  I have had some reviews that needed to be a little longer.   Of course I've written things that are too long and should be cut down too and people with less experience might write much longer than they need to.

I wish more people were here, that more people were clicking on Good Points, that more people were commenting on things.  I'm optimistic that the word is spreading, that the good reviews and the marketing efforts underway will bring a lot more people to Viewpoints.

And I expect that when a lot more people show up there will be some challenges.   Some will be technical, some will mean we might not hear back from people quite as quickly as we do now. 

I am beginning to believe however that the staff of Viewpoints will bend over backwards to treat people with respect and keep the experience for everyone who hangs around on the site for a while a positive and rewarding one.

Yep I rated things 4 stars...   it should be rated 4 and a half stars.. since my experiences have been positive and rewarding, but there are some minor glitches and there is of course some room for improvement.  

I decided to round down.. to 4  rather than up to 5... because things aren't perfect and who knows if a huge influx of people will add negaive elements to the mix that simply don't exist right now.

If we don't take all the good things we have right now for granted and continue to stay dedicated to making this the best and most positive online community--we're gonna have a great sandbox to play in.

BRAVO to all the writers, Pulisher Circle members and the staff of Viewpoints for doing such an incredible job so far.