Gaming the App Store 217
space_in_your_face writes "Want to boost the popularity of your latest iPhone app? Ask Reverb Communications! 'When it comes to winning in the App Store, this PR firm has discovered a dynamite strategy: throw ethics out the window. Reverb Communications, a PR firm that represents dozens of game publishers and developers, has managed to find astounding success on Apple's App Store for its clients. Among its various tactics? It hires a team of interns to trawl iTunes and other community forums posing as real users, and has them write positive reviews for their client's applications. ... Reverb claims that their clients have sold over $2 billion of product under their watch.'"
How about negative reviews? (Score:4, Informative)
One thing I've noticed at the App Store is that a lot of perfectly fine apps get a lot of 1 star reviews for ridiculous reasons. For instance, a review might state that the app does what it claimed to do flawlessly, that it is useful, and the best app in the category--but the reviewer also wish it had feature X (which no other app has), and the reviewer then gives it just 1 star, apparently for this "missing" feature.
This doesn't appear to be an isolated problem. Nearly every very good app I've downloaded has had a lot of these kind of negative reviews.
I wonder if anyone is purposefully trying to game the store by posting negative reviews on competitors, too?
TFA updated with response from Reverb (Score:2, Informative)
Reverb would like to clarify a few items regarding the MobileCrunch story about our agency that ran this weekend. The article âoeCheating the App Storeâ is unfortunately full of emotion, logical holes and for the most part untrue. Here are the facts:
1. The writer forgot that Reverb Communications is not just a public relations agency, but is also a sales and marketing agency. Reverbâ(TM)s marketing department has interns that do social viral marketing.
2. Our interns do not post reviews on iTunes. Our employees donâ(TM)t post fake reviews. Itâ(TM)s common for Reverb team members to purchase the games and write a review in iTunes using their personal accounts AFTER they have played the game. In many cases Reverb has provided technical feedback and gameplay guidance to the app developer, long before these games hit the App Store, so we know these games extremely well. We also like these games or we wouldnâ(TM)t take them on as clients. The entire list of iTunes accounts in your story are from staff members who have played the games.
3. 1 person=1 iTunes account=1 credit card. We do not have hundreds of accounts to âoetrawlâ through iTunes â" itâ(TM)s simply untrue. We have 10 staff members who choose to post on the games when and if they have played the game. We have to buy and play the game in order to have an opinion.
4. This same writer contacted several of our app store developers wanting negative comments from them regarding Reverb. They all gave positive feedback, but the writer left this aspect out of the story.
Re:It could be illegal. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Not news (Score:5, Informative)
Apparently they started doing that in Feb 2009 [macrumors.com].
Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Astroturf... (Score:3, Informative)
Because you can only review an app on the iTunes store that you have purchased -- this is enforced by the program and I don't know a way around it. So it would cost more per review than per app -- expensive advertising, I would think.
Re:Astroturf... (Score:3, Informative)
I know I'm going to order some oil, smokes, and a STA missile right now! You should too!
I am so fucking down with that plan.