Following an article that Sherrilynne Starkie wrote in the local paper: Tech Talk: A cautionary tale (great article by the way, some poignant anecdotes in there), a thread was sparked off on one of the local forums starting off a discussion as to whether forums posts affect local businesses
This was my take:
I don’t think it’s all as bleak as some people want to make out. I’ve seen a number of cases on forums where someone will slag off a company or a service and other forum members disagree and talk about the good experiences they have had with that company. I wouldn’t go as far as to say the system is self-regulating, but it certainly is self-correcting.
Take a look at some of the Web 2.0 websites built around user-generated content (Wikipedia is a great example). Yes, the system may be open to vandalism, libellous entries and all sorts of falsehoods; but in the long run these get cleaned out of the system to become a true representation of the group mentality of the people who frequent it.
What do you think?
I think that Web 2.0 sites where people can (and are expected to) give their inputs empower the ordinary folk who normally would not be able to command an audience to listen to what’s on our minds.
We have something to say and we want others to listen–forums, wikis and blogs ensure that this happens.