Should You Listen To The Mob?

Traditionally, editorials and reviews have been written by people that have a vast knowledge of the subject they are reviewing. These experts compete with each other to be hired by various outlets of the media including magazines, television, and newspapers. They are expected to review the subject of their review throughly and unbiasedly. The motivation for the reviewer is to simply write a solid, objective summary of the subject and perhaps give the subject some type of rating. This rating gives some basis for comparison among similar subjects. Since the reviewer will be clearly referenced in the review, the quality of the review will effect the reputation of the reviewer. This desire to maintain credibility helps to make sure that the reviewer stays objective and fair. The review, once written, then goes through an editorial process which determines if the content is valid and ready for publication.

The Internet, however, has a largely different system for editorial reviews. On several sites, such as CitySearch and Ebay, the user is allowed to write a review of whatever subject they choose. This means that the user may have little or no knowledge of the subject. The motivation for the review can also vary dramatically. While there are users that write reviews objectively and solely for the sake of honestly informing his fellow man, many users write bad reviews for ulterior motives. This can range from writing terrible reviews of a subject in retaliation or as a result of a bad experience to writing good reviews just for the sake of attracting people to a subject that the reviewer may be personally invested in. On top of that, there is absolutely no editorial process. Whatever the user is feeling, regardless of validity, objectivity, and motivation will be published with the click of the post button. On some sites, anonymous reviews are allowed. This removes any motivation for the reviewer to be fair in order to keep up their reputation.

A sample feedback rating of an Ebay vendor.

The largest problem with online reviews is that they can literally make or break a business. Take Ebay for example. Many people will only buy from a seller with positive feedback of 99% or better. This means that for every 100 sales, only one user can give a negative review or your business fails! It is for this reason that many companies that use Ebay as their primary trade arena spend the majority of their time making sure that users leave positive feedback. Ebay has incorporated methods for stopping sociopathic users from writing negative reviews for malicious reasons. A user cannot write a review unless an item is purchased and that anonymous reviews are forbidden. The user also has the opportunity to change their feedback at anytime if the vendor agrees.

-Brian D.

Tags: City Search
Ebay
Ratings
cs 292
Web 2.0

~ by bpdoug00 on April 11, 2008.