At Angie’s List, the Reviews Are Real (So Is Angie)

A.J. Mast for The New York Times — In 1995, Angie Hicks compiled a list to help people find plumbers, roofers and other service providers. Angie’s List is now in 170 markets.

By RON LIEBER
NYT

INDIANAPOLIS

Any intrepid consumer can’t help being intrigued by the promise — and nerve — of Angie’s List.

Like Yelp, which had its initial public offering on Friday, it allows you to search for reviews of useful services near you and contribute your own evaluations.

But unlike Yelp, you are not anonymous when you praise or eviscerate a provider on the Angie’s List Web site, and the company requires paid subscriptions in cities where it has been up and running for a while.

That business model makes it particularly rare. There are few companies of its size that are built entirely around user-generated content yet ultimately charge its contributors to access just about all of it.

(More here.)