editor Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Is it over for Yelp?A couple of weeks ago I read an article alleging that Yelp salespeople were manipulating business reviews in exchange for ad sales. They allegedly approached businesses and told them that if they bought ads on Yelp that they would get good reviews or have their positive reviews moved up. If they didn't buy, they'd get negative reviews or see their positive reviews removed.Several business told that San Francisco newspaper that it happened to them. At the time I shrugged it off as possibly the world of one or two rogue Yelp salespeople. But then earlier this week there was an article in the New York Times about the same thing happening in New York.Now there's an article in the Chicago Tribune where restaurant owners were told to cater Yelp parties for free in exchange for positive reviews. Bad news seems to travel faster than good news on the social internet, so I can't help but wonder if Yelp's days are numbered.I know there are a bunch of Yelpers on HAIF. So, does anyone have any thoughts on what's going on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic08 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Is it over for Yelp?A couple of weeks ago I read an article alleging that Yelp salespeople were manipulating business reviews in exchange for ad sales. They allegedly approached businesses and told them that if they bought ads on Yelp that they would get good reviews or have their positive reviews moved up. If they didn't buy, they'd get negative reviews or see their positive reviews removed.Several business told that San Francisco newspaper that it happened to them. At the time I shrugged it off as possibly the world of one or two rogue Yelp salespeople. But then earlier this week there was an article in the New York Times about the same thing happening in New York.Now there's an article in the Chicago Tribune where restaurant owners were told to cater Yelp parties for free in exchange for positive reviews. Bad news seems to travel faster than good news on the social internet, so I can't help but wonder if Yelp's days are numbered.I know there are a bunch of Yelpers on HAIF. So, does anyone have any thoughts on what's going on?Nooooooooooo - I heart Yelp! But, with the info in the article, my opinion is now jaded a bit. I always check places out before I visit on that site. Way to ruin it for us all, greedy Yelp people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmather0 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Wow, that's really sleazy. Why in the world would they think they could get away with something like that as a matter of course? Too bad, it was a handy website while it lasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I think all these iPhone apps and others on mobile devices are going to be the demise of one another. It's like wolves fighting to the death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I have noticed that the alleged Yelp extortion practices have been a hot topic in the online food/restaurant community for months now. Especially NYC and San Francisco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I have noticed that the alleged Yelp extortion practices have been a hot topic in the online food/restaurant community for months now. Especially NYC and San Francisco.Yeah, I think restaurant reviews are over-rated. I have had perfectly good experiences at restaurants where others have panned the place. I am not sure about Yelp's practices but good restaurants willd develop a following with or without them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheeats Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I've had very interesting experiences with Yelp in the past. They asked me to interview for their Community Manager position and during the course of the interview process, about a million alarm bells went off in my head. The events that they put on have absolutely no budget, so you really do have to finagle your way into getting a free venue, free food, free booze, etc. And what do you think you have to offer in return to these places? Exactly. I'm not being all pearl-clutchy, but I was deeply bothered by that.Yelp was an exciting concept at first, but companies can only skate by on venture capital investments for so long before they need to start turning a profit somehow. And that's where we find Yelp today. There have been other experiences that are probably left undiscussed on a forum, but suffice to say Yelp left me with a very bad taste in my mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Yeah, I think restaurant reviews are over-rated. I have had perfectly good experiences at restaurants where others have panned the place. I am not sure about Yelp's practices but good restaurants willd develop a following with or without them.Quite a few tourists use Yelp as a tool when it comes to try one place to eat over another. While it may seem silly for those of us that don't travel or set in our ways for food; it is a great way for business travelers or tourists to find a place to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 A couple of years back, someone asked about some of the apartment rating services, and many posts commented on the fact that the apartment managers would fluff the ratings and reviews of their apartment complexes. Of course, that dilutes the validity of the reviews, so