"Stupefying Spells," Social Networking, Recommendations and Reviews

Several articles about false Yelp reviews have been in the news recently. In one article in Fortune & Money, A New York sting operation caught businesses paying for positive ratings on recommendation websites. This is not the only example. The evening news covered a 17 year old girl writing reviews for a fee. What happened to honest opinions?

Mondrian inspired cookies and cake
that my daughter and I made last
Thanksgiving.

In another scenario, some restaurants are offering free food, if you take a picture of food and post it on Instantagram. (The condition is that you must have 500 or more followers.)

My question? Is everything for sale? Are we going to barter our way to gluttony and sell our souls for a pastry?

Today this email arrived from LinkedIN:
"Dear Harriete Estel,
I'm sending this to ask you for a brief recommendation of my work that I can include in my LinkedIn profile. If you have any questions, let me know.

Thanks in advance for helping me out."
Signature

At first I felt like I'd been hit with something like a "stupefying spell" from Harry Potter.  Though I am aware of this person's jewelry - having seen it twice - I have never seen more than a couple of pieces. How should  I respond? Is this the foundation for a recommendation if we have never worked together? What would you do?

Being immersed in social networking is not enough depth to seek recommendations from people they don't even know personally. Will someone ask for the metaphorical five star review for their art or craft after a Like?

You tell me... is this another version of "The World of Like"?

 

 

Does anyone else think that Klout feels like a cyber high school cafeteria of social cliques rather than an endorsement?

I prefer genuine and personal enthusiasm instead of  bartering for a free muffin.     

I'm still debating all sides of this issue in my head.

Any answers?

Harriete Estel Berman