online reviews
Recently I’ve written about the problems that fake and fraudulent consumer travel reviews — of hotels, restaurants, attractions and the like, called “astroturfing” — are causing readers of online sites who are trying to get honest information while planning their trips or while on the road.
The New York State attorney general is even handing out fines for such underhanded practices as company owners hiring cheap overseas labor to write positive “reviews” of places they’ve never been, or asking their employees to give competitors’ companies bad reviews, or just writing (rave) reviews of their own establishments themselves.
Since surveys have shown that consumers place a high degree of trust in online customer reviews, it’s essential that they be as accurate and unbiased as possible.
With many baby boomers thinking of relocating upon retirement (and thousands are now reaching… Continue reading