4 ms·

I've never used the list, but I don't understand what she offers that Yelp won't soon offer when it reaches critical mass in those categories... Am I missing so

by pitdesi 16y ago

I've never used the list, but I don't understand what she offers that Yelp won't soon offer when it reaches critical mass in those categories... Am I missing something? The things that they list as "differentiators" don't actually differentiate significantly from Yelp... and it's $50 a year! http://www.angieslist.com/angieslist/visitor/howitworks.aspx http://www.angieslist.com/angieslist/visitor/howitworks.aspx

danilocampos 16y ago
This mystifies me too. Maybe it would be more clear if I actually used Angie's List, but... I don't really need to. Yelp already leads me toward great professional services.
- pitdesi 16y ago
  Yeah, but I think Yelp has a ways to go... I think Angie is used for contractors, exterminators, etc - stuff that isn't reviewed on Yelp much... but it's only a matter of time before Yelp (or someone else) gets in there and does it for free. Amazing that they got $80 mil in funding in the past 2 year, 15 years after it started... Also unclear why they need it, if you've got $60 mil in revenues, 400 employees, and not a lot of non-employee costs, then why do you need an additional $80 million in investment?
  - KevinMS 16y ago
    Also unclear why they need it, if you've got $60 mil in revenues, 400 employees, and not a lot of non-employee costs, then why do you need an additional $80 million in investment? Same reason political campaigns to - major advertising blitz. I see their tv ads all the time. They are probably going for a brand household name.
    - justinchen 16y ago
      I hear their ads all the time on my local NPR member station.
wtracy 16y ago
Reviews on Yelp are anonymous, which provides opportunities to game the system.
- pitdesi 16y ago
  Yelp reviews aren't exactly anonymous, as they require you to use your real name
  - jonknee 16y ago
    They require you to use a first name and a last name. It can be whatever you'd like and you're free to change it anytime.
- thwarted 16y ago
  Seems like anyone with $50 could game angieslist's system.
  - bmelton 16y ago
    You've got to believe that significantly reduces the likelihood of somebody writing a bot to register new accounts and vote-bomb the service though. I mean, having written the occasional ballot-stuffer in my day, I don't know of too many customers who'd be willing to pay $50 for each entry, or at least if they were, that would probably reduce the number of fake votes from thousands to one-offs.
    - thwarted 16y ago
      There's no doubt that a $50 charge is a significant hurdle to overcome for someone wanting to ballot box stuff using a bot on a review site, but for this to be a legit contrast to "free" or "anonymous" services, you have to assume that the free/anonymous sites are overrun with bots stuffing the ratings. Each review/vote counts for more if there are less of them. Look at any on-line review site: the wide majority of the entries have at most a handful of reviews/ratings. In order to attempt to influence that one way or another, you only need to have an extended family-size worth of accounts ("Hey cousin Bob, use angieslist to find your next plumber, then can you write a negative review of my landscaping competitor?"). The key is how the site mitigates that. angieslist charges $50 to discourage it -- angieslist also discourages it by having reviews of services you don't continuously need/use a lot of (how many painters can one person hire and review?). Yelp has automated review filtering technology. I assume Google has some algorithmic method. I don't know what citysearch does. I don't think which method you use to discourage/mitigate ballot box stuffing matters as much as that you do have something. On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog, and nobody will even suspect you're a dog if you have $50. Exactly how much verification of the accounts occur? I guess for $50, angieslist can afford to follow up on every account. But in order for that to be effective, the people who pay $50 have to think they are getting $50 worth of service/benefit out of it. It seems to be effective in angieslist case. I, personally, don't use enough of the kinds of services that angieslist lists in order for $50 to be worth it (although, I guess getting screwed for $51 by some shady service provider just once might be enough to make it worth it).
joshu 16y ago
Oh, and it's creepy as hell, too. I went and did a little searching for a plumber. A day later, someone called me and asked if I ever found a plumber. I said no. Then they asked if I felt like reviewing my doctor. At a time when search engines are dinged for possible privacy issues, I felt this was way beyond the pale.
muhfuhkuh 16y ago
Some people want to pay for what they feel are "unbiased" points of view. The paywall is a sure prevention of "friends of friends of friends of the owner" 5-star voting bombs like in Yelp or Amazon. I guess that's the reason why Consumer Reports is still going strong, paper as well as on-line subscription fees and all. They recently bought Consumerist, IIRC. And, if Yelp hasn't reached critical mass in 6+ years in those categories, it must take awhile and/or is too fraught with shill reviews and grudgers, griefers, or trolls to make it worthwhile. Meanwhile, Angie's List has had a 10 year head start on them.

