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

Stephen Withers
Friday, 06 March 2009 03:41

Opinion and Analysis

Obviously, it makes sense to display the 'best' tips first for the benefit of readers.

What if you were asked to pick the better of two tips randomly selected from those that aren't on the first page as the price of admission? That would give good tips a better chance to bubble up to the top.

Another issue is that maybe a simple yes/no isn't appropriate. It seems to me that someone's equally likely to vote Yes for tips that would save them $50 or $500 a year.

By rating tips on say a five-point scale, people could capture their feelings about the practicality of the tip and the magnitude of the saving. A five would be something that saves plenty and is easy to implement, and a one would be far too much trouble for the amount saved.

You could keep the option of voting No for stupid or irrelevant suggestions to make sure they sink quickly.

I also noticed that some tip sources have consistently high ratings, even across multiple categories. I'm not sure whether that's because people really do have a high regard for them, or if some gaming has been going on.

Still, kudos to Google for tapping into the zeitgeist of these economically troubled times.