So Ratings are a point of contention across every platform. Iâm unsure which speaker at the summit mentioned it, but theyâre right, ratings are just one of those things that we have and feels like weâve always had âonlineâ. Although Iâd argue that 5-star ratings exist way before this, certainly recalling things such as newspapers and magazines prior to the internet giving anything and everything (certainly media) a star rating.
But, the question is what value are they? And Iâm sad to say it, probably theyâre worth diddly squat.
When used to rank lists, ratings can get a bit pointless. The most popular, most liked, and sometimes the most âcritically acclaimedâ content will always rate high. The most popular to hate and âcritically dislikedâ content will always rate low; and sometimes the individuals placing those ratings may have never even listened/watched/played/read the content in question⌠theyâre just wanting to âstick it to the manâ and give something a 1/5 to show their disdain for whatever trivial reason they behold at the time. Then everything else in the middle often lumbers along with a middling score of around 3.something because lets be honest for most art content youâve got those that love it (giving it 4âs and 5âs) and those that are simply so unphased about it theyâll just give it a fair 3/5.
Now without going into some kind of philosophical diatribe, there is question that is a 3/5 actually more damning than a 1/5 (think of how many âterribleâ movies are still actively talked about today, but those average releases are nearly permenantly forgotten to the sands of time).
I guess that ratings have always existed because theyâre easy to work with. Itâs a scale, 4 is higher than 2 and 1 is lower than 3. So you can sort it easily, but the problem is like I just mentioned youâll have a very small percentage at each end of the scale and the rest will sort of fall somewhere in the middle.
The other arguement is that giving any entity a star rating actually means nothing to anyone; sometimes even to the original submitter later on (there are ratings on Discogs or RYM that I probably wouldnât be able to rationalise now). Where as even a short sentence written will give more insight to how an entity makes you feel and probably becomes worth at least something.
Again without getting too sidetracked, and I know thereâs more CB talk tomorrow that Iâve been duly invited to, I think encouraging people to make short statements is probably a higher priority than getting people to either give a star rating or pressing a heart or a smiley face etc. If that individual then wants to write more than a short statement (thus becomming an actual âreviewâ) then thatâs even better.
Letâs think of this in a scenarioâŚ
You go to a social place like a bar, a complete stranger appears and starts a conversation with you. Turns out you both have opinions on music and you begin to talk about the subject. You say to this person âSo buddy, what do you think of the latest song by Johnny Goodhair?â and they just sit there, smack their lips and blurt â4/5â. You look confused, and say what do you mean â4/5 - for me its a 5/5, I think its their best work yetâ and the stranger simply sits there and responds â4/5â. The night goes on, and this seems to happen all the time - you never can find out why the stranger gives one song a 4, the next a 1 and the next a 3. You become fustrated because the conversation has no substance, pay your tab and leave.
Now what you really wanted from that interaction was the stranger to sit there and say âWell Iâm not sure, I think although Johnny Goodhair is showing that he can certainly come back and hold his place in the charts, I think his teeny bopper days are over⌠ever since losing his producer Mr. Musicman, who letâs be honest had the midas touch, the music wonât be the same; thats why I think the latest track is good but not as good as it was 5 years agoâ
Now with that simple sentence you can start a proper discussion instead of blurting numbers at each other.
OK so I get the Zoomers (or whatever you call them) will often say âehh midâ to a lot of things; I guess its their generations âmehâ but at least that even says more than a 3/5.
) . I think that in CB its pretty obvious too. LB I donât think such a thing really exists?
