User review sites: next big media/advertising disruption?

A lot of people rely on user review sites for product or service selection, like Consumer Reports, Yelp, Amazon, or Best Buy.

Sure, we're aware of advertising for specific products or services, and that might get attention, but I bet most people just filter out most ads. Maybe they leave a brand impression.

What hapens when looking up reviews becomes easy, say on a phone, and becomes the normal way of doing things? We could see a dramatic tipping point in this direction, in the near term.

I'm guessing brand advertising will remain important, but that might represent a small portion of the
current advertising market.

What'll this do to business models for journalism and entertainment?

For me, happy to pay for trustworthy sources of news, with fact-checking and a clear separation between reporting and finance.

Disclaimer: I'm on the board of Consumer Reports.

Follow Craig Newmark on Twitter: www.twitter.com/craignewmark

Comments

[TonyTCA]

I hope you're right. More from Mashable yesterday on a new consumer advocacy/review site for websites and online businesses: http://mashable.com/2009/07/21/sitejabber/

[Schaz]

Before any major purchase -- particularly large appliances -- I look for user reviews online. The key is looking for trends, not just one or two positive or negative. For example, we recently saw a washing machine that really appealed to us. I looked online at the marketing materials and it sounded perfect. Then I hunted for user reviews. I found an overwhelming number of negative reviews on multiple sites and message boards. Red flag, cross machine off list of potential purchases.

It's also important to me that user reviews be text -- I pay little attention to "stars" and ratings because the aspects of an object that someone else finds good or bad might be the opposite for me or irrelevent. For example, a user could rate something "1", but the written review reveals that they were dissatisfied with the attitude of the delivery driver rather than the actual product.

It isn't trust as in "I read it on the internets therefore it must be so". User reviews are just a valuable data point in the decision-making process. If enough consumers in various forums have a problem with an item, do I want to risk joining their ranks? I place more weight on the opinion of a person I actually know, but it isn't often that I know someone who has purchased and is using the exact item I'm shopping for; online reviews are the next best thing.

[CherylatAngiesList]

The tipping point may closer than you think, according to a new Nielsen global report: "...90 percent of the respondents said they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent said they trusted consumer opinions posted online."

As this trend continues to grow, user review sites will need to develop and strengthen accountability measures if they are to be considered trustworthy filters. We’ve made this a focus for the past 14 years and will keep at it.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/e3i0a5fa05df2f2bdcfe08f71da7df1e37a?imw=Y