I find the internet to be a wonderful source for everything—I could not live without it. It facilitates our lives so much. You do not have to go anywhere because almost anything is a button away. One can go shopping without going to the mall, one can do research and read books without going to the library.
Also, the internet is a way for people to express themselves and generate valuable information. I, like the people in the article, believe that UGC is extremely helpful for companies and people in general. I find reviews, blogs, and Q & A walls to be very helpful for the people in general.
I like to shop online a lot, so I really like that many companies let people write their reviews. Because through the comments of people that have bought the item I get feedback from people like me and know the opinion of people outside the retailers about the item.. Granted, they are opinions and subjective responses. But the reviews are mostly, in my experience, about general expectations of a product that most people have and not about ‘oh like them or not’, which is more subjective. Most of the time the review tells you, for example, that the shoe is greener in person or that the dress runs small because the person usually is another size. Like the article says, having reviews minimizes returns, thus increasing profits. Because through reviews I know what to expect, be it a darker color or know to order it in a bigger size.
Another personal story that relates to UGC and blogs…When I was sick with mono I googled my symptoms—that I had an unbearable throat pain. And I found sites of people saying they had this same symptom and others responded what they may have according to past experiences. I know it is bad to look for medical advice from strangers—they most probably aren’t doctors—but I was not looking for a diagnosis. I was trying to look at things people did to lessen the pain. By reading the answers I realized that many people had had the same problem and I enjoyed reading their comments on how they had felt. Some wrote exactly how I was feeling---that I would rather die than keep having the pain and that no one else understood, but they did! So it gave me a sense that others knew how I was feeling so in a way this UGC gave me comfort.
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2 comments:
What you say is very true, when we look for UGC we are not looking for facts or diagnostics. we are looking for opinions and ideas. We want to hear what people like us have to say about the products we are about to buy. Companies tell us only the good and exaggerated truth, not that they are lying but they omit the bad side of things.
When we read UGC we find out the truth and realize if we will be able to live with it or not.
Like what did college students do before UGC?? I think its so cool to pull up a blog and get such a wealth of ideas and opinions! I just did a group presentation for my Biz Strategy class. We picked our topic from a blog post about iPhone knock offs. So we did this Chinese company Meizu.
I can't imagine doing research - especially on companies outside the US - without the awesomeness that is online research.
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