Book reviewed: Reading the Comments - Likers, haters and manipulators at the bottom of the web, by Joseph Reagle

Book reviewed: Reading the Comments - Likers, haters and manipulators at the bottom of the web, by Joseph Reagle

Communication in the digital world: A study of the online reviews and comments

In this book, Joseph Reagle urges us to read the reviews about product and services and readers’ comments below it. This tells us much about communication in the digital age, the social behavior and human vulnerabilities. The comments on reviews inform and improve things; it can also alienate, manipulate and shape things. In some cases it is bemusing. But we can also learn about the advantages of moving first, the challenges of communication and the science of rating systems. Hate and harassment are also a part of online comments for which there is no easy solution. Ignoring trolls and haters do not end the problems. Identify the abusive behavior as odious and unwelcome, and support the targets of abuse, says the author.

The author observes in his research that people traffic in the illicit markets of comment. Many restaurateurs give coupons in exchange for reviews; authors ask friends or family to write reviews of their work, sometimes they may do that themselves; sock-puppets edit Wikipedia biographies; pundits purchase fake followers and friends; sites profit by manipulating user’s praise and pillory. There is an obsessive desire to rate and rank everything; this is a part of “Review–Demand” dynamics in the digital world. At Amazon.com, a merchant offered a refund to customers who would write a product review for the Amazon community. If the reviews do not mention the refund, they are likely in violation of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission guidelines of 2009. This rule requires disclosure of non-obvious “material connections” such as payments or free products. Amazon Vine program is dangerously close to this area and there are material connections. This rule also applies effectively from 2013 to tweets on Twitter. In Sep 2103, NY State Attorney General’s Office compelled 19 companies to stop fake online reviews and pay more than $350,000 in penalties. Many companies are willing to post fake reviews on Yelp, Google Local, and CitySearch by way of freelance writers from Philippines, Bangladesh and Eastern Europe for $1 to $10 per review.

The immense value of user’s online comments is clear and visible in the market place. In 2013 Amazon purchased Goodreads website, a book review and discussion site for $150 million. TripAdvisor was purchased by Expedia for $200 million, and Google purchased restaurant rating guide Zagat for $150 million. In chapter 7, entitled “Bemused”, author Joseph Reagle visits communities of Amazon reviewers and find fan fiction authors, online learners, scammers, freethinkers, and adults with mean spirits. He also notes that the television actor George Takei is well known Amazon community reviewer with a very large following. There is a considerable humor embedded in Takei’s reviews weather it is about a sex lube or radioactive materials or Geiger counters sold at Amazon.com. Tuscan whole milk, Three Wolf Moon t-shirt, and banana slicer are few other products which carried tremendous selling potential for humorous reviews, and they sold like hotcakes. Incidentally, reviews and comments and like/dislike votes are protected from First Amendment. In 2013, The U.S Court of Appeals in Virginia ruled that mere liking of a post on Facebook is still a “symbolic expression” and a substantive speech protected by the First Amendment. This simply goes to tell the power of online reviews and the comments below it. This is fun reading and I would recommend it to anyone interested in communication in digital age.