MojoPages: Media-rich user reviews with karma
Fond of Yelp but want a review site with more media in it? Try out MojoPages.
MojoPages is a new user review site that launched last week. It's similar to Yelp, but MojoPages users can post video clips and pictures to individual reviews about restaurants and local attractions.
In addition to offering a free-form template to create your written masterpiece, MojoPages gives you a form on which you can rate each establishment's value, service, and quality--things often mentioned in a well-written review.
One of the other standouts of MojoPages is the implementation of user photos. Instead of just uploading photos to an establishment's profile page, you can add them to each review. This might come in handy if you find a cockroach in your bowl of soup or want to include a photo of a signature dish you ate. The use of photos lets you narrate your reviews a little better and encourages you to come back and add another review if you try something different. This could be very handy with restaurants and hotels, as the quality can differ among dishes or rooms.
If you have a video clip, you can embed it right onto the review page. There's also a built-in recording function to create your own video review using a webcam. Browsing around I found less than a dozen video reviews, but some of the ones on there were interesting. One in particular might have been poorly lit, but it provided some insight into a restaurant's specialties and its chef. The whole experience reminded me a little bit of GeoBeats and TurnHere, but with more indie user-generated content.
Every time you post a review to MojoPages or somebody marks your review as helpful you're given some "Mojo." Mojo points count as prestige or street cred with other users, like what you'd find with Yelp's 'Elite' status. MojoPages also keeps track of Mojo, with leaderboards featuring the daily and the all-time Mojo points leaders.
MojoPages might have borrowed quite a few things from other review sites, but it's made excellent use of photos and videos to help users make reviews a little more dynamic. If you're looking for more comprehensive listings of local spots, competitor Yelp likely has you covered. If you want to make your personal reviews a little richer with media, give MojoPages a try.