Standardization = Good rating

When everybody in the US is buying the same windows, the same doors... Then rating reliability is much more easy. In fact, it is just statistics ! When many people are speaking the same language and at the same time are using the same kind of products... then Internet ratings are reliable. However, when you take a look at Europe... Italian style is different than German, French and Spanish. So is Internet rating an utopia in these countries ? Yes and No. Yes because you cannot count on the number, No because you can replace numbers by software technology !

Rating a cultural thing?

I'm convinced that the culture has a big role to play with rating and even more important with Internet rating. My wife is american and as such we travel a lot to the US. For a European person like myself it is always interesting and "funny" to see the form we have to fill coming to the US. And I'm always wondering if people coming in are honest or not on the check box they choose. So clearly, the cultural aspect of the rating is important and a good and reliable Internet rating system should take this in consideration.

In a nutshell, understanding the culture will make or break an Internet rating system. Thinking that a system could be created in the US and applied in Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, China without a good understanding of the cultural aspect is clearly an utopia.

Is Internet rating reliable?

It always fascinate me when a friend, or even my wife is buying something on the Internet and discovers after "googling" the company to be frighten to  see lots of results combining the name of the company and the word "scam". So what is the best option? The grall is named Internet rating. The promise is very simple, one day you will be able to read ratings on restaurants, services, a friend, a future employee and you will know that this rating is honest and is a good representation. This day we will have been able to transform the Internet rating into something even bigger, the Internet Word of Mouth. What's is the difference? As soon as you talk about Internet rating or blogs, forums, etc. you never know who is the source of the rating or the information? Is it the hotel owner rating his rooms? Is it the computing company orchestrating their forums? In a word, suspicion is always in our mind. We love the Internet but we doubt that information are as reliable as they seams. With Internet word of mouth the promise is very different, word of mouth is usually coming from people we trust (our family, friends, etc.). The Internet will be the most powerful communication tool, when everybody will be able to find what they need with the same level of trust as with the word of mouth. Is it impossible? No. It will come, be ready.