In this blog post, Scott Adams talks about how valuable it is to talk to someone who has used the products and solutions we are interested in buying, before we make a purchase decision. Online reviews from strangers are not the same, as one wonders whether "the favorable reviews are planted by the vendor, and the bad reviews are planted by his competitors".

He offers a creative solution to allow potential buyers to connect with past consumers of products while protecting the latter from being flooded with a million e-mails asking how do they like their new can opener:

Imagine a system that works like this: When you buy a product, you agree in advance to answer up to four e-mails from future potential customers, beginning no sooner than one year from when you make your purchase. It's totally optional, but agreeing gives you access to people who already bought the product you're considering today, to help you make your own decision. It would strike you as a fair deal.

Starting to provide reviews one year after the purchase seems excessive (particularly for time sensitive things, like travel recomendations), but the general idea is interesting, allowing people to ask specific questions and get qualified feedback, as opposed to having to rely on reviews that aren't necessarily trustworthy and may not cover the points that are important for one's decision making process.