Premium Fund

I got £1.50 but i've been steadily getting about £1 or £2 for the last few months.....just waiting on that elusive diamond one of these days!

well done you !

i always get 50p from premium fund every month, but know i dear what reviews there for. Only had a 2 Es in total and never a diamond.

I got a pound from the PF for February. Still waiting for that diamond but I doubt it will ever arrive.

Somebody probably nicked it !! Wasn't me.

kgray71 wrote:

I got a pound from the PF for February. Still waiting for that diamond but I doubt it will ever arrive.

Just keep writing. Try to look at diamond reviews and notice the format of them.

i.e. use subtitles

It took me over a year before I get a Diamond. Also, some categories like Travel / Electronics / Phones seem to get more diamonds.

Then thats me out of luck !!

Deru wrote:

Try to look at diamond reviews and notice the format of them.

Is there a format? I received 3 diamonds in my first year and none (plus barely a penny PF) for my second year.

The reviews I wrote in my 2nd year are miles better than the ones in my first year and yet I was rewarded loads in my first year. I reckon it aint nowt to do with formating/quality/opinion/subtitles etc... I was rewarded in my first year purely for being an extremely active member and not because of what I wrote. Nothing anyone says will convince me otherwise.

My first year earnt me well over £100, my 2nd year £11ish. I may not be the greatest writer on the block but my reviews are certainly not worth 0p in PF every single month since August (or whenever it last was)

Don't misunderstand me, i'm not a member of Ciao for the few pennies I may get. The money doesn't bother me. It's the message which comes with the pennies (or lack thereof) that is insulting. (if i'm sounding selfish I don't care)

Anyway congrats to those who received one of those shiny wee-whiffing things or got a load of dosh in the PF. You must have been very active on site.

Miracles do occur.

Reading through this month's diamonds, I rated a few less than VH (because although there were some stunners this month - well written, well thought out and well argued reviews) there were some real clunkers as well.

I rated one H, and explained why in the comments. I got a message in my GB saying that I'm 'so god damned critical' especially as the review has a diamond.

I replied in the writer's GB that I meant nothing personal, I just didn't find the review as wonderful, and that it wasn't a personal attack.

Well stone me, I got a really nice apology and explanation for the outburst in my GB this morning.

That's nice, I think.

mattygroves wrote:

Well stone me, I got a really nice apology and explanation for the outburst in my GB this morning.

That's nice, I think.

You made me log onto Ciao to go and have a snoop I really didn't want to log onto Ciao for a long time but the urge to be a nosy parker always gets the better of me. Damn you, I hate Ciao

Quote :

Don't misunderstand me, i'm not a member of Ciao for the few pennies I may get. The money doesn't bother me. It's the message which comes with the pennies (or lack thereof) that is insulting. (if i'm sounding selfish I don't care)

I don't think that anyone past new member status is there for the money and the premium fund payments I used to get used to be about a pound a month and are now nothing at all. Interesting to see what ciao consider diamond material though.

It is always surprising what gets a diamond and what doesn't and the same with the PF. I often wonder which review it was for, if I had writen more than one and both had been read equally. A while ago I wrote a review that eneded up as Exceptional, no Diamond resulted that month and I felt let down! Doesn't worry me now, I'm just pleased if people read and leave me a comment.

Yes I agree. Last month I had an overall exceptional and nothing in the premium fund which leads me to question whether E's actually equate to premium fund payments at all.

Thingywhatsit wrote:

Yes I agree. Last month I had an overall exceptional and nothing in the premium fund which leads me to question whether E's actually equate to premium fund payments at all.

Of course Es don't equate to anything.

Last month I received 36% exceptional (40 E rates) on a review and got nowt.

December I recieved 13% exceptional (14 E rates) on a review and got nowt.

November I received 37% exceptional (43 E rates) on a review and got nowt.

I could go on and on but I won't. Either E ratings equate to the PF for most other people except me, or E ratings mean naff all.

Ciao do appear to not like me at all anymore. I thought I may have stood a good chance of getting just 50p PF for my eBay review at least considering it got 37% exceptional and eBay are a sponsor of Ciao, aren't they? But if I can't even get 50p for that then I don't hold out much hope for anything else. Don't care about receiving diamonds, but getting nowt from the PF every single month is a huge insult. Good job i'm thick skinned and don't let it upset me. Nope, it just makes me wanna punch the lights out of each and every Ciao staff member.

Not sure about punching their lights out but I get nowt either and used to on a regular basis.

Thingywhatsit wrote:

Not sure about punching their lights out

Oh but it'd feel so goooood

Haha !!! but is it their fault ? or are members not using the right buttons ? I know ciao have hidden their nominate button, but surely someone knows its there.

Ciao's personal disclaimer does make me chuckle though:

Quote :

Please understand that, in the interests of avoiding abuse and bias, we cannot make the exact selection process public.

Stumbled on The Dukes' review about the PF from 5 years ago. Back then some apparently got up to £30 month. Oh happy days! Still, going by his review it seems the PF system has ALWAYS been an enigma.
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Rewards_at_Ciao__Review_5142928

Thingywhatsit wrote:

Haha !!! but is it their fault ? or are members not using the right buttons ? I know ciao have hidden their nominate button, but surely someone knows its there.

That button is a load of twonk too. The E ratings and that button are just ploys by Ciao to make us feel like we have some control and influence over things. In effect we probably have no control or influence over how they share the Pf or diamonds out at all.

yeh I know where you are coming from, but we can still try can't we.

Well I got my first Diamond in months..OK so am pleased..after all an extra tenner comes in handy considering the cr*p money Ciao pay per read, but to be honest the buzz of getting a Diamond has worn off over the months ! I do wonder why people moan so much if they didn't get one, especially considering the fact that not one of us understands Ciao's criteria for awarding them in the first place..after all if you don't know what constitutes a Diamond review, then what qualifies your complaint ?? If you get my gist !

Every month I check out the Diamond ops, and there is always a mixture of good and bad..all I can say is bloody good luck to ANYONE who gets one....mind you I do draw the line when plagiarists get them...but then again I shall save that for a later rant !!

I got my first "Premium Fund" the other day!
Was quite shocked when I logged in and £5 had been awarded to me!
Anyone know how we can find out What review it was for?

aah, ok, cheers!
that wouldn't suprise me to be honest!

Quote :

got my first "Premium Fund" the other day!
Was quite shocked when I logged in and £5 had been awarded to me!
Anyone know how we can find out What review it was for?
_________________

As a rough guide, press the usefulness button at the top of your reviews, and see which one for last mont comes up as the most useful. Its not flawless but gives an indication.

ummmm .. 16 / 208 !!! that's a lot of flamin reads!!!!