Archive for January, 2009

wizeThere really aren’t that many review sites out there. And the ones that are, really have lost thier flair.

Take for instance, Epinions. What started as a community of “raters” who score one another, has become pretty useless since the acquisition by Shopping.com (eBay). I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t seem very useful anymore.

Then there are the “user review”, like those on Amazon – the “5-star rating”. These are pretty useful, but aren’t all that comprehensive for a given product. In other words, users at other shopping sites might think differently.
Of course, the best reviews are typically the expert reviews. You can find these just about anywhere.

Until recently, no one has mashed all of these flavors together – into one review score. That is exactly what Wize has done. I can’t imagine a better way of determining how good something really is – put everyone’s scores together in such a way that you create one, objective value.

Wize looks at expert reviews and product rankings from thousands of sites across the web. Plus they account for “buzz” – the latest trend in measuring word of mouth.

The only drawback to Wize right now – limited inventory. They are a startup and in beta, so they don’t cover everything. But they do cover some major categories and tens of thousands of products. So not too shabby.

Related Reviews:

Better World ClubIf you don’t like the status quo and pro-auto bent of the American Automobile Association, then Better World Club is for you. You get nearly the same features (national towing service, trip planning, travel sevice, etc), but BWC supports environmental causes, mass transit, Clean Air Act and offers green alternatives when possible. They even offer bicycle protection.

Membership rates start at $54 per year. Plus, they provide $40 in gas reimbursement certificates, which makes the basic service only $14 per year! They’ll even match AAA prices for new members. Really, if you care about sustainability, this is the service for you!

Related Reviews: