Comments on: Digital Natives as Customers and Critics http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/digitalnatives/2008/11/20/digital-natives-as-customers-and-critics/ Berkman investigators, fellows, research assistants and interns sound off about all things Digital Natives Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:33:54 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: dax http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/digitalnatives/2008/11/20/digital-natives-as-customers-and-critics/comment-page-1/#comment-2368 dax Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:21:12 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/digitalnatives/?p=244#comment-2368 While a good start, the problem of Yelp is just like all the crowd-raters, they are impersonal and subject to anonymous flaming...and they are NOT local, so good luck if your a business owner in chicago, trying to get a fair shake, from a faulty review.....Yelp is lightyears away from any local customers (ie paid staffers doing the reviewings) All centralized service providers all have the same structural problem. While a good start, the problem of Yelp is just like all the crowd-raters, they are impersonal and subject to anonymous flaming…and they are NOT local, so good luck if your a business owner in chicago, trying to get a fair shake, from a faulty review…..Yelp is lightyears away from any local customers (ie paid staffers doing the reviewings)

All centralized service providers all have the same structural problem.

]]> By: Kerry http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/digitalnatives/2008/11/20/digital-natives-as-customers-and-critics/comment-page-1/#comment-2361 Kerry Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:58:24 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/digitalnatives/?p=244#comment-2361 I think Yelp is an important tool, but I also feel like it can be "gamed" fairly easily. Anyone can register for the site, so it's relatively simple for a business to "plant" positive reviews if it chooses that route. And I don't think that catering specifically to a small group of Yelp fanatics makes a business good for everyone--just good for those Yelpers. On the other hand, Yelp is also a great way for (smart) business owners to identify and deal with complaints that do come up, and I have seen many reviews amended based on a business owner's followup with the disgruntled customer. Maybe that'll teach us to voice complaints in person rather than run home to Yelp about a bad experience! I think Yelp is an important tool, but I also feel like it can be “gamed” fairly easily. Anyone can register for the site, so it’s relatively simple for a business to “plant” positive reviews if it chooses that route. And I don’t think that catering specifically to a small group of Yelp fanatics makes a business good for everyone–just good for those Yelpers. On the other hand, Yelp is also a great way for (smart) business owners to identify and deal with complaints that do come up, and I have seen many reviews amended based on a business owner’s followup with the disgruntled customer. Maybe that’ll teach us to voice complaints in person rather than run home to Yelp about a bad experience!

]]> By: kurquoise http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/digitalnatives/2008/11/20/digital-natives-as-customers-and-critics/comment-page-1/#comment-2350 kurquoise Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:35:00 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/digitalnatives/?p=244#comment-2350 Oh definitely! I didn't mean at all to imply that Yelp is exclusive to digital natives, and the site's success is its ability to reach such a wide range of users. At the same time, a large part of the community is under 30 and the founders themselves can be called digital natives. Having these open forums for feedback is something that digital natives have grown up around, which is what is unique. Oh definitely! I didn’t mean at all to imply that Yelp is exclusive to digital natives, and the site’s success is its ability to reach such a wide range of users. At the same time, a large part of the community is under 30 and the founders themselves can be called digital natives. Having these open forums for feedback is something that digital natives have grown up around, which is what is unique.

]]> By: Ken Leebow http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/digitalnatives/2008/11/20/digital-natives-as-customers-and-critics/comment-page-1/#comment-2348 Ken Leebow Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:21:31 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/digitalnatives/?p=244#comment-2348 You do not have to be a digital native to use and enjoy Yelp or other social media sites. I enjoy reviewing restaurants on Yelp and reading reviews of restaurants that I am thinking of dining at. And, I ain't no digital native. You do not have to be a digital native to use and enjoy Yelp or other social media sites. I enjoy reviewing restaurants on Yelp and reading reviews of restaurants that I am thinking of dining at. And, I ain’t no digital native.

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