Two months later...

Now that almost everyone has cashed in the points they earned before the MyPoints partnership and started collecting points under the new system, what do you think of the changes, and why?

I voted based on my experience here in small town Canada.

I voted based on the fact that I have 33,000 MyPoints and have had 4 campaigns since the switch.

That's not to say that I wouldn't love it if we ALL had ALL of the campaigns. I'd have loved the scrubbing bubbles one ........ apparently they think I already clean enough, no pledge either. lol

I think it's OK. I like MyPoints and only 3 frogs & 2 reports IS EASY.

I voted OK. It's not as much fun as it used to be, but I've gotten a few campaigns and am very, very slowly earning a few rewards.

I voted for sucks and blows.

I have no issue with MyPoints as I've actually been earning stuff through them for years but I've had no campaigns offered to me other than the Word of Mouth book. I can earn one honeycomb a month by doing the Frogpond stuff but at that rate it is going to take me forever to get anywhere (not that there really appears to be any benefit to getting somewhere). I would just like to be offered SOMETHING at this point.

Anyone's who read my other recent posts can easily guess how I voted. ;-)
I'm supremely unimpressed with the new system, both personally speaking & from a business perspective.

However I wouldn't say I "can't stand Mypoints." It's just OK. The site can be very slow to load, & crediting problems aren't uncommon - but it is possible to rack up a bit of pocket change there over time.

Phoenix

I voted for annoying.

I don't appreciate the extra step we're forced to take when we write reports. I refer to having to go back to "accept" MyPoints. Um, would it hurt them to just transfer them and save me yet another 5 minutes?

I don't appreciate the weird changes from Tiers to Levels and how in the world this change was supposed to benefit us. I don't think it sucks or blows because I've never cared what Tier I was at anyhow, but why bother with restructuring this part at all? It was alot of work for someone (coming up with cutesy names, graphics for each level, etc) but again...why?

I voted "Sucks and Blows" because I can't stand MyPits. I tried 'em years ago and found them to be a PITA to work with plus the sloooow loading on dialup. I was extremely disappointed that BzzAgent would align themselves with such a company.

As for the campaign side of the equation, the only campaigns I've gotten post-Shitola have been the WOM book and the Plum Card (which I had turned down twice before). Neither campaign has been fun or rewarding, just....there.

Other post-Shitola disappointments have been the necessity of doing FrogPond stuff (after being told repeatedly pre-Shitola that they weren't required for advancement...then finding out NOT having done them made a difference in the Tier to Level switchover), the lack of incentive to actively bzz and report (assuming you've got campaigns that are bzzable), and the extra hoops you need to jump through in regards to MyPits (accepting the points, tracking to see that they were actually credited, then waiting, waiting, waiting for them to be no longer "pending", and the slooooowness of dealing with the MyPits site).

I also agree with Lori, that the Hive spent a lot of time on creating cute names, graphics, and software to deal with the changeover that really could/should have been put to better use or at least a better final outcome.

The my points really kills it and how many it takes now just to cash in for a silly $10 GC is a joke and keeps going up, up, up.

The spam is killing me and I am tired of running scans and clearing cookies.

I would also like more levels, seems we all are meeting in level 6 the black hole and will all have to fight for campaigns while the GMA's get in more of them.

I like bzzing and the products, so those are my rewards, not MP which really stink!

Reading these responses over something occurs to me -- BzzAgent has always tried to distance themselves from freebie sites and claims to be about more than that. Between the rising costs of gift cards on MyPits for those of you collecting points and the lack of motivation to report Bzz, they have made themselves into a freebie site. Free products are really becoming the motivation to bzz at all.

I picked good. LOL. For all my bitching, what I really wanted was more campaigns. It appears I got what I wanted. I have had 5 campaign offers post Shalola- I had 5 altogether before then. I didn't really care about points, nice extra but not why I am here. I never wrote a ton of reports to start with so nothing much changed for me. On a personal level- at this point, it's good.

I do agree with Lori, certain parts are annoying, like having to say yes to your points.

