The Rise and Fall of TripAdvisor?

Do a Google search for almost any travel related topic and one of your first hits is likely to be a review posted on TripAdvisor. This website has established an enviable reputation for being a great place to go for advice from other travellers on a range of topics from tour companies, restaurants, hotels etc...

However whilst it is a great format it is very open to exploitation. Two recent examples come to mind:-

Firstly a restaurant in Sharm El Sheikh is handing out business cards imploring people to write reviews about them on TripAdvisor. Whilst not exactly fraudulent this is surely a blatant attempt by them to boost their profile.

Secondly one of the top things to do in Marrakech on TripAdvisor in their "The Best Things to Do" list is a Moroccan cuisine course run by a man who works for them. He has obviously found that promoting his business in this way has been very successful for him.

TripAdvisor seems increasingly to not contain unbiased reviews from travellers but rather be becoming more commercialised in its content. A bad thing? Depends upon your outlook. However I am sure that when they first set up the site this is not how they intended it would end up.