User:Snehnaik/Viewpoints Networks

Viewpoints Networks is

Viewpoints Network
Viewpoints Network is a social technology and media company based in Chicago, Illinois. It builds online communities by motivating consumers to share their insights and experiences through written reviews, blogs, how-to guides, forums and voting on new product and service ideas. Founded in 2006(cite1), it operates a consumer website called Viewpoints.com and offers business to business services including advertising and a hosted technology platform. In December 2009, Viewpoints Network had 3.6 million unique visitors.(cite2)

Viewpoints.com

Viewpoints.com is a consumer-generated reviews website that launched in May 2007.(cite3) Community members post reviews for any product or service available to consumers. The site is aimed at helping people make smarter decisions through personal opinions and experiences.

REVIEWS

Reviewers join the Viewpoints.com community, enter the product they wish to review and then publish it instantly. Members write on a broad range of categories and have the ability to review any product service, though the products and reviews are moderated. Reviewers are encouraged to write as much or as little as they want about a product. They are required to rank the product or service on a scale of stars – 1 star being the lowest score and 5 stars being the highest.

PROFILES

Viewpoints.com puts a face to their reviews through consumer profiles, a prominent differentiating factor between the site and other consumer-generated reviews websites. Viewpoints.com believes that consumers benefit more from reading reviews from people who share their interests, concerns and preferences. By making the reviews more helpful to the reader, they are better able to make a purchasing decision.

The site creates a connection between readers and reviewers. Reviewers can assign attribute tags to their reviews in order to determine if the review is relevant to them. Reviews are not the only way for readers to interact with the member base. Blogs, forums and comment boxes on review pages also gives consumers additional access to reviewers.

Viewpoints Technology Platform (VTP)

Viewpoints Technology Platform is a hosted technology platform designed to help brands create a dialogue with their customers about their products and services. Sears has used VTP to create the MySears and MyKmart communities, which have 400,000 users combined.(cite4)

The online communities created by the VTP attempt drive incremental traffic and sales, customer insight and brand equity. Through social profiles, reviews, discussion boards, polls and surveys, the platform drives conversion and traffic by creating brand-centric communities. The platform lets consumers create personal profiles and connect with other members of the community. Additional features like blogs, personal photo uploading and private messaging between members strengthen the communication between members.(cite5)

In July 2009, VTP adopted OpenID and Sears was the first major retailer to use the technology for their their MySears and MyKmart communities. OpenID allows consumers to log into the community using their login information from their Facebook, Google, MySpace and other accounts.(cite6) Viewpoints added the Social Loyalty Engine to the technology platform in October 2009. The engine allows for brands to establish a reputation and rewards program in order to motivate their community members to contribute valuable content and become leaders in the brand’s online community and the Internet.(cite7) Brands can include pricing information and purchasing points, allowing the consumer to purchase goods from a single interface.(cite8) In October 2009, VTP launched SmartShoppersUnite.com, a shopping web site powered by Kmart.(cite9)