by pitdesi 16y ago

danilocampos 16y ago

This mystifies me too. Maybe it would be more clear if I actually used Angie's List, but... I don't really need to. Yelp already leads me toward great professional services.

pitdesi 16y ago
Yeah, but I think Yelp has a ways to go... I think Angie is used for contractors, exterminators, etc - stuff that isn't reviewed on Yelp much... but it's only a matter of time before Yelp (or someone else) gets in there and does it for free. Amazing that they got $80 mil in funding in the past 2 year, 15 years after it started... Also unclear why they need it, if you've got $60 mil in revenues, 400 employees, and not a lot of non-employee costs, then why do you need an additional $80 million in investment?
- KevinMS 16y ago
  Also unclear why they need it, if you've got $60 mil in revenues, 400 employees, and not a lot of non-employee costs, then why do you need an additional $80 million in investment? Same reason political campaigns to - major advertising blitz. I see their tv ads all the time. They are probably going for a brand household name.
  - justinchen 16y ago
    I hear their ads all the time on my local NPR member station.

wtracy 16y ago

Reviews on Yelp are anonymous, which provides opportunities to game the system.

pitdesi 16y ago
Yelp reviews aren't exactly anonymous, as they require you to use your real name
- jonknee 16y ago
  They require you to use a first name and a last name. It can be whatever you'd like and you're free to change it anytime.
thwarted 16y ago
Seems like anyone with $50 could game angieslist's system.
- bmelton 16y ago
  You've got to believe that significantly reduces the likelihood of somebody writing a bot to register new accounts and vote-bomb the service though. I mean, having written the occasional ballot-stuffer in my day, I don't know of too many customers who'd be willing to pay $50 for each entry, or at least if they were, that would probably reduce the number of fake votes from thousands to one-offs.
  - thwarted 16y ago
    There's no doubt that a $50 charge is a significant hurdle to overcome for someone wanting to ballot box stuff using a bot on a review site, but for this to be a legit contrast to "free" or "anonymous" services, you have to assume that the free/anonymous sites are overrun with bots stuffing the ratings. Each review/vote counts for more if there are less of them. Look at any on-line review site: the wide majority of the entries have at most a handful of reviews/ratings. In order to attempt to influence that one way or another, you only need to have an extended family-size worth of accounts ("Hey cousin Bob, use angieslist to find your next plumber, then can you write a negative review of my landscaping competitor?"). The key is how the site mitigates that. angieslist charges $50 to discourage it -- angieslist also discourages it by having reviews of services you don't continuously need/use a lot of (how many painters can one person hire and review?). Yelp has automated review filtering technology. I assume Google has some algorithmic method. I don't know what citysearch does. I don't think which method you use to discourage/mitigate ballot box stuffing matters as much as that you do have something. On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog, and nobody will even suspect you're a dog if you have $50. Exactly how much verification of the accounts occur? I guess for $50, angieslist can afford to follow up on every account. But in order for that to be effective, the people who pay $50 have to think they are getting $50 worth of service/benefit out of it. It seems to be effective in angieslist case. I, personally, don't use enough of the kinds of services that angieslist lists in order for $50 to be worth it (although, I guess getting screwed for $51 by some shady service provider just once might be enough to make it worth it).

joshu 16y ago

Oh, and it's creepy as hell, too. I went and did a little searching for a plumber. A day later, someone called me and asked if I ever found a plumber. I said no. Then they asked if I felt like reviewing my doctor. At a time when search engines are dinged for possible privacy issues, I felt this was way beyond the pale.

muhfuhkuh 16y ago

Some people want to pay for what they feel are "unbiased" points of view. The paywall is a sure prevention of "friends of friends of friends of the owner" 5-star voting bombs like in Yelp or Amazon. I guess that's the reason why Consumer Reports is still going strong, paper as well as on-line subscription fees and all. They recently bought Consumerist, IIRC. And, if Yelp hasn't reached critical mass in 6+ years in those categories, it must take awhile and/or is too fraught with shill reviews and grudgers, griefers, or trolls to make it worthwhile. Meanwhile, Angie's List has had a 10 year head start on them.