One
thing that stood out to me in “What Would Google Do?” was on the very first
page where it says “Customers are now in charge. They can be heard around the
globe and have an impact on huge institutions in an instant.” I totally agree,
for I remember when there was no way to leave a comment on a product you love
or wasted money on, let alone purchase it while sitting on your own couch. One
can influence many by leaving a negative comment on a product or inspire
someone to purchase said product due to the glowing review you gave on Amazon.
The other thing that stood out to me was “Dell Hell.” I never did throw my
money in the fire by purchasing a Dell, but my mom and quite a few friends did.
My mother spent hours on the phone with their help line and my roommate’s
computer was awful. I’m just surprised that so many had the very same problems
my roommate and mother had.
The
concept of “customers are now in charge,” definitely relates because I don’t
buy anything (to an extent) until I’ve done like an hours’ worth of research on
which product sells the best stuff. I also prefer to buy online if possible, so
often times I will pass on a product in store, to check if I can get it cheaper
online or if the reviews suck. This empowerment has helped the everyday shopper
if they have the time to do a little research and know how to do basic things
on a computer or even phone.
For me,
it was hard to argue against any of the points made by Jarvis but one
especially. The idea that there are idiots on the internet, Jarvis recognizes
and notes that there are idiots everywhere and their message was in a more
controlled form back then. One may argue that their voice shouldn’t be heard if
they're such an idiot, but one must take the bad with the good. For every
internet troll, there are people who offer info on all kinds of things for
free.
One
example of how the internet is used by selfless people is online forums.
Whether it’s a saltwater fish tank or fixing my truck, I’ve used forums that
have walked me through fixing whatever issue I’ve had. Many people are forced
to take their vehicles to a mechanic but I just scour the internet for a while
until I find someone else who has experienced my same problem. 99% of the time
I find what I’m looking for.
I, too, spend way more time than necessary looking at online reviews for products. I just got a new tablet for my birthday this summer and was having one heck of a time figuring out what the best one for me would be. I ended up in the electronics section at Walmart (not somewhere you want to be if you need help with decision making) so I started looking up reviews on my phone! There was one tablet that stood out to me (visually and physically) but when I looked up the reviews, it had a 1.75/5 stars. I moved on, but didn't really like the other options. Then I began to read the actual comments, the reasons for the low ratings, and I nearly fell down laughing! Every review was either glowing, or clearly written by someone who had never seen any piece of technology before. One person even gave a 1 star review because "the charging cord is slightly difficult to unplug from the tablet." Yea. That happened. So after reading cringeworthy reviews, I bought the first one I liked and have loved it every day since! Just because the reviews are there (and even have an average rating) it is just like you said, where anyone can say anything on the internet. Sometimes you need to read the drivel people put out there, just to realize what is good and what is bad.
ReplyDeleteAnna,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Sometimes looking at the reviews a little more in depth, you can find that some people who leave the reviews shouldn't be. There are some poorly reveiwed products but like you did, reading why they dislike it can help weed out the bad reviews.