InformationWeek reviews a report from JupiterResearch that indicates Blogs, Wikis, Forums Sway Consumer Opinion.
“The days of reading some review from an expert is dwindling because people want to obtain their information from other users,” Rogoway said. “If the social network is built around the topic, travel or cars for example, you can link to the person’s profile who wrote the review to see if their likes and dislikes are similar to yours,” Rogoway said.”
This can be seen very clearly when looking up a book on Amazon.com. I can read a brief blurb from industry sources such as Publishers Weekly. But I am also presented with some very interesting reviews from all types of readers. To be honest, those reviews can be very persuasive. One reason is voice – unlike a sometimes high-brow sounding review from an expert who is smarter than me, the user reviews give the air of a friend’s candor.