*What is a review site?
Basically a website, on which people can post reviews on products( books, cars, DVD, consumer electronics), businesses( banks, hotels, restaurants) or services( schools, hospitals).
This concept of letting users rate a product or service, and give their opinion on it, was started by Amazon.com, when it let users give their feedback, on products sold by it. There are many review websites out there. Some are specialized ones like bit-tech( technology) and moviejuice( movies). Some are all under the sun categories like Ciao.com, E pinions and ReviewCenter.com. And of course we have Mouthshut.com, which is Indian in nature.
I have again come across criticism by some, that the reviews are not relevant, and are more like user blogs. And so they keep threatening to switch to some other site. Best of luck to them. But let me put it this way, currently as far as I know, one of the very few review sites, which actually uses professional consumer journalists to review the product is ProductSifter.com. Try your luck there, but unless you are a certified journalist, you wont be given access, and no you cant fake there, because your work is checked by a panel of professional journalists. Any review site be it Amazon, Ciao, E pinions or Review Center has amateur users contributing to it.
What you are effectively doing is to give ordinary people a chance to voice their opinion about a product. When you do that you are putting the onus on people who are not consumer journalists or consumer right advocates. That person could be a stockbroker on Wall Street, a techie from Bangalore, a finance consultant from Mumbai, a school teacher in Kolkata, a student somewhere in Phillipines, a doctor in London or a housewife from Delhi. You are dealing with people from different backgrounds, different tastes, different outlook. In such a scenario, expecting, a sort of uniform, professional opinion, is simply wishful thinking. Hell, even if you put a group of professional consumer journalists and consumer right advocates together, and get their opinions, you will get 10 different opinions.
So does that mean that all review sites are useless? Don’t think so. Now members who review here, are not professional, they provide their own perspective. How useful it is and how much it is not, is up to the member to decide. For starters I think we must be clear. We are here to express our opinions, not change the world. Corporates are not going to take a decision based on what we write here. Business decision making is a totally different process. Review sites are more targeted at end user. Tomorrow if Apple wants to release it’s latest Ipod in the Market, it is not going to look at MS or Ciao or ReviewCenter, it has it’s own marketing methodology. So let us not fool ourselves into believing that Apple or IBM or Microsoft or Airtel will read our reviews and then take a decision. Yes sure Apple might get the odd information here and there, but their marketing and advertising team, is not going to keep browsing MS or Ciao, to come up with strategies. Nor is Google going to say oh so Mr X on MS, has said this about Google, lets fix it. And this is true about any review site, be it Amazon or Ciao or ReviewCenter.
So do they help the end user? Depends, again no right answers here. I will read an excellent review on Sony’s latest Xbox and say wow, what a great review, let me rate it as very useful. And I might add in some comment about what a wonderful review you have written. But I wont rush out to buy that product just because your review is so nice. I have to see my budget, whether I really need it, and if I need more technical information, I would walk straight into the shop, and take a demo of it. Some one’s review on Hyundai Getz, might be the review of the day or a Hot Review, but if I want to buy it, I would rather go to the dealer, have a test drive and then only decide. Not only me, any sensible person in the world would do the same.
Now how useful it is also depends on the product. A review on a movie or a novel would influence your decision in a way. A travel review could be helpful to you, if you are planning to go there. But something on items like consumer electronics, computer hardware, software and automobiles, would only give useful information. Unless you test the product physically, no way you can decide. So let us be honest with ourselves first. Most of us write here, because we want to express our views. Its when we start to imagine that we can change the world, and act as crusaders, that problems come up.
Now coming to the oft repeated complaint of groupism and ganging up. It is natural for people of similar interests to group together. Groupism exists in each and every corner of the globe, and in every organization. I remember once when I wanted to quit a job because of groupism, my father advised me one thing “ Look wherever you go this would be there, just take it as it is and adjust”. Oh sure, it would be wonderful, if there were no groupism and every one worked together. Unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world. Some people have started to play a martyr role, claiming that they are being attacked and ganged up against. Get a life folks, no one on MS can prevent you from raising your comments. What’s all this talk about a mafia and a cartel, come on, we are not gangsters, most of us are working professionals, and we don’t have the time to sit and indulge in group politics.
But somehow I am amused by some self appointed crusaders out here, claiming to fight for the truth, and projecting themselves as heroes. Duh, what truth and what’s the fight. If you want to be a hero, then go into the real world, there are causes out there begging for your attention. Show your angst in issues that matter. Ok now before some one accuses me, of what are you doing, let me state this, I have been involved in my company’s social department, and I teach at schools in slum areas on weekends. I have attended medical camps in remote tribal areas and I have taught students coming from poor backgrounds. I have seen life at close quarters, and I know what it is. The issues are out there in the real world, if you want to be a crusader, go there and show your heroism. Sitting here, making personal comments, trying to be self righteous, doesn’t make you a hero. And one more thing, one reason why I admired MS, was that, apart from a few nutcases, it was free from bigotry and narrow mindedness. However its unfortunate that in recent times its going on the rise. But my advice to people affected by it, don’t run away. In a site, where you have 500 plus members, you are bound to have such narrow minded jerks. Losers who seek their 15 minutes of fame. Don’t give such jokers their importance.
I want to emphasize again, MS, is just a platform, like any other review site, for sharing our views and making friends. And its true of any other review site. If you are really interested in being a crusader, go out into the real world and fight for genuine causes. Get a life, there is a world beyond MS.