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Oct 26, 2009 -- Internet ratings may be overinflated

The Lake Wobegone effect has made its way into the realm of cyberspace.

Dow Jones recently reported that Internet ratings can be vastly inflated. The average YouTube rating is 4.6 stars! It's like grade inflation for online reviews. It seems we're all too kind in our opinions. Of course, that's probably better than being too mean!

Yet people are still tougher than tough when it comes to hotel reviews on TripAdvisor. Many hotels will have only one or two circles.

Buzzillions.com allows you to check out multiple review sites at a glance. Just remember, the actual content of user comments may be more valuable than the overinflated number of stars that are given out.

Unfortunately, Clark won't be able to answer any questions submitted via commenting. If you have a question, please try posting it to our message boards.

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What others are saying

  • My average rating on YouTube is 1 star
    That makes me feel bad because my average rating on YouTube is 1 star, and there is now zero star option :)

    I agree though that stores that want to sell stuff have an incentive to only have positive reviews. Nonetheless, I feel like you can get could criticism on products from amazon. I still try to use Consumer Reports though if it is a big purchase.
    By jk from va @ 10/28/09 05:05:01 PMreport abuse
  • It is about time, someone caught on....
    99 and 9/10th's of all those internet ratings are fakes! Plus, there should be a zero star!

    Businesses, post there own positive postings to lure in customers.


    They also hire “reputation defender” to “clean up” their bad business postings from customers, employees and business associates who have been “burned by them”.


    Skip review companies like City Search, Merchant Circle and such. The ONLY genuine review site is Rip off Report dot com. They don’t remove posts or “clean them up” for the benefit of an often corrupt, abusive business and its owners operating a scam on the public.
    By GYPSY THE CAT @ 10/28/09 01:50:28 PMreport abuse
  • Companies Reward for Good Ratings
    I recently received an offer from a friend for products below cost in exchange for posting positive reviews. Those who did it had to go post a number of positive reviews, and then go mark all previous good reviews helpful. It opened my eyes to rating inflation. I do usually find the ratings very helpful, but I will be more careful from now on.
    By Jen @ 10/27/09 08:22:37 PMreport abuse
  • Always read the comments and use multiple review sites
    I agree completely. In all aspects of the star rating system, whether it be a youtube video, coffee beans on amazon or a local auto mechanic, the ratings mean very little in some cases. If I'm reviewing something online I lean toward a product or service by the content of relevant positive comments and I tend to ignore the negative comments unless they're specific and grammar friendly. I never heed advice from people who cannot spell or use proper grammar somewhat consistently.

    Thanks for the Buzz site Clark, using multiple review sites is like a formula for perfection, and one site that gives you all this is convenience perfected.
    By Chris @ 10/27/09 12:33:43 PMreport abuse
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