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Given that the users of moms4mom offer answers that will help other parents, I am just pondering the idea of whether reviewing or endorsing products could be a good idea for the site. Sometimes products are marketed in such a powerful way that as consumers, we could be drawn to them. Could the Moms4mom community, review and endorse products which they have personally used? Wouldn't this be helpful to other parents? Could this eventually generate income for the site?? |
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A good question. First, I think that we already do informal product reviews. Check out these questions: With books in particular, or really any product with an Amazon link, the software attempts to insert a localized moms4mom affiliate code, which does help bring in a bit of loose change, particularly around the Christmas season, which offsets the (eventual) hosting fees. I see nothing wrong with this stuff. I also think it would be ok if someone just posted a review of a product, but phrased it as a question and answer, as long as it is useful and not an obvious astroturfing job. We would take user reputation into account when deciding something like this. Thanks for the information Scott, and the "informal review" aspect is really great. I think that with time as the community grows, that side could develop too. How about a new tag or some sort of identifying badge showing answers with product reviews... The questions you posted above are great examples but those are asking for recommendations about which products, as an example of what I am suggesting I would like that parents have more information about Crocs shoes, before buying them, does that make sense to you?
(Jun 30 '10 at 02:54)
emination
@emination: Yeah, I think I understand what you're getting at. What if you asked a question asking for product reviews of Crocs shoes, and then answered with your own review. Then other people could add their own answers, and helpful reviews could get voted up. Would that work? You could certainly tag it as "review" or maybe "product-review".
(Jun 30 '10 at 05:33)
Scott ♦♦
@Scott I think I will give the review or Product Review tag a try and see maybe?
(Jun 30 '10 at 08:56)
emination
@emination: Sounds good. I'm sure you have enough rep to create a new tag :) but if not, let me know.
(Jun 30 '10 at 21:17)
Scott ♦♦
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Given the various countries the contributors come from, reviews of items not available here would most likely annoy me. On generating income: should the site really profit from free voluntary contributions? How can we make sure the reviews are unbiased when they are payed-for? I am sorry that to hear you would find that annoying, sincerely. We all travel and have the chance to shop for items that we want or think we want. My recent experience with the "Crocs" shoes got me thinking about this. Hearing the views and opinions first hand from a group of people who have used or are using products I am thinking of buying could be invaluable. For "Generating income" this would or could eventually come from advertising, and I am not too clear about what you mean in your final question. Could you please clarify?
(Jun 28 '10 at 10:15)
emination
1: well, if someone from the USA reviews something and it sounds like something I would love/need and it would not be available here, it would be terribly annoying to me :) especially if it would not be possible to get it shipped here for a reasonable fee. 2: ah, advertising. I imagine it would be difficult to get advertising if the reviews are not guaranteed to be in favour, hence also my remarks regarding the bias. How can I trust reviews if I know that it was paid for by the manufacturer?
(Jun 28 '10 at 10:24)
brandstaetter
Well I guess my idea was that you would use the reviews if you were looking to buy a particular product,that you wanted more information about, and not just read about...if you get what I mean. Your second point about the advertising...that should not have anything to do with the reviews, and your final point too. The reviews cannot be paid for by the manufacturer...this goes against the whole idea of the reviews opinions being written by parents spontaneously. I guess the title of review/endorse has slightly mislead you. Perhaps you should have been worded differently.
(Jun 29 '10 at 05:59)
emination
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