Honest online reviews are hard to come by, but Revain aims to harness the power of the blockchain and Ethereum-based smart contracts to create a system of permanent, actual, and transparent reviews.
There are a number of metrics that a business can look over as they strive for financial success. Items such as profits, market share, advertising saturation, and costs of production are carefully factored into any decision making. One metric that has become incredibly valuable over the last decade is the online review. It’s become quite common for consumers to search the internet to see what others have said about a company or particular product before spending their hard-earned money. Yet there are quite a few problems with trusting the veracity of what is written online, but Revain aims to shake up this segment of the industry by using blockchain technology to offer honest reviews.
Many Current Online Reviews Cannot Be Trusted
It seems that online reviews can be found almost anywhere. Yelp offers reviews for restaurants and other businesses, TripAdvisor lets travelers post reviews on hotels, and Amazon has product reviews for almost everything under the sun. Then there are the many different store chains that offer reviews left by consumers. With such a multitude of sites and reviews offered, it would lead one to think that a person can use those reviews and make a confident purchase, but such an assumption is often very wrong.
There are a number of issues to be found with online reviews. The most obvious one is determining if a review is legitimate or fake. Statistics show that anywhere from 20% to a staggering 60% of online reviews are fake. Companies can pay for reviews that bolster their product or service, and there’s the possibility that a company is paying to have negative reviews about a competitor posted.
Companies that manage online reviews for other companies can act to alter public perception by deleting negative (or positive) reviews while promoting opposite reviews. Then there’s the issue of whether a person is leaving a negative review just for kicks in order to be a troll. Overall, there’s a clear lack of transparency found in online reviews, but blockchain-based Revain is looking to dramatically alter this scenario.
The Blockchain Offers Solutions by Enhancing Transparency
Revain is the new decentralized platform that will offer honest online reviews by harnessing the power and innovation of the blockchain and Ethereum-based smart contracts. One of the hallmarks of blockchain technology is utter transparency as that records are permanent and cannot be deleted or altered. Thus, negative reviews about a company or product cannot be arbitrarily removed from the public eye, thus leaving only positive reviews to be consumed.
However, Revain goes much further than using the blockchain to ensure the permanence of online reviews. They make sure that all online reviews made on the platform are impartial and accurate. This is done by a two-step verification process. The first verification step is done by AI, specifically the powerful IBM Watson AI. The online review is analyzed for tone and language to determine if it’s legitimate and constructive. The second verification step is manual and is done by the company who is being reviewed. They can choose to accept or reject the online review. If the review is rejected, a dispute can be opened up where both sides plead their case and an impartial group of platform users makes a final determination. The key factor in this equation is transparency. The entire process, such as the dispute and company’s acceptance or rejection, is documented and remains fully viewable on the blockchain.
There’s no need to wait to see how this new ecosystem of honest and transparent reviews will work. A working test version of the Revain platform has already been launched. Interested individuals can try out the new-generation feedback platform for themselves and leave ratings for overall impression, team, communication, and progress, as well as survey reviews left by other users.
Rewards for Honest Online Reviews
Having access to honest online reviews via Revain offer a number of rewards. First, consumers know that they’re reading reviews written by actual people, and such reviews have been verified through a two-step process. Users who submit reviews that are accepted gain RVN tokens, which have an intrinsic financial value. Companies benefit from honest reviews as they gain accurate feedback on how they’re doing and, if needed, what steps to take to improve the quality of their service or product. Good companies get additional customers from positive reviews, and inferior companies are exposed, which allows the free market to work.
The possibilities of Revain using the blockchain to enable transparent, honest online reviews are staggering. While some sites focus on one industry, Revain can focus on absolutely everything, from hotels to home repair services to everyday products. Another important area that will be impacted by Revain is the ICO. As more and more platforms seek to gain revenue from offering an ICO, Revain can serve as an impartial arbiter of truly honest reviews of such ICOs. Overall, Revain uses the power of Ethereum-based smart contracts and the blockchain to create an unbiased system of reviews that are transparent, immutable, and legitimate.
For more information about Revain please visit https://revain.org. You can try out the test version of their feedback platform at http://dashboard.revain.org.
Do you think Revain can help restore some legitimacy to online reviews? How likely are you to use the platform to leave reviews? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Revain, AdobeStock
