Expert Reviews vs. Crowdsource Reviews

Do you remember the first reviews of Titanic at Tokyo’s International Film Festival? They were just lukewarm! This movie got nominated for 14 Academy Awards!

The biggest Bollywood grosser for this year is ‘3 Idiots’. It received 5 stars. After watching the movie I wondered why I wasted my money.

This shows that reviews from experts are not everything. When it comes to movies, books, music and so on, it’s a matter of personal choice. It is always good to supplement your review hunt by asking friends and family that share common interests. A couple of super foodie critic reviews might scare you from some pretty decent dining. That’s why I like websites like Yelp where anyone can come and review a restaurant dining experience.

I wonder if this is the start to an era where the reviews of the masses become the expert critics. The Itunes App store depends on consumer reviews. These days the sale of a product can gain momentum just by great consumer reviews from sites like Amazon. I never put anything in my shopping cart until I read fellow customer reviews.

So who knows best about what you like, you or a high paid critic?

Reference:

"Digital Domain - How Many Reviewers Should Be in the Kitchen? - NYTimes.com"

Image 1: www.yelp.com Image 2. www. epinions.com

Crowdsourcing - Is it really the crowd or is it a game of ‘Where’s Waldo?’ ...Maybe both?

“Crowdsourcing” – when I first looked at this word it seemed completely foreign to me. But after watching “YouTube - Jeff Howe - Crowdsourcing" I realized this is a concept, which I have known all my life. Only now it has a more technological edge to it.

It reminded me of football betting. The bookie moves the point spread left and right based on how the crowd is betting. The final spread is the crowd’s prediction of the game’s outcome. One can say that is gambling using Crowdsourcing!


After having these thoughts I read "The Myth of Crowdsourcing - Forbes.com". Then I started to wonder - is “Crowdsourcing” using the crowd to find the best solution or is it finding the most intelligent person in the crowd who can give you the best answer?


I think the essence of Crowdsourcing is putting forth a problem in a diverse crowd to come up with a collective unique solution. Otherwise, it is just hunting for talent. I know that some problems could be too complex for a person who isn’t knowledgeable in a particular field. But, even so, can’t the unknowledgeable crowd still put forth diverse ideas, which could lead to the final solution?

The book “The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few”, by James Surowiecki explains in an interesting way how groups are better at solving certain problems. The link provides a good audio sample of the book.

What happens in Vegas really stays in Vegas??

Back home in India, it was fun to catch my mother eavesdropping outside my bedroom door. She always claimed to be doing laundry, (the machines were opposite my door) but I knew she couldn't stand it when the door was closed and she could hear whispering. So I find it funny that I can’t convince her to join Facebook and see what I am up to in the US. She could get tons more “gossip” by perusing Facebook than trying to hear through a wooden door.

After reading, "Improving Your Ability to Share and Connect" by Mark Zuckerberg, I started thinking about how Facebook social networking allows people from many societies and cultures to connect. It has developed an interesting open system network ("Introduction to Social Network Theory" by Charles Kadushin) where you realize how the world is slowly becoming a connected village. But it also provides a conduit for the society and family back home to make sure you behaving in accordance with their social norms.

"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, no longer applies. As a girl from a conservative Indian family gets dressed for a party in the US, she has to ask herself, “Will my friends and family in India approve of this?” Is Facebook the new nosy neighbor watching you from her window while calling your mom to tell her what you are up to?

First blog in Kogod Lab

This is my first time blogging....first assignment for a class!

I just returned from a month of vacation from India. I always gloat about how its always a treat to go back home because everything is so cheap compared to the USA- but this time when I walked into my favorite restaurant I realized the prices of food items have gone up drastically. I paid Rs. 85 for a cheese onion uttapam! The cost of this dish was half price just 2 yrs ago!

I don't think I will be able to gloat about the prices for long!



“On my honor, all posts on this blog are my own”.