MySears

MySears is an online community that allows Sears customers to share opinions, ideas, and thoughts on Sears products and services. Launched by Sears in March 2009, MySears.com is one of several community review Web sites created and powered by Viewpoints Network. MySears.com is intended as a venue for consumers to share and discuss information about Sears products and services in a variety of ways, including reading and writing reviews, sharing ideas and posting on discussion boards. Currently, there are more than 240,000 registered members in the MySears community.
As part of the MySears community, members have access to recommendations, reviews, expert help (from Sears experts and other community members), special forums to express their views and ideas as well as access to exclusive offers and promotions. Active members also have access to coupons, deals and promotions and are also eligible to win cash and merchandise prizes via sweepstakes that occur regularly throughout the year.
According to Quantcast, MySears reaches more than 514,000 people/month in the United States and is particularly popular among the 50+ age group. The typical visitor shops at Sears and reads Rachael Ray magazine.
In addition to MySears.com, Sears Holdings Corp. and Viewpoints Network have launched several other online communities, including MyKmart.com and MyGofer.com.
Objective
The aim of the MySears community is to help people make smarter purchasing decisions and give them a chance to affect the future of Sears. According to the MySears FAQ, the site states "We want to hear from you to learn about what is working and what isn't, with us and across all of your shopping experiences and relationships. So whether you are a loyal Sears, Kmart, Lands End or Craftsman shopper or perhaps have never made a trip to a Kmart, Sears, or any of our affiliates, MySears offers you the opportunity to tell your story and help us improve. Your Perspective is Invaluable..." the site says.
"Through the networks, MySears and MyKmart members can engage in all the usual social media shenanigans: social profiles, uploading photos, creating user tags, connecting with "friends," writing blog posts, tracking their readership stats, and exchanging private messages with other community members," MediaPost Publications wrote about the launch of MySears and MyKmart. "The initiative shows just how invested brands are becoming in social media as a marketing medium."
Reviews, Ideas and Guides
Reviews
Registered members over the age of 18 can write reviews of products sold by the company. If the product is not yet listed, users can add it themselves by following. MySears does not currently accept reviews that include service, pricing and shipping issues, but these issues can be addressed on the discussion boards and by Sears customer service. Reviewers can save their work as a draft before publishing and return to it later if they wish. Reviews are published within 72 hours unless they have violated any of the content guidelines. MySears staff do not edit or tamper with reviews, but members can edit their own review at any time. Anyone reading a review can give it a helpful or non-helpful vote. The more helpful votes a review is given, the higher it will appear in results lists.
Ideas
Another way Sears customers can connect with Sears is through the Ideas feature. Members can submit any idea or suggestion they have about how to improve the quality of Sears products and service. Members can vote for their favorite ideas, as well as sharing them with other people. Sears representatives continually monitor the Ideas page and let members know if their idea is being considered.
Guides
Sears also offers several shopping guides with advice about how to pick the right product to buy and make informed purchasing decisions. Examples of guides include What to Look For When Buying a Refrigerator , A Consumer's Guide to Buying a TV , and Keep Your Cool Guide to Shopping for an Air Conditioner
Recognition Rewards Program
The MySears Recognition Rewards Program recognizes members for their contributions to the community. Members earn points by participating in various activities such as uploading a profile picture, writing a review, or gaining "Fans" in the community. All the earned points then contribute to an overall point total. A member’s point total determines their Level in the community and that Level is a way for fellow community members to see the most active members of the site.
There are that members can achieve based on the points they earn for contributions to the community. The Level signifies activity and involvement within MySears Community. Below are the various ways members can participate in the community and how many points they earn for each activity. Members will see their points added immediately with all actions with the exception of publishing a review. Once a review is published, points for reviews are pending and will be added upon review approval. This can take up to 72 hours to process. The member's current Level and current point total can be seen on the member's profile page. Each award earned will be displayed in the Awards section on the profile page. Members' badges will also follow them throughout the site below their profile picture.
alt=MySears Reputation Rewards Points and Levels.

Other Features
MySears utilizes several social media tools, some of which include social profiles, uploading photos, creating user tags, connecting with "friends," writing blog posts, tracking their readership stats, and exchanging private messages with other community members. "Retail chain passionistas visiting MySears can express themselves via these increasingly ubiquitous Social Media features: taking polls, connecting with your fellow Sears buddies, creating a social profile, uploading photos, tagging, blogging, and participating in (my favorite part) the Ideas section.
Lest your passion for Sears not be completely fulfilled, consumers can also follow MySears and MyKMart on Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter," wrote the Guru of New in a review of MySears and MyKmart.
Discussion Boards
Another feature is the discussion boards, which allow members to tap into the collective knowledge of the MySears community to ask questions, search for answers and provide information to other members. Sears experts, including members of the Blue Crew, frequently join discussions and help MySears members by answering their questions, help them find what they're looking for or just sharing their own experiences with Sears products. Examples of discussions topics include Advice on a new TV , Buying a New Washer , and Dishwasher Installation .
There can be many complaints on the discussion boards, but representatives of Sears will respond and offer advice.
My Home
Every registered member has an individual profile page called "My Home." On their profile, MySears members can access all of the reviews they have written and add information about themselves, including photos, interests and hobbies. Members can also read comments left for them, view the latest activity of their friends and fans, create their own blog, view their Reputation Rewards point total, awarded badges and discussion board participation.
I am tags
MySears has a feature called "I Am" tags. When writing reviews, members are asked to create tags that tell the community about them as it relates to the item they are reviewing. For example, if a member is writing a review of a Craftsman tool, they may include a trait such as "do-it-yourselfer" or "not very handy." These tags are searchable, so readers can choose to filter reviews by people who they connect with on one or more of these levels.
Blog and Polls
MySears has a blog, which is continually updated with information about Sears products, events, promotions and giveaways. The blog features several contributors who post about everything from appliances and tools to video games and fitness equipment.
Members can also voice their opinion to Sears by participating in a variety of polls and surveys. Sears uses this information to get to know its customers' lifestyles, habits, preferences and more.
OpenID
MySears.com uses the OpenId platform, which enables visitors to register and login to the MySears community using existing accounts at Google, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Windows Live, and . Sears is the first company of its kind to adopt OpenID. However, Sears has not yet adopted OpenID on its site, adding to the split between Sears and MySears, as MySears is hosted using a Viewpoints platform, and the Sears site uses its own e-commerce system.

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