Deja.com Invites Views
Site adds rating system that lets consumers share product assessments.
by Anne Fischer Lent, special to PC World
May 11, 1999, 2:49 p.m. PT
Deja.com gives the serious consumer a voice--in fact, it hosts a whole chorus. The site's Deja Discussions have always encouraged Web visitors to chat about products and consumer issues. Now those voices are getting specific through the Deja Ratings system.
For such topics as arts and entertainment, computing and technology, health, money, sports, and travel, you can get up-to-the-minute advice about what's best in the commercial world. Deja.com's new rating system makes this a far more interesting and informative site than it was as simply a discussion forum. While it's great to let people have their say, the anonymity of the Web enables back-stabbing and sniveling comments. Deja.com made a good move by emphasizing its rating system rather than promoting the discussion forums that give voice to a loud handful of low-level head-bangers.
It's also good thing that the rating system is not all about commercial products. The news section, for example, rates TV shows, newscasters, and magazines, and invites visitors to join discussions about nearly all the hot topics in the news. Some of the content is humorous, such as comments about Sam Donaldson's hairstyle. But some is as disheartening as the news events themselves, such as the discussion of the Columbine High School shootings. Also disheartening is the overwhelming evidence that most Web surfers can't write or spell. But I digress.
People's Choice
The new Deja Ratings system is easy to use. Just click on the product or topic of your choice, then rate it. For example, clicking on Destinations in Europe lets you rate your favorite place according to attractions, food, friendliness, and cost/benefit. All the information you enter is automatically summarized in a rating system that is shown as a bar chart. Scores range from 1 to 5 for each category (1 is bad and 5, great), and the system generates an overall score. You can also read individual comments submitted.
This system is a popular way to rate specific consumer products and works quite well for that purpose. But it falls short in some content areas. In the travel section, for example, some places aren't rated at all or haven't yet been rated by enough site visitors (a minimum of five) to warrant a summary. And some numerical ratings don't give enough feedback to make educated travel decisions. For example, what does a rating of "3" for the category "food" mean? All of the food in a given country can't be only average. Specific details are not this site's strong suit.
However, ratings of hard-core consumer products--digital cameras, for example--are very useful. Some of the cameras were rated by nearly 200 people, returning what I think are trustworthy averages. The next step is being able to click on a link to a site that sells that product, and you've found the true beauty of electronic commerce.
Copyright © 2000 PC World Communications. All Rights Reserved. Use of this service is subject to the PC World.com Terms of Service Agreement.
PC World.com complies with the ASME Guidelines with IDG Extensions for new media.
Try the magazine: Get 2 Risk-Free Issues!
This is a computer-edited content for no-frames display browsers or clawlers.
To see the fully formated content, get a frames-capable browser and surf to http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,10911,00.html