[London, ENGLAND] U.K. software developer
Autonomy Corporation plc
announced Friday that its technology will be used to power
a pan-European “consumer opinion portal” named Dooyoo.
Dooyoo is designed to carry reviews written by ordinary
consumers about the products they have purchased. Autonomy’s
technology will link the reviews to the products and
deliver a personalized version of the site to each user.
Dr. Mike Lynch, founder and group chief executive of
Autonomy Corporation, commented that online shoppers need
relevant, informative, personalized product information
delivered to them automatically.
“Using Autonomy, Dooyoo has taken these customer-centered
approaches to new heights, helping ensure that users are
protected from costly errors of judgement and that one-time
visitors become regular users,” said Lynch.
Both Autonomy and Dooyoo claim that users will benefit
from the experiences of others in the Dooyoo community.
Neither company appears worried that disaffected consumers
who have been unfortunate in getting a bad version of an
otherwise well-made product will cause undeserved damage
to manufacturers’ reputations.
The best-known consumer reviews on the Internet are the
book reviews on Amazon.com — which have always been highly
controversial. Most recently, an “author comment” from Russian
novelist Fyodor Dostoievsky (1821-1881) was one of the more
amusing examples of the system’s limitations.
Stefan Smalla, director of e-commerce at Dooyoo, insists
that the service being offered by Dooyoo will provide
an end-to-end decision support process for the buyer.
“Our neutrality and impartiality remain uncompromised,
because we ourselves sell nothing and we open our doors
to all manner of retailers,” said Smalla.
The German version of Dooyoo gives users access to more than
175 online shops offering over 0.6 million products. With smiliar
extensive coverage being built in France, Italy and the U.K.,
Dooyoo says it expects its pan-European service to attract
more than 0.25 million users.