Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Crowdsourced Reviews:
Crowdsourcing of reviews seemed like such a good idea. Lots of perspectives, large sample size, people do it for free, and there's a fast turn-around time. However, if the Internet has demonstrated one thing, it’s that people will find a way to game the system. For example, a restaurant owner might pay a few people to post negative reviews about a competitor.
Also, think about this: who is most motivated to post a review? People who have either really great or terrible experiences...but bad experiences seem to produce more motivation than good ones.
Professional Reviews
Professional reviewers are people who are employed by newspapers, magazines, or websites to write reviews. They're far from perfect, but they’re the best option right now. They still might have some unconscious biases, though. Despite that small snag—which can be mitigated by reading competing reviewers—professionally produced reviews tend to be pretty solid. Established reviewers or reviewing organizations have reputations to uphold, which helps keep them honest. They’re still susceptible to bribery and whatnot, but as long as you do a little homework and don’t blindly trust, you’re good to go.
