Lindsay Parker

One-way is the old way. The latest trend in e-commerce and internet marketing is the two-way rating system whereby the seller and the buyer rate each other. In theory this should hold both sides accountable and in most cases it does. But is it skewing results? Take the travel industry for example. On TripAdvisor, which uses a one-way rating system, the average hotel rating given by users is 3.8. Airbnb, on the other hand, uses a two-way rating system and its average ratings are higher. Significantly higher. "95% of Airbnb properties boast an average user-generated rating of either 4.5 or 5 stars (the maximum); virtually none have less than a 3.5 star rating", according to First Look at Online Reputation on Airbnb, Where Every Stay is Above Average. ( source ). So why are these results so much higher? Fear of retaliation.  When your reputation is on the line, you're more likely to go easy on the review in the hopes that they will do the same for you.

I recently asked my taxi driver what he thought of Uber . His response?: “I love it, it costs me an arm and a leg to rent this taxi. I’ve been driving for 8 hours already and haven’t earned enough yet to cover the overhead of renting this taxi from the owner. The next four hours of my night are crucial to me making a profit.” Just imagine what that looks like for a minute. You go into your office, grab a coffee and start your day. At noon your boss says, ok you can start getting paid for your work now, we’ve covered the cost of your desk and computer for the day. In Vancouver, we are the only city who successfully kicked Uber out, much to the chagrin of the users (want to do something about it? click here ). If you live or have lived in Vancouver, you know how challenging the taxi situation is here – good luck getting a taxi out of gastown on a Saturday night. Uber allows anyone with a clean car and a good attitude to sign up for the app (following a background c

Influencers are everywhere. So much so, they’re now a mainstream marketing avenue. When collaborating with influencers how you work with them is as important as who you choose to work with. Influencers fall somewhere between celebrity and traditional media outlets. They navigate the challenges of monetizing on a channel where they have built up an authentic following. For longevity, smart influencers know they need to stay true to their audience and personal brand. There are no advertising guidelines, no set rates and the working parameters vary from person to person. So when embarking on an influencer program (paid or not) it is important to consider how and where your brand will show up. As a brand, a great way to get the most out of working with influencers is by creating experiences for them. Influencers are always looking for opportunities to create content and share details of their day. Tarte Cosmetics takes influencers on trips to a beautiful, exotic location a few times a