Follow Up Reviews - How can they be better?

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Follow Up Reviews - How can they be better?

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Contributor: LicentiouslyYours LicentiouslyYours
Did you know that a follow-up review isn't required?

I mention this because lots of people do them, but few put much in the way of new or additional useful information in their follow-ups.

Once you put the follow-up out there, useful or not, it becomes a part of your whole review and if you've not added to the usefulness of your existing review, people will vote with this in mind.

We can all go back and edit the body of our reviews to include information we may have forgotten and if you are reviewing a product that you've had for a year, including information on how you feel about the product today in the body of your review is appropriate.

Why bring this up? Because a follow-up review isn't going to automatically benefit you as a contributor just because you submitted it. The quality of information is judged just as your original review is and your ranking can go up or down, depending on the usefulness of the information included.

In my opinion, a follow-up review should be done when you have new information that was not available to you at the time you wrote the review. Say, for example, you write a review and a week later your toy breaks or a month later you find yourself using the toy every day when at first you didn't care for it.

I, for one, would like to see more useful information included in follow-ups and more thought given to what might be included. If the only thing you can think of to say in a follow-up is that you still hate a toy and tossed it out 2 months ago, immediately after completing the original review then don't do a follow-up.

What are some of your thoughts about what makes a useful follow-up review?
01/19/2010
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Contributor: El-Jaro El-Jaro
Quote:
Originally posted by LicentiouslyYours
Did you know that a follow-up review isn't required?

I mention this because lots of people do them, but few put much in the way of new or additional useful information in their follow-ups.

Once you put the follow-up out there, ... more
I agree with you on the usefulness factor. If someone pops up two weeks later saying that it's awesome...that doesn't tell me much, just that your product still works...good.

I don't think a follow up review should even be available within 6 months of the original unless the toy breaks, gets lost inside somewhere, or is otherwise faulty.

Maybe if a follow up review is submitted, a new round of voting goes into effect or the old ranking resets with the new info.

Other than what's above, I've gotten the impression that follow ups are desired after 2 months; the system sets up reminders to do them. "I only do what the Computer tells me. I love the Computer".
01/19/2010
Contributor: Red Red
I've always felt this bizzare sense of responsibility when i see "write follow up review" beside something on my assignment list. Like, I can't follow up too soon because I need to include meaningful long term information. But then, at some point I should say something - it's like a challenge, there MUST be something to add!

So thanks for posting this. I definitely need to remind myself that if all I'm saying is "Yeah, so, it's pretty awesome" that I need to step away from the follow up, and that everything will be ok.
01/19/2010
Contributor: Sammi Sammi
This is a good reminder
01/20/2010
Contributor: Gary Gary
This is a good point. I don't think people intentionally leave out information, but it would be a good thing to not rush the follow-ups and to make sure that something valuable is included!
01/20/2010
Contributor: ~LaUr3n~ ~LaUr3n~
Quote:
Originally posted by Red
I've always felt this bizzare sense of responsibility when i see "write follow up review" beside something on my assignment list. Like, I can't follow up too soon because I need to include meaningful long term information. But ... more
I'm totally the same! I gotta click it! And 9 times out of 10 I do have something good to add.

I'm guessing this thread was partially started because of me even though I know and was told this an issue across the board. I used to make my follow ups a lot longer. Then I started seeing them as blurbs and I am guilty a time or two or three of following that trend when...like Red said...I get that sense that I just gotta go it. Less is more sometimes! Gotta remind myself of that. If we trust the usefulness of our reviews, we shouldn't NEEEEEED a follow-up unless the toy gets tossed, breaks, new ways are found to use it ect.

I don't think there is anything wrong with adding a followup even if it is the next day if something changed. But, you could also edit and include in your review also right? I used to do this before we even had the option of followup reviews. I think I'll go back to that a bit more.

P.S. We do need a "I like it less button"!!!!!
01/20/2010
Contributor: Dragon Dragon
Quote:
Originally posted by LicentiouslyYours
Did you know that a follow-up review isn't required?

I mention this because lots of people do them, but few put much in the way of new or additional useful information in their follow-ups.

Once you put the follow-up out there, ... more
Actually, I'd disagree with one of your key points.

Without going back and doublechecking, just writing a follow up review is a pretty strong factor in your "activity" ranking. For those people, that find this actually matters this is something that they do. How highly ranked the review is, is a lower factor. Almost all of the "ranking" on a review is done initially when written - not after the follow up's.

