Day 11: Review 3 things you've owned 3 months.

 

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 How many product reviews did you read when you were making your holiday purchases last year? Dozens? Hundreds even?

Now riddle me this: How many product reviews did you write in all of 2009?

Unless you're one of the very few, very prolific reviewers on the Web, chances are that you don't contribute much to sites like Amazon, Overstock.com, CNET, etc. When we do write reviews, most of us are making snap judgments — often negative — based on our first experiences with a product. ("I found the box overly difficult to open! Thumbs down!")

But what about the trusty products that stick with us for months or even years at a time? We rarely re-visit the sites where we bought them and share our opinions.

So today, we're going to try something easy and fun to get you in the habit of reviewing things you've put to the test.

First, just pick three items that you've had for three months or more. Not a Christmas gift or impulse buy from last week. Go for things that you've started to take for granted because they've been consistently useful, even if they're not that sexy.

For my three, I picked a random mix of gadgety goodness: my modest Acer Aspire One Netbook, an Oxo digital kitchen scale and a silicone sleeve for my iPhone.

Admittedly, I gave each one a five-star review on Amazon, mostly because I think they're each great at what they do, even if what they do isn't all that exciting. But more important than the star rating is the actual feedback you write into the review. Be honest about how the product has met your expectations and about any shortcomings you've experienced. 

Chances are, you'll also learn a few things about the item you're reviewing when you browse through other people's opinions. I've found some pretty cool new ways to use old gadgets just by reading reviews.

That's it for today! Three reviews. I'm sure you can swing that, even on a busy Monday. We'd love it if you shared the items you reviewed in the comments section.

Estimated time needed: 30-60 minutes.

Benefits: Contributing to the global well of information that you drink from every day.

Coming tomorrow: One simple Twitter Lists tip that will make you say, "How did I not know about that?"