Google's Tip Jar: does the good oil float to the top?

Stephen Withers
Friday, 06 March 2009 03:41

Opinion and Analysis

The 'wisdom of the crowd' seems to work, but only if you ask everyone the same question. That's why I don't think Google's Tip Jar will live up to its promise.

The idea behind Google's Tip Jar is simple: provide a place where people can contribute money-saving suggestions, and then let everyone vote for or against them.

Sounds great in theory, but there's no guarantee the best ideas really will float to the top. Here's why.

Let's assume that nobody submits really dumb ideas, and that all the tips are practical and really will save money. That might be a stretch, but we'll give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

Tip Jar presents 10 tips at a time, apparently listed in order of positive votes. Depending on the size of the browser window, only the first three or four might be visible.

If it wasn't important to get on the first page of Google search engine results, people wouldn't put so much effort into SEO (search engine optimisation). The further down the list you are, the less likely it is that people will see your result for that search.

Similarly with Tip Jar - someone might post the world's best-ever money-saving tip, but if people don't see it, they won't be able vote for it.

If they don't vote for it, nobody will see it. Which means nobody will vote for it, and so on.

What's at the bottom of the pile? See page 2.