Rebecca1340 wrote:Reading these responses over something occurs to me -- BzzAgent has always tried to distance themselves from freebie sites and claims to be about more than that. Between the rising costs of gift cards on MyPits for those of you collecting points and the lack of motivation to report Bzz, they have made themselves into a freebie site. Free products are really becoming the motivation to bzz at all.

I like how they promise that you'll never get e-mail sales pitches from them... but MyPoints is all about that.

I wonder why Bzz doesn't have a poll on this? I mean, you'd think they'd want to know what we thought of the changes.

I already belonged to MyPoints, & as I've said, feel it's just OK. I don't despise it like some people do ;-) - but I was surprised & somewhat disappointed when BzzAgent partnered up with them.

The reason isn't really about quality of rewards or reward conversion rate or technical issues with the MP site. It's because BzzAgent presented itself as something different - about honest word of mouth, about being genuine, about agents being engaged in their communities.

MyPoints doesn't present itself as anything other than a marketing site. Being a MyPoints member is a business arrangement. You get rewards for visiting their business partners. I think BzzAgent has made a strong statement about their values in choosing this rewards system.

I agree with you, Lori, that it's puzzling to contemplate why they put so much effort into creating the whole honeycomb system. Yes, some people obviously have benefited greatly, but others have had exactly the opposite experience.

& BzzAgent isn't polling us about the changes because they've invested a great deal in making them. They feel their decisions were sound - & to be blunt, they have way more agents than they can use, & keep signing up more. If some people sign off due to being unhappy, I don't think it will have a great impact on BzzAgent's ability to keep operating.

Phoenix

thebigscott wrote:
I like how they promise that you'll never get e-mail sales pitches from them... but MyPoints is all about that.

I wonder why Bzz doesn't have a poll on this? I mean, you'd think they'd want to know what we thought of the changes.

That is kind of funny, but you're right. MyPits is all about sales and spam. I'm sure the spin is that you don't get that from BzzAgent directly and you can forfeit your points to avoid that.

As for why BzzAgent doesn't have a poll about what agents think of the changes -- my theory is that it's too risky. The contracts are all signed and they're already commited to MyPits for the next X number of years. The last thing they need is to have people telling them that they aren't happy and then think that things will change and get disgruntled again like we were last winter. What if more dissidents start groups who are even more unsatisfied than some of us are? What if more people join UB? That could be a public relations disaster!

thebigscott wrote:[
I wonder why Bzz doesn't have a poll on this? I mean, you'd think they'd want to know what we thought of the changes.

I think they know, and are not asking as they just don't want to hear any more ranting...and besides, what good would it do. ? It's a done deal, at least for a long while.

I don't actually like My Points, but have to say, I don't get spam, I don't get a lot of unwanted emails. I've filled in the profiles, and get maybe 4-9 a day, I click to earn my 5 or 10 points and delete; once in a while registering with a sight to earn more points. Soon as I get those 'pending points' I unsubscribe to that site. That's it. I run two malware/spyware programs, and do not get any, or very few, results from either other them, except for the coupon bar, which is downloaded each time I download coupons.

Maybe some of you should think about changing spyware software, because you should not be getting spam as a result of My Points.

Doesn't mean I'm fond of the site, just stating facts as they apply to me.

I use Linux, so spyware/malware isn't usually a concern. And I don't automatically accept cookies, so I can judge each request before I accept it. I also opted out of ALL emails from MyPits.

The slowness of the site is my main gripe. Dialup and MyPits do NOT play together well at all. Just waiting for the login page to do its thing, then waiting for the main page to come up burns about 20-25 minutes. My time is more valuable than that.

Even buying something through one of their partners usually means playing email tag with their customer non-service to get credit for your points. I had been a member ages ago when MyPits was new and had repeated problems getting credit for purchases. I canceled my account back then after one time too many. I had hoped in the intervening years, they had ironed out the kinks, but nope, I had the exact same problems with the one purchase I've made through them post-Shitola.

So MyPits is the equivalent of a shotgun marriage to me. I'll grit my teeth and use them only for my points from Bzz. Although at the rate Bzz gives them out, it may take a decade to have enough to get anything worthwhile again.

Its been ok