We've launched.
Notches is a free, open, universal platform for reviews. We're building a network of applications, partners and cool tools. Reviews written in any of the network's sites will be part of the Notches system everywhere. All the pieces share a common back-end which handles the heavy lifting.
Today, we have released our developer API as well as a Facebook application and Twitter interface. If you are interested in developing for our API, request a key and get started today. If you are a site looking to integrate reviews, let us know and maybe we can help.