Vocalpoint-A Place for Women

I am a big fan of Vocalpoint, an online community of moms who enjoy engaging with other people, like to give their opinions and especially enjoy sharing information about products, services, and  experiences. The site is sponsored by Proter and Gamble and gives you the opportunity to try out new products through samples or coupons without any monetary obligation. All they ask is for you to give your true opinion about a product you might have received from them. There is no cost to join the community and you can contribute as little or as much as your time allows. In addition to the product trials they also offer short surveys, invitations to participate in focus groups and a weekly newsletter that summarizes all of the information about the products and tips sent in by members.

Mergers, changes and updates.

Greenfield Online and Toluna, a leading community panel, have merged under the Toluna name. If you were a member of Greenfield, all of your information and rewards have been automatically migrated to the Toluna website. This merger, in my opinion, is a good one. Toluna, along with Greenfield, are leading online research organizations. I personally have had a great deal of success with Toluna surveys. They offer all sorts of opportunities to voice your opinion, test products and complete surveys.

The merger, announced in November, has officially taken place as of January 4, 2010. They have also relaunched an all new rewards program to expand current incentives. Points will now be able to be redeemed for rewards ranging from cash prizes, merchandise, prize drawings, sweepstakes entries, charitable donations and more.

If you have been a longtime member of Greenfield you might find the Toluna site overwhelming with all the polls and opinions. I find it easier to wait for a survey opportunity to come in my email, fill it out and move on. I don't spend a lot of time on their site.

Playing online for money.

I recently was hooked up with the site Winster an online gaming community with a difference. You can join Winster for free and earn points by playing games for points. Once you get enough points you are awarded a prize you pre-selected. But here's the twist, Winster players cooperate with each other to win prizes instead of competing. It's a great way to meet people and win prizes in a relaxed environment. Sometimes there is a moderator in the room to help newbies. They are players just like you with a little more experience.

There are no fees associated with Winster, however, if you want to rack up points quickly, they have three levels of Club Winster Membership: Basic ($4.99/month); Silver ($7.49/month) and Gold (9.99/month). As a member you get bonus points each day. You can upgrade at any time, but if you just want to play, you can with the daily spins they provide for everyone, regardless whether you are a member or not.

There are lots of prizes to be had including gift certificates, day passes and others. The ten games are varied and include slots, poker, match maker, scrabble, picture puzzles, doku, and chain gang. There are lots more but you will have to check it out yourself. Be fair warned though, the games are addictive!

Winster was developed by a California mom, Michelle Kaplan, who likes to play games on her home computer. She describes the site as "Winster is more like a coffee klatch than a game site," Kaplan explains. "People make new friends quickly and easily because they aren't trying to beat each other. Helping out other people is much 

more fun than you might think." This hobby was turned into a business by the couple who founded the company in 2004.

Check out Winster at www.winster.com. I am sure you will enjoy it.