The all and mighty power of the public

As if in response to my last blog – AdAge reports today that “Consumer-written Product Reviews Increase in Importance.” According to a Jupiter Research report, “48 percent of online shoppers find it critical that retailers post reviews.” And, that the number of online shoppers who found reviews to be the most important feature doubled within a year (2005 to 2006).

The reference to a report is really a press release for the importance of the site Bazaarvoice.com – but it’s of a greater significance to us as web enthusiasts because it proves our voices are important. They are powerful. In essence we trust each other more than we trust the media or the corporations that profit from our purchases.

What this also gives credit to is the idea that there is a collective voice that is organic and uncontrolled – or rather it identifies that there is the potential for a voice that cannot be corrupted. It is pure…I pause now because I realize that just as marketing companies have latched onto MySpace to launch their wares…they will soon find a way to buy those voices. Ugh, I hate being so pessimistic.