says-us : Ratings and Reviews give us Knowledge

 

And From Knowledge, We Get Power!

We expect to be able to find peer ratings and reviews for jobs, employers, products, and services on the Internet.  These ratings and reviews empower ordinary people relative to owners and managers of corporations and other institutions.

But most rating and review systems are run by people with corporate and other institutional interests.  These systems are like privately owned and operated 18th century toll bridges, better than nothing, but of uncertain construction (Face Book & Google), with ulterior motives (Glass Door), and built for and dedicated to profit (Yelp).

Face Book’s and Google’s logic and algorithms are proprietary, secret, designed to monetize your life.  Glass Door is dedicated to helping employers to find employees.  And Yelp has been accused of removing negative reviews for advertising dollars.

People who rate and write reviews are taking the time and effort to inform the rest of us about their experience and the value that they did or did not receive.  They are helping us to get power from knowledge.

We propose the creation of a system for standardized and fair ratings and reviews, built with open and free software, without hidden agendas.  Users will be able to be anonymous, and we will integrate relevant writings and media with the possibility of taking further action (from anonymous complaint to coordinated action).

We will start small and grow based upon your support.

Rating & Review Systems

Rating and review systems have begun to create a transparency about what does and does not work for us in the organizations that affect our lives.

From 1 star to 5 stars, and from “this company should stop treating its employees like robots” to “this is the best company I’ve ever worked for”, rating and review systems give people a way to influence employers as well as product and service providers.

We learn what our co-workers or co-consumers have to say about a job or school we are considering.  We can find out if others are dissatisfied or satisfied, about a job or service.  And we can express anonymously our own experience and opinion.  Rating and review systems can help us meet important needs around work, school, health care, transportation, government, etc.

Businesses spend money to manage their reputation.  Some negative ratings have caused companies to improve conditions for employees and improve products and services in order to boost their reputation.  A good reputation helps to gain customers and employees, and a poor one can hurt.

There are hundreds of rating and review systems.  Most of them are part of businesses that use ratings as a way to attract customers. Some hire people to go online to boost their ratings. Employment sites, like Glass Door, allow reviews, but their focus is on helping companies, including those with poor reviews, to recruit new employees.  Companies like Yelp have been accused of removing negative reviews.

There are scattered non-profit sites designed to help one particular group, like potential union members or abused migrant farmers.  But there is no for-profit site that can be trusted to keep the trust of users, and no not-for-profit site that tries to be helpful beyond its target population.

We at says-us.net propose to create a trustworthy, not-for-profit, rating and review site that can be used to tell the truth about our experiences as workers and consumers.  From these ratings and reviews, we can see what needs to be changed, where, and by whom.

Future releases will allow people to contact each other, to propose action, and to find helping agencies and institutions, including those advocating union, political and economic action.  We will move from anonymous complaint to coordinated action.