I’ve written before about times I feel like a real writer and times I wish I could carry all my clips around with me so I don’t feel like a hack and how great it is to get official confirmation in a press pass. But this isn’t quite what I had in mind.
Want a free drink? Want to be seated first? Use ReviewerCard to have a random dude on the internet accredit you as a reviewer, and start demanding perks!
The business model behind Brad Newman’s ReviewerCard startup is quite simple. For a hundred dollars, shoppers can receive a wallet-size card titling them a reviewer, and can present that card to hint heavily for upgrades, free extra and discounts in exchange for more favorable reviews. It’s a win-win for anyone with a Yelp account who likes dining or travelling and for Newman, who makes $100 to accredit each carded reviewer. Of course, it’s a lose-lose for local establishments shaken down by the threat of negative press and for folks trusting the information from user-generated reviews.
I hope the strenuous requirements for a ReviewerCard include spellchecking before posting on Yelp.
Via ReviewerCard: A Card For (Unethical) Reviewers on TapScape
That’s weird. Why does that exist? I don’t understand.
Apparently you can buy this card, and then use it to threaten people making $2/hr into giving you free stuff.