I like to say that I heart user reviews on websites, but that’s not across-the-board accurate. I am smitten with the reviews on epicurious.com, even when they’re not that useful; I groove on the reviews on Amazon.com, as long as they are useful; I avoid the reviews on imdb.com; and I am unmotivated to add reviews to Open Worldcat.
Even at that, I can parse out my assessments about site reviews. Epicurious gets a high rating from me because the reviews are generally brief but intense, like this recipe for baby back ribs, with the give and take I’d expect from home cooks. But the entries should have a “?” rating option so that users with questions don’t give a recipe zero stars, which can skew its rating badly. Still, I give Epicurious points for the personal notebook feature–even though I don’t use it. I wish I could have a way to track reviews of recipes I have commented on or where I find the reviews interesting.
I also routinely check the Amazon reviews of books, and sometimes contribute reviews as well. I’m not discouraged by lunkhead reviews; I keep reading Amazon reviews even if the last item I viewed didn’t have helpful user input. I’m one of 203 reviewers for Jarhead, which has had brisk reviews falling across the spectrum. As far as I know, I can’t subscribe to this item to track its reviews, or otherwise follow “who’s saying something I’ve said something about.” That’s one of my complaints about Open Worldcat, so you’d think I’d have the same complaint about Amazon. Is it a “critical mass” issue–that I understand users are reading my reviews on Amazon in a way they aren’t (or so I suspect) on Open Worldcat? Does it have to do with my ability to see everything I’ve reviewed, as opposed to my sense on Open Worldcat that I’ve released a minnow into the ocean? (Also, am I the only Amazon user who has to curb the impulse to rate a review unhelpful if I disagree with it?)
I don’t precisely understand why I find the reviews on imdb.com to be generally worthless. I read cookbooks, and think I’m reasonably food-smart, so it’s not as if an Epicurious review where someone says they substituted Cool Whip for heavy cream is a nuance I miss. I don’t confuse Amazon readers with the New York Times Book Review. Yet I assiduously avoid the personal reviews on IMDB, skipping directly to the “external reviews” and then to my favorite reviewers. Would I feel the same about Epicurious if well-known chefs weighed in on the recipes in a special “external reviews” section? (“Thumbs down from Nigella…”) Or (factoring in my experience on Amazon) is it that the recipes:movies analogy is a fallacy?
Then again, maybe it’s all personal, and user by user the response is much different. Does anyone know?
Posted on this day, other years:
- ALA Member Participation Task Force Blog - 2006
- O Holy Shopping Day, Further Thoughts on Yahoo-See-El-See, and Cats in Casts - 2004
- Bancroft Break-In: Are We Ready for Prime Time? - 2003
I tend to use the aggregate ratings (stars, thumbs, etc) rather than the individual reviews on most items like movies, etc. On some purchases though I would look at what people are saying as there may be specific faults/pros (cameras, etc).
I find MetaCritic a good alternate to IMDB to get non-user opinions so that I get both.
I also watch the number of reviews and factor that in when I’m looking at the rating. A recipe with two reviews, both positive, doesn’t inspire my confidence as much as a recipe with 20 reviews, some of which are negative.
Will Open WorldCat reviews ever be seen by anyone? I do not know how OCLC will make them known to the world at large. It will be a big feat to do so. I have added over twenty reviews to see if I could help a little. It was not hard since I had already written them for my own blog. I would like to see them succeed somehow. It would be cool to see all the content go into library catalogs and encourage readers to partner with libraries. Maybe someday.
“I don’t precisely understand why I find the reviews on imdb.com to be generally worthless.” –
Perhaps because so many of them seem to be written by puerile reviewers obsessed with one of the cast members?
LOL… I guess I’m really asking “why doesn’t IMDB get the same caliber of reviews as Amazon?”
Rick, what keeps you adding the reviews? I find I feel discouraged, even when I have readymade reviews to plug in… droplets into an ocean.
I am an optomist. I am hoping to be in at the start of something. It could happen. It is easy. It is a free way to spread my content. I like to root for the underdogs. Even if not much comes of the Open WorldCat, maybe I will have learned something in the process.
Bravo Rick! You make great reasons for writing WorldCat reviews. Now let’s get OCLC to listen to us. Hello Big O?
Karen, I blogged a bit more about this idea, mentioning your feelings. In a nice way, of course. Rick
And also, why is After Henry showing up as a work of fiction written by Simon Brett?!? Guess that’s one of those errors in WorldCat we learned about in cataloging.
In all fairness, that appears to be the case, if Amazon is to be believed. Remember that works can show up with the same title.
Oh, duh–good point. Titles not copyrighted. I’ve been on a rampage of catching (usually accidental) catalog errors at MPOW, and it must be spilling over.
That’s ok, we all love librarians on a rampage. 🙂 Like “I gotta weed this range if it KILLS ME!” Been there! Love the feeling!