At this moment, Ali Julia is the No. 1 ranked reviewer on Amazon.com, which makes her the queen of an elite — and very secretive — club that wields huge influence over the nation’s shopping habits.

Companies send them piles of free products, often before they are released to the general public, with the desperate hope that they will sit down and write a detailed review, because studies show that customers are attracted to products with multiple reviews (even if they’re not all good).

A fascinating read.