Stairwellblog

It seems that there is a lot of talk that ’5-star’ rating systems are on the way out (or at least proving themselves to be less valuable than previously thought). You see them everywhere recently, but some data now suggests that they are not as effective as they could be. This may not be due to the system being flawed however, but rather how and when they are implemented. Studies are indicating that often times people will click on either 1 or 5 with an overwhelming tendency towards 5. Check out this techcrunch article on how youtube users tend rate videos. For some reason, generosity abounds with ratings online. If fact, the average rating for all things across the web is 4.3 (see source) this suggests a preference towards a polarized opinion model such as like/dislike.

Lately, the like/dislike method, aka – ‘vote to promote’  is establishing itself as a preferred method of rating by users. So why, when presented with a more robust ratings option do people tend to prefer a simpler one? Perhaps any method of streamlining the information overload we experience online these days is the biggest factor. On nearly any given site, one has to spend a considerable amount of effort managing the fire hose of incoming data. The ability to concisely and quickly process data is emerging as king these days. Like it or not people tend to show signs of preferring “fast and to the point” design. Even though a more granular option such as the 1-5 star system might seem like a better offering, people are saying they just want the ‘meat and potatoes’ so they can do their business and move on.

An interesting observation about the like/dislike model is how it’s geared towards the perspective of the reviewer. For the reader of a review it must be later interpreted what intent was actually being communicated. If you say you ‘like’ something, or give it a ‘thumbs up’ or whatever, people are left wondering how to apply that bit of data to themselves. I think most people probably ‘like’ something because they feel it was worth their time, effort, or money or validates them in some way but who knows? My point is that reviews are a two way street so whatever system you end up going with it should enable the reviewer to get in and out quickly and effectively with the ability to tell not only if they like something, but also why.  Until now, the way we tell people why we like something is through a blank text field which the user is left to fill up at their digression. But people want meat and potatoes, right? A long-winded review may be truthful and unbiased, but it is also granular, like the 5 star systems. Perhaps it’s time for something new to emerge?

I don’t think this is a closed issue by any means. I do think we are in the midst of a state of flux. People will invariably want some sort of granularity in a rating system from time to time. This is a good thing. Ratings have the potential to offer a great service within software. Your best bet is to get to know your user base as well as you can and understand what kind of opinions they are yearning to express as well as receive.

Here are other links on the topic:

(Thanks to IAI-member Christian Crumlish for compiling this list in a related email thread)

http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/social/objects/feedback/rating.html
http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/social/objects/feedback/votetopromote.html
http://www.designingsocialinterfaces.com/patterns.wiki/index.php?title=Thumbs_Up/Down_Style_Ratings
http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/11/5-star_failure.html
http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/09/first_mover_effects.html
http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/09/time_decay_in_reputation_syste.html
http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/08/ratings_bias_effects.html
http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/02/corporate_ratings_abuse_and_wh.html
http://mashable.com/2009/12/15/ratings-reviews/

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