the site is of dubious value. Then, about a year ago, I looked up a friend's restaurant on citysearch. She was getting terrible reviews. I looked it up a few months later and suddenly there were several 5 star reviews. What stuck out was the reviewer whose name conveniently consisted of the first 3 letters of my friend's name and her husband's name. Looking at the others, I saw other coincidental spellings. The final straw came last month when looking around for a new vet for my dogs. The reviews are either 5 star or 1 star. Nothing in between...and this is on the same vet!In today's world, where politics and political punditry have become one-sided all-or-nothing fights, so have reviews and reviewers. How am I to tell if that 1 star review came from a drama queen who is furious that the vet didn't give out free treats, or if the vet misdiagnosed and nearly killed her dog? How do I tell if the vet's ex-husband is flooding the review site with bad reviews in an act of revenge, or if they really do give terrible service? How do I know if the reviewer is a reasonable person like myself, or is a perfectionist who over-dramatizes inconsequential points?Because it is impossible to know the point of view of the reviewer, or even to know the motivation behind the review at all, I have discounted these sites for awhile. The advantage of the internet is also its bane...everyone can post. And this is a problem even BEFORE site owners start manipulating the reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 How bad is it if you use the internet for 4-6 hours daily, for at least the last 10 years, and never heard of Yelp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 There's always b4-u-eat.com, although it's specific to Houston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 How bad is it if you use the internet for 4-6 hours daily, for at least the last 10 years, and never heard of Yelp?It prob. means you either have SOME semblence of a life, or you don't go out of your internet comfort zone.Don't feel bad, I havent heard of it until about 5 months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 It prob. means you either have SOME semblence of a life, or you don't go out of your internet comfort zone.Don't feel bad, I havent heard of it until about 5 months ago.I like http://b4-u-eat.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 14, 2009 Author Share Posted March 14, 2009 I think all these iPhone apps and others on mobile devices are going to be the demise of one another. It's like wolves fighting to the death.There's Yelp on iPhone? Who knew! I've only Yelped from the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I like http://b4-u-eat.com/I concur. Only, I wish that they included more reviews on taco stands and other holes-in-the-wall for us unemployed budget-minded sorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 the yelpers i've met are very conscientious about keeping identities secret and giving objective reviews. of course, once you've yelped about a business and someone recognizes your picture, you can no longer yelp about that business. if there are unscrupulous yelpers out there, it hurts the yelp community. i doubt the yelp organization allows manipulation in exchange for yelp events. that defeats the whole purpose. yelp is irrelevant if this were true and the founders know it. the local houston yelp community has been organizing secret "yelp offs" that meet at an unsuspecting business, have fun and then everyone goes home to write about it..good or bad. the goal is to find consensus.i'm aware that yelp employees have been fired for not following proper guidelines.i hope the news going around isn't indicative of the greater yelp community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I think the Yelp!ers are "dogpiling". When someone makes a negative review, it influences the next one to create a negative review (or it could work for positive ones). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I concur. Only, I wish that they included more reviews on taco stands and other holes-in-the-wall for us unemployed budget-minded sorts.if you're on the se side (s wayside and 610) or (howard and 45s), check out the laredo taco places in the chevrons. the s wayside one usually sells out by 1 or 2 but the one on howard switches from breakfast tacos to other tacos throughout the day. PLUS, no store bought tortillas like el rey, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Because it is impossible to know the point of view of the reviewer, or even to know the motivation behind the review at all, I have discounted these sites for awhile. The advantage of the internet is also its bane...everyone can post. And this is a problem even BEFORE site owners start manipulating the reviews.The solution is to create a web site where people review the review sites! Then we'll all know what to believe without any effort, and for very little money.Of course, some might see a flaw in that logic, since the meta-review site could be manipulated just like a review site, but I've thought of that! Since the site that reviews sites that review things is also a site that reviews things, it will review itself. So you can always check the meta-review site to see if the meta-review site is trustworthy. Which it will not be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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