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Buzzillions and the Case of the Anonymous Reviewer

May 7th, 2009 janetherunner No comments

female-detective2One of the many hats that I wear as Review Manager at Buzzillions.com is a fedora.  My team makes it our business to detect and sniff at any suspicious reviews that come into our system – and let me tell you, that’s more than a few reviews. Individuals and companies are trying to game the system all the time!

I’ve been kind of quiet on the buzz blog for a while, but I wanted to chime in this week since review sites have been getting so much heat in the news. From the allegations against Yelp, to the Belkin scandal, to the most recent Amazon debacle, the media is looking to find the next shady review site. But they won’t find fodder for their next exposé on buzzillions.com. Not only do we post the good, the bad, and the ugly in our reviews, but we also go to great lengths to ensure that we represent those reviews in a way that is fair and transparent.

One review per-person, per-product

Unlike Yelp which uses an algorithm to suss-out reviews, all of our review quality assurance is done by a team right here in the office. Each day we search for duplicate reviews to take a first pass at the obvious offenders. We then comb through reviews in many different directions looking for unusual reviewer activity. Did we get 50 reviews by the same username in an hour? Did a particular product get 200 1-star reviews in a single day? Unusual behavior like this isn’t a surefire way to spot fraudulent reviews but cases like these raise red flags that prompt us to dive deeper into situation.

The purpose of my detective team is not to stifle user generated content – we certainly don’t want to stop someone writing lots of reviews for products that they own. But we want to uphold the ideal of one review per-person, per-product.

Verified Buyers

Our most powerful tool against review fraud is our Verified Buyer system. Any review that you see on Buzzillions with a Verified Buyer badge was written by someone who has actually bought the product. As a site built on user generated content, it is remarkable that we can take the doubt out of the equation for such a large number of our reviews.  This is also a brilliant way of addressing the issue of the Anonymous Reviewer.  Should people have the right to state their opinions about products and services without having to disclose their identity?  Most reviewers think so. But this is under hot debate from the ones reading reviews to the ones being reviewed: Can you trust an anonymous reviewer? Our Verified Buyer badge grants credibility to our reviews without forcing identity disclosure.

I have to hand it to the big guys like Yelp and Amazon for forging a path through the swamps of user generated content and teaching us how (and how not) to deal with the battles of free speech vs. inflammatory content and anonymity vs. trustworthiness. It’s no easy task.

So in the spirit of Buzzillions, which truly embraces our community of reviewers and all of their opinions (be they funny, edgy, glowing, or coarse), we rely on you, our readers, to help us become a better site. Mark helpful reviews so that the most useful ones stand out from the less constructive ones. And flag any review that appears to be a duplicate so we can whip out our trench coats and magnifying glasses and get on the case.

Categories: The Buzz Tags: , , , , ,

Reviewers Choice Awards

April 2nd, 2009 Jimbo No comments

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And the Reviewers’ Choice Award Goes to…


Lots of sites claim to be experts when it comes to products. And while this may be true in some cases, often products are reviewed by a handful of staff members, as opposed to real customers. The reviews and awards doled out, might seem the result of a thorough and trustworthy process, but what happens when that product leaves the lab or testing area and enters the real world? It’s hard to duplicate loading and unloading a stroller into a car twice a day, for three years, for example. And it’s doubtful any staff expert or tester has the time or inclination to see how a pair of hiking boots wear over time.

What we’ve come to believe with all our hearts here at Buzzillions, is that YOU are the experts. You’re the ones in the field. You’re the ones struggling to assemble a playhouse. You’re the ones cursing the long lag time of your new digital camera. You know if a product was worth the money because you’ve used it and you’ve been gracious enough to share your opinion.

We’d like to thank you for wanting to help others make a decision. We want to help you too, and to that end we’ve created the Buzzillions Reviewers’ Choice Awards. These awards are awarded to only the very best products. We base these awards on an algorithm that takes into account star ratings, number of reviews and the reliability of the reviewers (reviews by “Verified Buyers” were given more weight than the others for example). The #1-ranked product is awarded “Reviewers’ Choice Winner” and the 2nd through 5th ranked products are awarded “Reviewers’ Choice Finalist”. The bottom line is that real reviewers, real people have made these decisions. Not the manufacturers. Not the retailers. Not the staff here at Buzzillions. You.

We have both overall winners and winners as dictated by “User Personality”. While one set of headphones may get the Best Overall award, another might get the award for “Students” yet another for “Gear Heads” and yet another for “Audiophiles“. We’re particularly proud of our User Personality awards because you can easily find the top products as rated by people who are most like you. A “First Time Parent” can find the Baby Carrier most liked by other “First Time Parents.” “Casual Photographers” can find the best camera for them and be assured they probably don’t need to spend the money for the top of the line SLR as rated by “Photo Enthusiasts.” Even in Coffee Makers, our reviewers have identified the Coffee Maker for the “Everyday Drinker” so that us normal folks can confidently purchase a straightforward cup o’ joe machine.

 

*Note that these awards are NOT influenced by any sponsorship or payments. They are based solely on the product reviews of real consumers.* 

You can see all Reviewers’ Choice Award winners for 2008 here.

 

 

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When browsing for products, look for the distinctive green Buzzillions Reviewers’ Choice Award badge, and you’ll know you’ve found a standout within a category.
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Some Award Highlights


Toys, Baby and Kids:


And a few Overall winners in the category:

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Sports & Outdoor:


And a few Overall winners in the category:

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Electronics:

And a few Overall winners in the category:


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Home & Garden

And a few Overall winners in the category:

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Congratulations to all the 2008 Winners. You can see all Reviewers’ Choice Award winners for 2008 here.

Categories: Awards, The Buzz Tags: