Responding and starting equality
By natnickeep
@natnickeep (2336)
United States
December 31, 2010 10:13am CST
My lot is a community of people right. Wanting to give and get advice, share stories, make friends and all of that good stuff. Lately I am starting to shy away from mylot a little. It seems members start discussion after discussion about not much to discuss. The discussions have become way less personal. No one responds hardly anymore.
What makes us a community is to respond to our friend and new members. To keep active. If you respond to peoples discussions they will be more likely to respond to yours. And if you are quick to answer and do answer when they respond they will be more likely to add you to their friends.
I guess I just had to state this for people who don't know. Mylot isn't just about starting discussions, seeing how many you can make in a day. They have to have content and mean something for people to want to respond. Relate to others, talk about everyday things and things off the wall. Try to see if others have recently started the same convo. Most people won't respond to a discussion they just had with someone else.
I like to keep my discussions and responses even. For every discussion I make I respond to 5 or 10 of someone esles. This also helps you get ideas for your own discussions.
Just some friendly tips and update on what mylot should be.
I would love to hear what makes mylot great for you...how you think it could be improved or what you think is most important in the mylot community.
3 people like this
11 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
31 Dec 10
I would like to see some kind of restriction on starting discussions - maybe not until one's user rating hits 100, say. This would deal a serious blow to those who join up merely to spam (and never read rules, anyway) and it would mean that newcomers at least have the chance to understand what 'discussion' means.
At the moment we have just short of 600 new discussions every day and an average of 57 new members daily (I have been keeping a record for just over a month now). I have yet to calculate what percentage of discussions are deleted but I suspect that it's quite high - maybe I shall set up a task to help me evaluate that! I wonder, too, what happens to all those new members. I suspect that more than half find that MyLot is not for them in less than a week.
Perhaps another option would be to restrict payment for starting a discussion in some way (although this is already done, I think: certainly one's user rating does not increase until a discussion has at least one response).
At any rate, it ought to be clear to new members that MyLot is a DISCUSSION site and that a 'discussion' doesn't really become a discussion until the 'discussion owner' (or even someone else, at least) comments on the responses they receive!
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
31 Dec 10
My guess is that we actually have less than 2000 active members (that is, less than 1% of the number of members are here on a more or less daily basis). I don't think that matters, actually, so long as MyLot has a robust business model (as it does).
Expressing oneself (in English) is not for everyone but MyLot is a really excellent place to learn it, if you want to do so. Many people do come here with false impressions of what the site is (and that is not MyLot's fault); some of them even manage to correct their impressions and stay anyway to become valuable members!
@natnickeep (2336)
• United States
31 Dec 10
Thanks for your insight again owlwings. People like you are what makes mylot worth coming back to. I agree it's a great place to converse and learn about people from all over.
1 person likes this
@natnickeep (2336)
• United States
31 Dec 10
Thank you owlwings I so much do agree. This is what I am saying. People are starting discussions with absolutely no content..just to say hi. I am a friendly person but there are other social sites for that like facebook and myspace. You can't make money off just saying hello.
I myself read the rules and can't say that I know them all, but I know spamming is clearly stated to not be okay and yes people still do it anyhow.
And with 600 new discussions it's hard to weed out the ones that actually interest you, and that you actually want to respond to. Like I said it's making me turn away a little from mylot. I hope they come up with something to make it better. I'd love to hear how your little mylot research project goes also. My thing is I wonder how many people join make 5 discussions and never come back. That number is probably half of that 57 a day or more.
1 person likes this
@msdivkar (23359)
• India
31 Dec 10
I agree with your sentiments that most of the members here are more interested in starting a discussion than responding to other's discussions and the topics are such you don't know what to respond. Sometimes members prefer to start a new discussion instead of responding to other's discussions which is already existing. Some quality posts goes nonrespondent while the same topic being hammered around again and again. It is true that everybody joined this forum for earning money but I feel this site deserves much bigger interest than just making money and it is the responsibility of management to ascertain that.
1 person likes this
@natnickeep (2336)
• United States
31 Dec 10
I think a lot of people just read titles and dismiss convos because they are afraid of what people might think of their opinion. Some people will not be the first to respond with fear of looking foolish. I am the opposite on this. I like to be the first to give my opinion or advice. And I at least open most of the discussions and see what they are about, a title can be very misleading. And like I said just a second ago, the people making more money are probably the people who are here for more than just money.
@GardenGerty (160996)
• United States
31 Dec 10
I came to MyLot looking for earnings, but found friends instead. I felt needed and appreciated, most of the time. I have seen good friends come and go, and that sometimes makes me sad, unless I know that they are moving on for a better way of life. I have had friends disappear for a year, and then come back. That is why I never delete friends. I do not start many discussions, but I constantly scour the site for discussions to answer. I do not always find them. However, if a person always makes discussions on the topic of sports, and it is not something I understand, I do not bash them. Evidently they find people who want to discuss this topic or they would not keep on starting them. I will respond to new users, users from other countries and users who have poor English. Poor English does not mean bad ideas.There are many people concerned about MyLot, and about making it a great place. I hear us all thinking about the New Year in a new way.
1 person likes this
@natnickeep (2336)
• United States
31 Dec 10
Same here GardenGerty I got more than I expected when I first started mylot. If I have talked to someone and built a relationship I won't delete them either. But if someone has under 50 posts and hasn't been around for months I do. It weeds out the people who just added me to have friends. And then left and forgot about the site. I think poor English makes it hard for alot of people on mylot and we should work with them and help them. It's a great place to learn about other people from other countries. For some of these people it's easier to respond to shorter discussions I guess. So in a way it's making something for everyone I guess. I never thought about it that way, thanks again...for making me think.
