Summary Engine
Pluribo launched their summary engine yesterday and has been quite widely covered. The first implementation is based on a Firefox plug-in, which you can use when browsing Amazon.com. Rather than having to read reviews, Pluribo summarizes the reviews and shows how the product compares to other products along the most critical dimensions (as determined by use reviews).
Another Firefox plug-in. Great, hopefully they will add a Facebook app, too. Does the world really need another plug-in, widgety thingy? Why would I use this thing?
The Pluribo team identified an interesting issue – that is, while there are more and more reviews on sites like Amazon, Newegg and even Walmart (powered by Bazaarvoice), you still have to read them to figure out what people think.
Now you might want to find the best. But is your best the same as my best? What happens if your version of best is “lightest” or “fastest”. The star rating doesn’t tell you this, so you cant cheat and look at that. You have to read through reviews which might not even talk about your best.
What Pluribo does is figure out criteria – i.e. what dimensions are people talking about. So if people offer their thoughts on weight, you can find the lightest. If people weigh in on other issues, such as “scratchiness” or the likelihood that the product will scratch – thats there too. So you might want to take that carry case after all.
This seems like it could make life really easy. Imagine standing in best-buy and asking – is this the lightest? You could summon Pluribo and get short summary, readable on a small screen.
Or what about manufacturers. If I am a product designer, wouldn’t it be nice to know the most important attributes which people are talking about? And which products score best for these attributes? Pluribo already knows. You have a permanent, always available focus group and Pluribo is constantly summarizing the results.
I’m excited to see what is next. Maybe Pluribo will summarize their reviews to see which dimensions users think are most important.
Posted in: Product Development, Quant | Tagged: Amazon, Bazaarvoice, newegg, pluribo, Product Development, reviews, summary engine | No Comments