Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Unvarnished: Personal and professional reviews

On the new site Unvarnished, your personal and professional reputation is up for review. You are able to be reviewed by just about anybody on Unvarnished, though the site is currently in beta testing. Unvarnished walks the fine line of possibly being useful, and possibly being a headache. In the end, we can only hope that Unvarnished doesn’t become a reason for banks to deny you the best personal loan rates.

Reputation management by Unvarnished

Individuals are asked to post “unvarnished” reviews of one another. As a business tool, Unvarnished claims that it helps you “get recognition for accomplishments and actively manage your career growth”. Any user can post a review, and any user can create their own profile. Unvarnished uses Facebook profiles to “verify” user’s identities. When the link to Facebook seems more legitimate, but faking out a payday loan company is harder than faking out Facebook.

The issues Unvarnished raises

Much with other websites, Unvarnished presents problems with reviews. Review websites can provide valuable services. Especially with bad reviews, there are two sides to every story. Bad reviews will supposedly be kept in check with a community system. The simple reality of Unvarnished is that unhappy people are more likely to speak out than unhappy people. This reality means that while the reviews are Unvarnished, they may be very skewed.

Should I get an Unvarnished account?

Yes, reviews on Unvarnished could be very skewed. Seeing bad reviews on Unvarnished could possibly be difficult. Getting an Unvarnished account would nevertheless be a good move for most professionals. It is very important know what other people have to say about you. An Unvarnished account will allow you to see and reply to feedback others have. Keeping an eye on your online reputation is important.



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