A few weeks ago I reviewed some of the best manual finance apps on the App Store. Emile Bennett’s Pennies was one of the apps which were part of that review. Soon after publishing my thoughts, Emile Bennett got in touch with me to share his feelings regarding what he called my scathing review of Pennies.

On second look, he was right. I immediately wrote back to him (rather defensively) that my thoughts were undoubtedly valid, but I conceded that I had perhaps been a little unconstrained in putting them forth. It ended up looking like a harsher review of his app than I intended and because I personally loved the app, (the least I could do was that) I eventually took down the review.

Can you do what the other person did?

As writers, reviewers and expressers of opinion, we carry a certain responsibility with us: to give readers a fair picture. Sometimes our picture does not tie in with public opinion, often it does. And there is nothing wrong with either scenario. The fact that we will ultimately — intentionally or otherwise — influence another’s opinion and, in turn, affect the performance of a product, show etc. means we ought to tread carefully, both with praise and with opprobrium.

I found that the best way to do this is to ask yourself a simple question at the outset: “Can you do what the other person did?” The other person being the one who’s work you are reviewing. Can you build an app like they did? Can you write a book like they did? Can you direct a film like they did? This alone fills you with a sense of respect for the work you are reviewing and goes a long way in shaping your arguments in a much more appreciable — and convincing — manner.

Don’t be destructive

Once you start reviewing (whether your answer to the previous question was yes or no) it helps to keep track, at every dot, line and paragraph, whether your criticism is being destructive or not. It is a lot easier to get out of hand and sadly destructive than it is to stay within bounds and deliver a helpful opinion. This is something I had myself overlooked while reviewing Pennies, although I have been careful enough up to that point, and even more careful since.

After all, the point of a review is to be helpful. The simplest way to keep track of this, at least initially, is to ask whether you are providing a solution to every problem or criticism you raise. A statement that something is bad is not only unhelpful, it also negatively affects the product and the people behind it — which is strictly not any reviewer’s intention. A statement followed by possible solutions is ideal, at least as a starting point to being constructive in your criticism.

Find a balance and appreciate

Parenthetical to my last proposition is the concept of balancing. For everything negative you say, try to say something positive about what you are reviewing.

Understandably, some products end up being so bad (in your opinion) that, try as you might, you cannot think of anything worthwhile about it. In that case, the least you can do is pepper the negative criticism with a few positive statements. This will lend depth and dimension to your review — something that does a lot towards making your readers take you seriously and believe you. A reviewer who spews out a chain of stinging remarks is hardly any different from a little kid throwing a tantrum. It is just as hard to take him seriously — even if he may be right.

Take time to understand the niche

Unarguably, one of the possible roots of negative criticism lies simply in a lack of understanding of the niche that the product is serving. A reviewer can hardly be the master of all niches: oftentimes the first task on hand needs to be to understand the target audience of the product — a demography the reviewer may not belong to. In this case, spend as much time understanding the target audience as understanding the product.

Once again I revert to my old review of Pennies, for nothing but the convenience of the familiar: I was not entirely in the target demography of Pennies. Without going into the details, one of the main points of criticism in my review was that Pennies ought to add certain functionality which would necessarily serve outside its niche. Having seen how great the app is, the lack of a couple of key features whose addition I thought would make the app tenfold more useful was what I was pressing for. But I was suggesting inclusions that would push Pennies outside its niche.

(For the curious, I was suggesting the inclusion of a graph/statistics option with the app, whereas Mr Bennett had purposely avoided that as extraneous.)

Contact the other person if in doubt

Lastly, never assume. Your review need not jump people and take them by surprise. And as a critic, you are not here to keep tabs on how someone or something performs. As I see it, the function of a reviewer, or a critic, is mainly to serve an informed opinion for others to quickly understand the app and make it easier for them to take informed decisions. A reviewer ought not to be the one serving decisions.

Therefore, if you need a clarification, if you need more ideas, a better insight, talk to the developer, writer, artist etc. whose work you are looking to review. A review is a good thing. And almost always the person being reviewed will be happy and helpful and talking to them will let you come off with a much better idea of what product you have before you than going it alone. This applies no matter how small the audience or publication. In my own experience, I have found this to be true while writing for the large audience of a newspaper as while writing for a smaller audience on my website.

The next time you dislike a product, be objective, and look over these points to help guide you through the process of constructively reviewing so that your words will be beneficial, and not caustic, to all parties involved.

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