FACEBOOK REVIEW COMPONENT *LIVE*: Too little, too late, or complete & total game changer?

A brief history of Facebook and User Generated Reviews or Ratings:

Originally, there was a defunct “review” module at the bottom of profiles in 2005-6 or so (can someone verify year, send screenshot?), and it never took off.

Then they partnered with Tripadvisor, where FB users were unknowingly generating content from within FB that ended up populating Tripadvisor’s site.  Then that partnership stopped.  I have no more information on this…. I don’t know what the details of the partnership entailed, nor why it ended.  But I am fairly confident that partnership generated so much content, it’s why it became a player in the restaurant review market.  Around the time of that partnership, Tripadvisor had ZERO restaurant reviews.  In the year that Facebook and Tripadvisor partnered, Tripadvisor’s restaurant review population grew a thousand fold.

*Then* – FB just sat in irrelevance in regards to User Generated Reviews, etc.  But with social graph, I was wondering if there was any way they would start to try to get users to generate meaningful content that could be indexed, and bolster their intent in becoming more relevant as a business.  Fact is, user generated reviews is where it’s at, and it’s absurd that Facebook has allowed itself to me nothing more than a pass through for viral vids.

This could actually make Facebook a player.  Sure that sounds absurd to all the social media experts and gurus, but Facebook hasn’t done ONE thing. Not one.  Sure they exist and sure all of you think it’s something special, and people go “hub bub” about it.  But they haven’t actually DONE anything.

This was a VERY quiet launch, and I am not sure how they plan to compete with google, tripadvisor or yelp in this arena, but this screen shot got me sort of curious…..

I don’t hold out much hope for FB at all. Really.  But this is the first time something interesting has happened in a bit – in my mind.  This was found on the precious top right ad space… and, I mean, to displace their powerfully effective and dominating ad model must mean something, RIGHT?!?!