Being Heard in Review Communities: Communication Tactics and Review Prominence

Abstract

Review communities typically display contributions in list format

Example, please! Comparing the effects of single customer reviews and aggregate review scores on online shoppers' product evaluations

“…Readers seem to infer credibility also from textual indicators of the reviewer's expertise, trustworthiness, and evaluative standards, such as argument quality, diversity of arguments, or disclosure of identity‐descriptive information in reviews (Forman et al , ; Willemsen et al , ). These content characteristics can, in turn, determine the usefulness or persuasiveness of these reviews (Sen & Lerman, ; Cheung et al , ; Forman et al , ; Cheung et al , ), often to a higher extent than peripheral indicators of source credibility can (Otterbacher, ; Willemsen et al , ).…”

Knowledge and Discourse Matters

“…Whilst these thematic categories are shown to be present in the KM literature, they are also present in those relating to discourse analysis (e.g., Edwards and Potter, 1992;Sneijder and te Molder, 2005;Clifton, 2012;Otterbacher, 2011;Dennen, 2009;Hutchby, 2001). Developing on this, it is speculated that the analysis of everyday organizational discourse, drawing on DP, will show how these categories mediate knowledge sharing, and with what consequences for speakers and discursive transaction.…”

“…Marked by an explosion in social media and networking sites, online environments have become the locus of the drive for recognition and status in online communities (Otterbacher, 2011). Markham (2005) describes the computer-mediated construction of self as a unique phenomenon for study because in such environments individuals as selves and the social structures within which they exist and act are the outcome of mutually shared negotiation.…”

“…Appearing less frequently as a focus of research are sites such as product review sites (e.g., Otterbacher, 2011) and professional practice forums (e.g., Crane, 2011;. Academic sites, such as forums in Higher Education, are frequently used in CMC research, although Markham (2005) notes a general shift in ethnographic research towards CMC in everyday life.…”

The End of the Art Connoisseur? Experts and Knowledge Production in the Visual Arts in the Digital Age

“…Peripheral and/or manipulative evaluation online can dictate the future of a cultural product such as manufactured reviews and disguised corporate marketing efforts online that capitalize on social networks to reinforce their positioning (Otterbacher 2011). Also, it is naive to believe that current social divides in participation are mitigated through this new venue.…”