I’ve noticed a disturbing trend recently. People are becoming Recommendation Zombies. In the past it seemed a person would limit their recommendations to products and services they had a first hand positive experience with. That no longer seems to be a criteria.
Why are people recommending I watch movies they’ve never seen? Read books they’ve never finished? Acquire gadgets they’ve never owned? Eat at restaurants they’ve never been to? Have we all become extensions of the commercials we watch?
They are two reasons to recommend something:
- You have had a first hand positive experience AND you think the person you are recommending would also have a positive experience. There are two levels of filters. Your recommendations become more valuable only when you apply both filters.
- You are personal enriched by the success of the product you are recommending. I’ve never smoked a single cigarette, yet when I owned the stock of major tobacco company, I tried to convince a co-worker that my getting a 4.4% dividend was more important than his health and he shouldn’t quit smoking. Although recommending the smooth taste of a menthol smoke to a man trying to quit is probably bad behavior, at least he knew my motives and could decide for himself if my recommendation was of value.
If you are a Recommendation Zombie – stop it!