Letters to the Editor
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Amazon reviews
I used to write quite a few Amazon review and am still rated in the top 3000 reviewers for helpful ratings, for what it is worth. I don't know how many reviewers there are, but when I started out I shared the 186,000th spot, so there must be quite a few of us.
Not all reviews are anonymous. Mine have my real name attached.
Readers are very unpredictable, and some of my best reviews got negative ratings. The way to get good ratings seems to be to pile on superlatives on the product in question. People don't want to read negative reviews of their favorite products. Not even of Britney Spears.
I do find the reviews helpful for buying music and books, though you have to read between the lines to determine whether a writer is credible. To me the negative reviews are more helpful, because more likely to be honest.
However I have not yet purchased toilet tissue online. I would suggest to the writer than she purchase a small quantity of the product first from a supermarket, apply it to the bodily part in question to test its efficacy, and then order in bulk online as necessary.
You really cannot be too careful with your family's bottoms.
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Wait, Wait, I Have An Opinion
I appreciate reviews that issue praise reluctantly. That undertone of disgruntlement has a pleasing tone of authenticity. It's hard to believe jingoistic reviews -- though I recall writing one or two myself in the rosy honeymoon of new gadget ownership. Looking back I would have added a few caveats. I don't think that reviews should function as evangelism, admitting no flaws; rather they should be like your grumpy father-in-law talking about used cars. Curmudgeons (carmudgeons?) serve a purpose online as digital Cassandras. I know I pay more attention to perceived flaws than trumpeted features. Problems are *useful* to know. Enthusiasm is merely participatory.
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Not all reviews are equally useful
I really like the Amazon reviews on books and music. I just bought some opera CD's for my folks, and I couldn't have gotten through it without the reviews.
But with restaurant reviews I find that everyone's an expert these days and not all advice is useful. There's a Mom and Pop Italian takeout place around the corner where they make everything from scratch, cook it in front of you, use really great ingredients. I read some reviews online where a couple of people were so critical that I couldn't believe we were thinking of the same place. One person wrote, "Their calzone has such a thin crust that when you bite into it you get a mouthful of meat and cheese." Call me sheltered, but I'm not sure what else you should get when you bite into a calzone.
I do think that many of us are becoming so dependent on a second or third or fourth opinion that we can scarcely make a decision without being told what to think, though.
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The kvell and kvetch test.
If there's too much kvelling, it's a shill from the marketing department.
If there's too much kvetching, it's a shill from the competitor's marketing department.
See? It's easy!
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Reading reviews is an art
...and probably not worth all the analysis, though I do it, too. Shopping for DVD players last week- a given model in one color, slightly higher-priced, got five stars, while the exact same model in a different color got 4 1/2. Was the difference due to color? price? random chance in the selection of reviews?
I think the more interesting aspect is that I can no longer buy anything without reading user reviews first. It's like there's a requirement to determine the best option, a sense that if you buy something with flaws you didn't know about before it arrives, you've failed as a shopper. Which seems a little twisted, like over-emphasized consumerist perfectionism.
That said, I've been pretty happy with the purchases that have gone through the process. It's also kept me from buying things- reading comments sometimes convinces me I don't really need the thing after all.
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No Free Lunches
Reviews can be illuminating, but what is needful is to first, in effect, rate the rater. By that, I mean that one must deduce the intelligence, tastes, and knowledge of each reviewer based on how the review is framed--everything from the degree of particulars and detail they provide to their ability to write a grammatical sentence.
Obviously, it helps to first have a general idea about the topic: it is easier to evaluate, say, reviews of a genre fiction with which genre one is familiar than those of some mysterious automobile component.
But I really don't think it is that hard to pick out the people who have some credible idea what they're talking about. The only problems are products with very few reviews.
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I rate this article to be...
Just joking, but I was surprised that no one had chimed in with that particular letter/joke on this thread.
The thing that interests me the most about the online reviews is the question of the psychology behind the reviews. What I mean is, if you are looking at a particular item and like it, will you then be more likely to go back online and review it? As compared to the person that may have disliked it, but just didn't want to waste any more of their time on the product. I just wonder if you don't end up seeing the two ends of the continuum, with the generally apathetic middle not really participating. If I buy something, and it's OK, will I really invest more of my time to go online and let people know that? Maybe for stuff I really like or hate, but the rest...
What's really funny, of course, is that we have people that devote time to rating toilet paper. No reason not to, of course, and more power to them, but it's still funny. Funnier yet is that there is apparently a lot research into toilet paper, and it is manufactured differently for US consumers vs. European consumers. There is apparently a divide in how the average person from those two regions uses the product (scrunching vs. folding). Like I said, funny stuff, and given the amount of brain and manufacturing power behind it, probably well worth a review. If the reviews could only please explain their mode of use, it would be more helpful for us that live outside the US. You know, to make a better decision.