Thursday, February 28, 2008

Personal Reviews (New Feature)

For various reasons, some people don't write traditional reviews. But we know that everyone has opinions. So we created a different way to share your thoughts through personal reviews. Let's use Babbo as an example:

Search for "Babbo" and you get this on the map.

In the bottom right, you can see 3 friends have visited this restaurant.

(Also, you can mark this place as visited with the I've Been Here button.)

Clicking on the 3 friends have visited opens the expanded sidebar and shows you additional information about the business.

Near the bottom of the expanded sidebar (circled in red), you see which three of your friends (Paul, Saboteur and Tom) have been to Babbo.

Click on the Send Message button, located below the profile pictures, to request a personal review on this restaurant.

A message box will appear with the recipients name and the place automatically filled in.

You can now type a message directly to friends asking what they thought of place.

The goal is to encourage communication while adding a personal touch to reviews. The personal context in which you know a person, influences how you interpret their words. Using the example above...

What I know about Babbo.

  • Highly rated Italian restaurant
  • Expensive, Fancy
  • Near Washington Sq Park
What I know about my friends.
  • Paul - Foodie, especially Italian food, having studied there for a semester
  • Saboteur - Vegetarian, probably won't be trying the same dishes has him.
  • Tom - Already wrote a review so I read that.
Paul seems like the best option for getting more information about the restaurant. Saboteur might be a good option to ask about decor or service. And Tom already wrote a review so I know his thoughts already.





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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hello. I just joined UpNext and was trying to edit my profile when I realized that I cannot indicate my trans/intersex "gender." Are you planning on updating the options beyond male and female? At the very least "other" and/or "not specified" would be helpful. Thanks and peace be with you.