As for useful "follow-ups", the last time that I checked the ability to "edit" a follow up review didn't exist. It should. I know of at least one follow up review that I changed with the help of email and Eden staff.

I make a point of trying to periodically go back to all my reviews and see if there is something more that I want to indicate. Sometimes that's just that I'm no longer using that particular item. Sometimes I recognize that a follow up is not appropriate - yet. My follow- up reviews have varied tremendously in length, but I am aware of all reviews that I have not done a follow up on and the reasons why.
01/20/2010
Contributor: Miss Cinnamon Miss Cinnamon
Up until the system started sending the "It's been 2 months since you submitted this review, wanna write a follow-up?" (paraphrased) messages, I never felt an "obligation" to write a follow-up for a review unless my further experiences with the product could contribute some new information. Now that those notifications are sent (and yes, I know you can uncheck the box for reminders, but I often forget), I still don't write follow-ups willy-nilly, but I get this naggy feeling in the back of my head.

While I believe the most useful/common follow-ups should be of the "I don't like it any more" and the "I've started to like it more" varieties, "I still like it" and "I still don't like it" can be useful too.

"I still like it", submitted after a significant period of time (I'd say longer than the typical two months), tells readers that this toy is durable. It hasn't broken yet, and it's still vibrating like it was when it was fresh out of the box.

"I still don't like it", submitted after about two months, especially on a review where the reviewer admits that they are not too experienced with this kind of toy, or that they suspect that there is a learning curve/more time is needed to figure it out, tells readers that it's NOT just a time issue. The reviewer just couldn't make this toy work for them.

Follow-ups can be a GREAT source of information and a valuable part of a review that takes the period of time after the original review into account. However, if the review was written long after the toy was purchased and used? I see no reason for a follow-up as little as a few weeks after the original review was written unless it has broken or the user had some kind of break through. Anything that can be included in the original review, should be included.

Sorry for the run-on sentences
01/20/2010
Contributor: Miss Cinnamon Miss Cinnamon
Quote:
Originally posted by ~LaUr3n~
I'm totally the same! I gotta click it! And 9 times out of 10 I do have something good to add.

I'm guessing this thread was partially started because of me even though I know and was told this an issue across the board. I used to make ... more
We have an "I don't like it any more" option. Or do you mean you want more shades of gray? Since we write our follow-ups, I see the four follow-up options as analogous to the star rating system. We can't give a product 3.5 stars, but we can clearly indicate all the pros and cons that lead to that rating in our review.
01/20/2010
Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Quote:
Originally posted by Dragon
Actually, I'd disagree with one of your key points.

Without going back and doublechecking, just writing a follow up review is a pretty strong factor in your "activity" ranking. For those people, that find this actually matters ... more
Follow ups can be edited and have been able to be edited for awhile now


Also, with follow ups showing up on the community page, they get more looks than they used to so they also get the review more votes and comments by those who may have missed it the first time and that is where they really effect rank. Simply writing them is only 4% of your rank. The additional comments and votes are a much larger part of your rank and this is where people are manipulating the system.

Most of the folks who are writing... let's say less than useful... follow ups are also doing it on the same day as they post a review or two because they've noticed it will immediately boost their rank. Manipulating the system has always been done and always will be done but the least folks could do is a USEFUL follow up. Useful follow ups aren't an issue no matter when they're done.

It's the useless bits of nothingness that are being discouraged.

Even I'm guilty of doing some silly and unnecessary follow ups but when it becomes constant with people is when it's really an issue.
01/20/2010
Contributor: Dragon Dragon
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
Follow ups can be edited and have been able to be edited for awhile now


Also, with follow ups showing up on the community page, they get more looks than they used to so they also get the review more votes and comments by those who may have ... more
Good to know... Thanks Carrie Ann!
01/20/2010
Contributor: Victoria Victoria
One of the reasons we added the "I like it more", "I don't like it any more" buttons was to aid people in giving useful feedback. Click the button of your choice, then qualify that little blurb.

Oh, you still like it? Well, why? Is it because it's reliable and you've found it to be your go-to toy? ...Or conversely: Hmm, you don't like it anymore? What happened?

It's also a nice visual for your readers - a quick check on whether it turned out well for you in the long run.

These were added quite a while ago and not because of any one person - but for the community as a whole.
01/20/2010