As noted by Mike Boland and Peter Krasilovsky today, Yahoo! Local just rolled out its first redesign in two years with a focus on user-generated content. I know this is a big deal and involves huge sums of money, advertisers and visitors… but I’ve never had anyone tell me that they use this service… an arbitrary measure, but one that’s hard for me to shake. Peter K. compares it to an Oldsmobile… and I guess I’ve never had anyone crow about their Oldsmobile to me either… solid, always there.
Does GM still make Oldsmobiles?
UPDATE: Some more reviews of Yahoo! Local’s changes. First, eNeighbors does a good job sussing out Yahoo’s potential to get neighbors providing content to each other. Here’s someone echoing what we’ve been finding with Front Porch Forum.
And Greg Sterling weighs in… interesting comments to his post.
According to David Weinberger today…
According to the Center for Media Research:
A recent survey on current attitudes towards customer ratings and reviews by Bazaarvoice and Vizu Corporation, shows that about three out of four shoppers say that it is extremely or very important to read customer reviews before making a purchase, and they prefer peer reviews over expert reviews by a 6-to-1 margin.
Of couse, Bazaarvoice provides customer review capabilities to vendors.
I don’t know about the 6-to-1 spread, but I don’t doubt people’s preference for peer reviews. And we find with Front Porch Forum that folks like reviews from nearby neighbors even better… one of the most common types of posting on the FPF neighborhood forums.
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more