Filtered for Your Pleasure

As much as we like to think that the internet is the great leveler for the tiny consumer versus the faceless corporation, it’s better not to think your product reviews on a company website are a given.

Reading SmartMoney magazine I came across a story by Anne Kadet about PowerReviews, “a little-known outfit  processes reviews for online stores.” She adds that “Since the company’s 2005 launch, it has screened 9 million reviews.”

Kadet’s feature describes PowerReviews as the filter that many online stores use to screen out profanity, obviously false (inauthentic!) or off-topic reviews.

It’s an interesting story if you’ve ever wondered why your complaint about bad customer service at ACME Co. went missing:

“They also erase complaints about customer service; if it’s not relevant to the product. They even wipe out inflammatory passages that claim a product causes death or injury–no need to help the lawyers.”

So, retailers scrub the reviews on a regular basis. Oh well, even so if you have a gripe you can always blog, Tweet or Facebook about it on your own. And you should.