Why post reviews and ratings matter

Facemash, a hot-or-not-like rating site based on students' ID pictures, was Mark Zuckerberg's predecessor to Facebook. Although ethically and morally wrong within the university setting, he collected this personal information without prior consent from each individual. It became an overnight sensation logging 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours online, because the process of rating students' pictures was easy and engaging. Post reviews and ratings matter, because they represent Facemash in that they are just as easy to produce and consume, making them just as engaging. They also represent the success of Amazon's product ratings, as well as other sites utilizing consumer reviews.

First, they provide new and original content, which not only drives site traffic, but also helps with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), since more relevant content gets indexed by search bots. Reviews are also at the heart of most niche products and services. As long as people are looking for opinions, anything can be rated. Granted, reviews don't have to be on a rating scale as described in the activity. You can easily just segment them between good and bad, but people are easily swayed by popular opinion, so they have a significant impact.