I’ve looked at a few sites like amazon.com and epinions.com, where people who have purchased a product write what they think of it for everyone else to read.
Why do they do this? What’s in it for them?? Why would someone sit and write a lengthy review for a book that they read- especially when they are not getting paid for it??? Amazon.com even has people that review the reviews- ‘I thought this review was helpful/not helpful’!
Is it possible that many of these ‘reviews’ are written under a pseudonym by the author, the publisher, a business competitor, or someone else who has a financial stake in the product?
Actually, its just because people like to think their opinions are important. You just might see that very effect on this board.
After all, you could just as easily ask, Why would some answer someone’s else’s questions? What’s in it for them?
As far as whether they are written mainly by the publisher, let me assure you that there is not a publicist alive that has enough time to go writing the thousands of reviews available. Perhaps for very small publishers it would be worth their while.
People like to talk about themselves. All of us. We like it when people listen to what we have to say and writing reviews on Epinions and Amazon gives people an opportunity to let thousands or millions of people hear what we have to say. As Hello Again said, people like to think their opinions are important.
I still write some game reviews for free, though most of mine are for pay.
Reading reviews for certain things I’ve thought about buying have really helped me. I think it’s one of the great free things the web has to offer. Some opinions/reviews have scared me away, and some have convinced me to buy. I haven’t written any reviews myself, but I’d be happy to if I thought it’d help anyone else out.
It wasn’t something I’d ever done until I realized how useful aptratings.com was - I had actually put a deposit down on a place when I saw the reviews of it there. I rescinded that deposit and got my money back. Then I found the one that I’m at now on there, with only wonderful things to say (and this place is only $5 more a month!). I’ve found it to be very accurate as far as the good description.
So, if I feel strongly about something, I’ll write a review, either to encourage someone or to warn them off of it.
I’m one of the billions who write reviews for IMdB. Apparently, people do read the blasted things, because I get email from 'em. They usually fall into one of two categories: 1) Dude, you so totally got your facts wrong! and 2) Dude. I’m looking for information on this movie, it’s like a scavenger hunt. Hook me up!
Anyway, I do it because I’m prideful! As mentioned by HelloAgain, many of us here are desperately seeking validation of our thoughts and opinions.
I once wrote an extensive review of some casino software I bought once (Monopoly Casino, Vegas Edition) because I enjoyed it and I wanted other people to know it’s features and flaws before they sunk the $30 on it.
Because there is something in it for us! If I get more people to purchase a book that I like, then the author’s publishing company is more likely to publish another book by that author.
I use the reviews when deciding whether or not to purchase things so it’s only fair that I write them to help others. It’s like giving back to the “community.”
I write online reviews to either support a product I really like or dissuade others from purchasing it if I didn’t like it. It isn’t about my impact on the potential consumer as much as it is on the product.
I don’t mean this offensively so I apologize if it sounds that way - but I’m very surprised that this reason didn’t just occur to you after thinking about it for a while.
There is something in it for the review-writer: Status. Probably minor, but your name is still getting out there (if only through a pseudonym) and you are still being read by others (if only in your mind :)). The thought of influencing the decisions of others gives people positive mental reinforcement, which is enough for many people to keep doing it even without positive physical reinforcement. Humans are hard-wired to seek status and power, and being a reviewer gives us a taste of both.
I read reviews of books, movies, music and computer games on amazon.com when considering new things to get.
I used to write reviews as well, and got some interesting responses from people concerning the reviews. Some people were writers who use the reviewers’ email addresses to target advertise their books, others were those who liked my reviews, and one was from a person who didn’t like how I panned a particular book and expressed that sentiment to me vehemently
I just enjoyed writing the reviews. I find reading them helpful, so I figure that adding a review of my own can help others as well. As for whether or not my opinion is important: sure, to me it is
I don’t think it’s a matter of status or power or influence. For example, writing a negative review for a popular book will result in a lot of people negatively “grading” that review, yet people still write those negative reviews. Is it ego-boosting to write a review and have only 1 out of 20 reviewers find it helpful?
I just think it’s like these boards. People like to share their ideas with others, even if their ideas may not be popular.
It has been awhile since I have written a book review on amazon.com. I’m still a bit mad that they “edited” a negative review I made for that turd Stranger in a Strange Land.
I wrote this review of Anne Nivat’s Chienne de Guerre, the only one I’ve ever done, on Amazon.com because I care very deeply about the cause that the book illuminates. (See my recent GD thread on the Chechens for further detail.) It was anonymous, and I received no compensation of any kind for it. I just think that not enough people give a damn about the Chechens, or many other cultures that are being destroyed in conflicts that the West ignores almost entirely.
Chechnya: The Overlooked War, May 22, 2001
Reviewer: A reader from Chicago, Illinois USA
I’ve never been so compelled to keep reading a book that made me cry so hard. Anne Nivat describes in horrifyingly matter-of-fact detail the innumerable ways in which this “Russian internal conflict” has devastated ordinary Chechen people and their land.
The Western (especially the American) press too often picks up on the Russian military’s frequently espoused view that all Chechens are potentially violent rebels, and that one can’t be too careful in dealing with them, because each one of them is a potential combatant. Through her descriptions of the numerous people she meets in her journeys through Chechen villages and cities, Ms. Nivat manages to bring home the idea that the Chechens, no matter how Russian government propaganda or Russian public opinion may portray them, are human beings like all of us. Even if you believe that the Russian government has the right or the need to gain military or political control over Chechnya, it’s hard to believe after reading this book that this goal should be accomplished at the expense of the lives of thousands of ordinary human beings and the destruction of their homeland.
I’ve written reviews for a lot of books at amazon. I find that actually writing down what I thought about the book helps me to understand what its strengths and flaws are. However, I’ve almost totally stopped reading the reviews before I read the book, because so many of them contain huge spoilers. And yes, it has occurred to me that some of the glowing reviews might be written by the author or publisher, especially when they’re for very obscure novels that I found to be absolutely dreadful.
