Ciao Surveys GmbH

We want to inform you that our online surveys will be carried out from now on through our affiliated company, Ciao Surveys GmbH. In case you are registered on Ciao to take part in online surveys, you will soon have a new website for your survey membership. You will receive an e-mail in the coming weeks with details of your new survey website account. The Ciao Shopping Community remains at Ciao GmbH. For any survey- related requests, please use the the Survey Help Center.

Our Newsletter modifications for 2008

We have worked a little on the design of your newsletter and made some small changes to make it more attractive for you. From the content perspective, next month we will also be starting a new module presenting the best evaluated video review of the month and other interesting features. If you have any suggestions or ideas, don’t hesitate to write us a short email.

Max of the Month!

Ciao community 2008: we are growing and growing!

Who can remember the start of Ciao in 2000? Evidently, nobody knew at the time how the Ciao Website would grow and how the community would work. Today, 7 years later, beside the great fact that Ciao is the leading European website in comparison shopping, we are also represented in 8 different countries with a total of more than 1 Million users. We hope that you continue to enjoy your membership in the Ciao Community and look forward to sharing more positive news with you at the beginning of 2009!

Biggest new category launches in 2007

In today’s edition of Member Voice, we would like to speak about the famous last night of the year, the start of the New Year, and some important world events which have directly affected the UK. Please read the following interview with andrewfleminguk, one of our Diamond Review winners.

Ciao: First of all, our Ciao Team wishes you a Happy New Year. How did you celebrate New Year's Eve? Was it in the traditional way by watching “Dinner for Two”?

andrewfleminguk:  2007 was a year of great emotions for me. A second son and a new and exciting job both arriving the same day as my mother's birthday back in September were an unbelievable high. Two months later, my mother was tragically and unexpectedly dead and my father was facing being alone for the first time in his life. I delayed taking up my new post but departed at the end of November for West Africa, leaving my wife, two children and my father behind and promising to return to celebrate Christmas and New Year in the UK. I of course honoured this, but a big celebration was never going to happen. In the end, I had a quiet evening at my father's house watching the fireworks on TV. The sad end to 2007 left us both hoping 2008 would hold more happiness.

Ciao: It's the same question as  every year: can you tell us about your New Year’s Resolution?

andrewfleminguk:The only resolution I have made is to try a little harder to take exercise. I am in my late 30's and the much feared middle age spread has been spreading for some time. Whilst away from my family in Africa, I need to motivate myself even more to swim, play football and walk as much as I possibly can. No specific milestones other than to do more than in 2007, which should not be too hard.  

Ciao: In Ciao Café, you have the opportunity towrite about 2007 in our featured issue: "Your personal review of 2007: Which events stand out for you?" . Did you share your  opinion already or are you planning to ?

Ciao: In regards to main events, 2008 is for England a year of mixed feelings. The first of January, Liverpool was declared the European cultural capital of the year and shortly after, the famous writer George MacDonald Fraser, whose books you can also find on Ciao, died. Can you tell us more about MacDonald Fraser’s type of writing and if you too would have given this leading position to Liverpool, compared to other British cities?

 andrewfleminguk: Wow - two diverse topics. George MacDonald Fraser was undoubtably an acclaimed and talented writer but his best known works, essentially through the eyes of the fictional bully Harry Flashman from Tom Brown's School Days,  never appealed to me at all. As a long time victim of bullying in my childhood I had no desire to read something attributed to one of the most unpleasent (albeit fictional) characters to have been brought to life on our screens.
Liverpool,  if I am not mistaken, has been an European City of Culture before, back in the 80s. It has much changed since then and whilst its modernisation is deservedly acclaimed, in some ways, the city, which I have come to know well, does not retain all the charm and atmosphere it once had. This is not to say it is undeserving of the honour that has been bestowed upon it but, just as Liverpool's original mantle as a city of culture served as a main catalyst for its regeneration, so perhaps another city deserves that same boost. There are many candidates in my view and I would not like to single one out. Maybe the judges faced a similar challenge and decided they wanted to recognise the great achievements of Liverpool. .

Ciao: This year, we are also looking forward to the Olympic games, fortunately with an English team, but sadly without the three lions at the European Football Championship. Are you a big fan of the Olympic Games, and what was, from your point of view, the problem of the UK football team? Are you expecting changes now with the new team manager?

andrewfleminguk: I am looking forward to the Olympics. The world comes together on too few occassions but the Olympics is one platform that presents such an opportunity for it to do so. It is a worry that the games risk being overshadowed by protests over the Chinese Human Rights issue, perhaps with some justification but possibly similar issues have existed for other Olympic venues yet not hyped up so much. I will hopefully watch events from Africa if I am still there and hope in addition to the UK meeting its medal target,  that the games will prove good for the athletes of the African nations where success will bring so much joy. I will therefore be following GB and African entrants and I hope to cheer some to victory.
In terms of football, I must come clean and admit I am a Scotland supporter. This said,  I was saddened by the failure of England to qualify and believe the domestic game will only suffer as a consequence. The problem to me is the lack of desire to win and for the players to give their all. Many players do not, and yet time and time again they are picked, almost as if it is a right. No Scottish player would behave in this way over such a sustained period.
I believe the new manager will try to stretch the players and possibly try to hace a second  I will do all I can to ensurethat my colleagues support this approach as well as they can. How successful will depend on many personalities.

What's on our mind in January...

Since March 2007 our users have had the opportunity to participate in the Product Of the Week competition.  We are proud to announce that we received up until December 31st a total of more than 100 participants and 54 different users were counted in this period as winners of the three first places; awarded with  7 GBP (1 place), 5 GBP (2.place), and  3 GBP (3. place).

 In today’s edition, we would like to publish the best three review writers of the year for Product of the Week  :

1st place: littlexen 

2nd place: Morning_Becomes_Electra  

 3rd place: piggypine

 For their great performance, Ciao rewards them with the special prizes of 70 GBP, 40 GBP, and 20 GBP, respectively. Congratulations to each one of these talented winners . We also want to thank everyone who contributed their opinions on the product of the week.

 This year, we look forward to seeing more participation from you in this fun competition. 

 We wish all of you a creative year 2008 !

Behind the scenes, an Internship at Ciao