MouthShut – the birth of Lazy Writer
If you read my post “My first 100 dollars”, you may have noticed the mention of a product review website. MouthShut is that site where I started with writing product reviews. It wasn’t a regular affair, and in four years, I wrote only 153 reviews. Some were good and some were pretty bad.
“I don't know about the others, but all the DTH operators provide, more or less, the same services, same channels. They can't be compared on the basis of that.”
Those were among my first lines of – what you can call – content, to the world. I used those lines for my review of Tata Sky which I wrote at the MouthShut review website, back in 2013. My first review though was about IRCTC, but I changed the original content afterwards. 😬
“I begin with an idea, and then it becomes something else.” - Pablo Picasso
What is MouthShut?
If you search for product reviews often, you would have seen the MouthShut review score in the results. And that’s how I came to know about MouthShut. Google allows it to show the average rating which the users gave to a product on their website.
And like many others, I use to refer MouthShut directly for reviews. It’s a consumer review website where you can register and speak yourself out, about your experience with a product. And what products does MouthShut have? Well, the list is long. They say they have eight lakh products listed which I think is inaccurate. They might have even more.
From books to beauty products, and electronics to food products, they have everything listed. They have home appliances, mobiles, automobiles and a growing list of online stores. You can review grocery stores, malls, restaurants, travel destinations, and also movies. 😉
Some of the brands also have a verified profile where they reply to user reviews. Sounds like a good place to have your complaint heard, isn’t it? If you don’t find a thing or a local business you want to review, you can request them with the required information, to add it to their database.
Although their mobile app wasn’t perfect then (the last I was active, was a year ago), the things may have changed now. Instead of the MouthShut app, I used their website to post reviews and the requests. I used the app only to interact with the users on my reviews and theirs.
Is MouthShut genuine?
I know there are many product review websites, and MouthShut is one of them. But if you ask me, if MouthShut is real or fake, I would be in a dilemma. Why?
Because of the recent MouthShut review contest which they launched 2-3 years ago, the number of negative reviews has started growing. It is one of the product review websites that pay you for your honest experiences. Will talk about it next!
While I wrote about my experience, with a rating between 1-5 stars, most of the people only reviewed a product/service/place when they had something negative to say. Even Amazon India is recommended by only 78% members there, but we all agree how good their service is. 😉
So, take care when making your buying decisions, and check both the negative and positive reviews. And if you’re going to write too, be as helpful as possible. It will help the people and also, encourage the developers/owners.
“It's enormously cheering to get a good review by someone who seems to understand your work.” - Kenneth Koch
Moreover, your review may also get the ROD – Review of the Day – tag. Out of the 153 reviews, I wrote, only four reviews featured as the Review of the Day. It’s another thing that most of my reviews aren’t very detailed or helpful. Only after they introduced the Write, Share, Win program, I started posting some detailed reviews.
Write, Share, Win
OK, coming to the contest, I have been fortunate enough to earn a few thousand bucks before logging off. Well, I have a blog to write reviews now.
With each approved review, you earn MS points. As per the current MouthShut contest rules, negative reviews get you 20 points, and positive ones bring 10 points. Yeah, negative reviews get more points. The reason maybe because more people love to rant than praising. By the way, each friend you invite, also adds another 10 points. Each MS point is equal to ₹1, and MouthShut transfers the money to your bank account every month you have more than 500 MS points. 🤑
I think that would be all for an introduction. MouthShut, along with TripAdvisor, helped me find my love for writing, and the Lazy Writer came into the world. Although those MouthShut reviews aren’t the best of my content if you still want to read, check these four “Review of the Day” pieces –
HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 2520hc works great
Srinagar is not worth the time
Now, if you too want to practice some writing, go, check MouthShut. But remember, be honest. It’s the users who make or break MouthShut.
Wishing you no more of keeping MOUTH SHUT! 😅