Seeing Forests

Gregg Stewart over at Search Engine Watch says that Local Search Lives or Dies by User Reviews.  I would have thought actually having decent search results would somehow be central to the long-term viability of “Local Search”.  But, sure, User Reviews, got to have them.  Just slap up a little box, add a few stars, and bang, Ratings and Reviews!  Now we’ll just sit back and be inundated with all those wonderful reviews of double full-page advertising plumbers.  

Cue theme from Jeopardy…Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo doo.  Doo, doo, doo, doo, DOO, duh-doo-duh-doo-doo…

Now, I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure that every IYP out there with Ratings and Reviews is just not seeing  a Yelp materializing in their midst.  Why?  Because Yelp is not about Ratings and Reviews.  It’s about a more evolved sense of social interaction (usually involving two people and a candlelight dinner).  There has to be a core brand proposition that encompasses Ratings and Review.  Your typical Local Search brand just isn’t big enough to embrace that position.  A deeper problem needs to be solved here, one about intention and motivation and value that’s not solved by AJAX.  You want Ratings and Reviews do what Google does - use somebody else’s.

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