@trruk1 (1028)
• United States
31 Dec 10
It would be helpful if the start of a discussion is actually designed to--well, start a discussion. Many of the posts on this site are along the lines of "What is your favorite color?" and are not worthy of a response. I have been a participant in some discussions in which the back-and-forth went on for days. Those are great. Some others are just about humorous statements, with more humor as follow-up. Those are also a lot of fun.
I often log in to the site, see what discussions are showing on my home page, and leave. If there is nothing there I find interesting, I just don't bother. Anybody who comes to this site in order to earn a significant amount of money is in the wrong place. It is nice to make a few bucks (a penny at a time!)for talking with folks, but payments from this site are never going to make my house payment.
1 person likes this
@natnickeep (2336)
• United States
31 Dec 10
It is so much funner to talk to the people who are not here just for money? You truly can tell the difference too. And they are probably the ones making the most money, that's they funniest thing about it.
@deriellevc73 (982)
• Philippines
31 Dec 10
hello natnickeep!
i agree with what you're saying about mylot and about it being a community where members share ideas, give and get ideas from each other. I have observed some members who posts as much as they can but sad to say most of their discussions are meaningless and are just meant for them to earn, not really trying to interact with the community of mylot members.
i am a member of many other social sites but i like mylot the most and spend most of my online time here because i enjoy the interaction and the sharing of ideas. The income i get from it is just actually a bonus.
As to improvement, i think the admin could work on giving rewards to those who earn best responses to encourage mylot members to do better and encourage real and active participation to discussion, not just one-liner comments.
The most important aspect of mylot in my opinion is the sharing of ideas and opinions, being able to give opinions and getting one from other mylot members. The camaraderie shared by people who cares is something truly worthwhile to coming back everyday, if possible.
@natnickeep (2336)
• United States
31 Dec 10
I agree some peoples responses just deserve more, to be more recognized. Sometimes I read a response that I think says it all, making it best response may not be enough. I am sure it's hard to individually decide who is putting more effort into my lot with so many members. But more rewards for those who seem to be would be nice.
@jujunme (2501)
• United States
31 Dec 10
I also become discouraged when i see so many discussions with no responses from the discussion starter, or ones with nothing more than a few lnes asking silly questions.In my opinion, there's really no excuse for this, since people are told over and over again that in order to get the most out of your Mylot experience, you need to follow the rules,read the guidelines and take advice from those who have been here for a longer time and are doing their best to help and advise you on how to do this, as you have done today. What this tells me is that too many people are here for no other reason than thinking that the more irrelevant discussons they post, the more they'll earn and this is just not the case.I really can't say how Mylot can be any more improved, since what should be done is already being done by the people who care and is also very clear and concise,some people are just not listening.
1 person likes this
@natnickeep (2336)
• United States
31 Dec 10
That is another thing that drives me crazy. Very short discussions started. With like just a question and no detail, not personal. I usually state the question and then why I am asking it or a story along with it. Something to give it content. I guess for some this may be harder to do. We gotta take that into consideration also. And sometimes some people do only hear what they want to hear. Perception is key I guess.
@blademaiden (734)
• Romania
1 Jan 11
I've been on myLot for a while and, from I've noticed, most orphaned discussions lack good grammar and correct spelling. I usually avoid responding to this kind of topics, because they seem meaningless to me. Usually, they are started by persons who are more interested in quantity then quality.
@jugsjugs (12967)
•
31 Dec 10
For people like me that are stuck indoors and can not get out to socialise, it is a great way to get great discussion.I think that there are alot of people that are on here just like me, that try to start as well as to respond to discussions just to break the day up.I think that there are always thing thatbiscussed.I feel there are people that tend to come on here and do not hang around as they do not get the chance as they live busy lives.I have been on here over 2 years now and i will say that it is a great way to have fun.Mylot is what you make it, not just what other people make it.If people did not start discussions then there would be nothing to respond to.
1 person likes this
@natnickeep (2336)
• United States
31 Dec 10
Yes that is true. Everyone should start some every time they are on. I am just saying they should also respond. So that they do get to know others in the mylot community. Thanks for your response. I do love it here.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
3 Jan 11
I think that you are right that mylot is a place that really isn't about making money. For me, it is the personal interaction that I've been able to find with other people that keeps me coming back.
I also know that this last month I've been really bad about slacking on responding to the discussions that I've started and that is one of the reasons that one of my goals for this year is to be better about that.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
31 Dec 10
I also agree that discussion are becoming seemingly useless. I have a great deal of friends on my friends list and can see how they start 5 - 10 discussions in one sitting and it gets really difficult for me to iron out the quality versus the poor discussions.
I have been going to the no response tabs more so lately to find that pushed down below are some really great discussions. They get pushed there as way to many discussions are being created and many members are not getting a chance to view the great ones there.
I also agree with owlwings that some form of restriction should be enforced as so many members literally are not following the rules. I am all for responding and helping but am find way too many are being deleted and efforts lost. However, my biggest concern is did that member even read it??
@Toadsticker (246)
• United States
31 Dec 10
I found it was hard to talk to anyone when I first started.(I'm still a huge newbie) But once I got a star it seems people are more will to at least talk back when I make a comment. I feel personally that I am making inroads into the community and people are starting to open up to me. But having only been here not even a month yet I have nothing to compare it to.
1 person likes this
@natnickeep (2336)
• United States
31 Dec 10
Yes that is true. I think that is why it's important to respond to new people's discussions. And responding does get you in there, get you to know people, and people to know you. I think responses are just important as starting discussions. Which is why I started this discussion lol. Thanks toadsticker for your words. There are some great people here, so make sure to stick around.
1 person likes this
