Since the launch of the AppStore, many developers have commented on the low quality and misstatements given in several of the application reviews on the store: myself included.
One of the main problems with AppStore’s review system is the complete lack of filtering who can review a product. This has led to several price quibbles in the reviews that are appended with a lovely 0-1 star review. These people have never used the application they are reviewing mind you. Instead, they feel it is their obligation to let everyone know that $3 for an application that simulates drinking a beer is too much for their wallet.
I think I speak for most with half a pulse and a quarter of a brain when I say that I don’t need AngryTypingGuy1222’s commentary on the pricing of an application to help me decide if the application is worth my $3.
This isn’t something that is new to AppStore. If you surf the comments on a post on TUAW or Ars’s Infinite Loop, many times people will quibble over an application not being worth $x without even downloading and using the application. The same holds true for MacUpdate and Versiontracker. It’s a rare occasion that I actually have found a useful commentary on my products from any of these sites in the past few years. They seem to have fallen prey to the Diggtardification of the Internet: snarky, one line quips that have little substance and no value.
If I want to know how my products are faring with the general public, I find the most passionate and helpful users are the ones that email me directly, use the secondgear Satisfaction forum or write a blog posting about the application. These people tend to take more time to think out their commentary and critiques. The problem with this, however, is that they are usually not the first thing a potential customer sees. Instead if it:
1 star. This app is overpriced for what it is. YOU FAIL.
One thing AppStore does get right is that it shows users the most useful reviews on the product’s main page. In many cases these are fairly accurate assessments, but it still doesn’t feel like enough to curtail the underlying problem of unfounded reviewing.
What’s the solution? It’s obvious there needs to be a better way of rating products in the store. For paid applications, I think a prerequisite should be downloading the application to publish a review. This will definitely curtail the lame price bitching reviews because the person isn’t willing to toss a few bucks down just to bitch.
The biggest thing missing, however, is the ability for a developer to respond to a review. One of the best ways I have found to do proactive customer service is to actually respond to people’s concerns directly online either via a follow-up comment or a direct email. There doesn’t seem to be an easy way to do that with AppStore.
The store is in its infancy, and I think Apple will come to realize that the way they handle content reviews for music and movies isn’t necessarily the same as for iPhone applications. That said, there is only so much Apple can do to alleviate the issue. The underlying problem is that as a society we have replaced thoughtful commentary with snark.
In other words, society: EPIC FAIL.