Who Owns Your Online Reviews? ![rw-book-cover](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/static/images/favicons/smt/apple-touch-icon-180.png?102717100918) ## Metadata - Author: [[Scott Barnett]] - Full Title: Who Owns Your Online Reviews? - Category: #articles - Summary: Skip to main content SIGN IN | REGISTER Exclusive Conversation With Daina Middleton of Twitter   Explore more: Author Information Scott Barnett Founder http://www.twitter. - URL: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/2015-03-23/who-owns-your-online-reviews I recently went for my annual eye checkup - I had LASIK surgery back in 1999, and I see my Dr. every year to make sure everything is still good. My ophthalmologist is amazing - not only did he do a great job (I still have 20/20 vision in both eyes) but he has a great bedside manner and is always available to answer questions. In addition, he’s very social media savvy. After my visit, he gave me a business card that had a list of places that I could review him online, and 2 days later he sent me an email with direct links to many of his online review sites. Obviously, I was very happy with his customer engagement skills! Of course, I gave him feedback on his [Bizyhood](https://www.bizyhood.com/business/details/overview/mandel-vision-new-york-ny-10021/d2d99be6-450f-40f3-b68f-305dc938fd04/) page, but I also gave him a review on Google+ and Vitals.com. A day after giving feedback on Google+, I got this email from Google: I found this email very confusing. Why am I getting an email from Google Maps? And why are they thanking me for reviewing Mandel Vision? Shouldn’t the thank you be from Dr. Mandel himself? When I clicked on the map it took me to my location, which has very little to do with why I reviewed Dr. Mandel in the first place. It was a not-so-subtle reminder that online reviews from sites such as Google and Yelp are really focused on the consumer - they want (actually they NEED) consumer involvement/engagement for their revenue model to work. It really doesn’t matter as much how many businesses are engaged as long as users are interacting. So, this email is a sales pitch to ME that they want me to engage even more on Google and give lots of feedback to other businesses. The problem is - who is taking care of Dr. Mandel and other small business owners? Who is providing THEM with tools and capabilities that let them be great online? I don’t think Google or Yelp are., Who Owns Your Online Reviews?, Scott Barnett, 01gnmcz9k360sjk68aenw0apvs.