Not Sure About It? Yelp It!
By Stephanie Critchfield on Friday, August 10th, 2007For the past few months I’ve had terrible back pain. (stay with me, I have a point). I finally broke down and made an appointment with an orthopedic doctor near my home. During this process I thought to myself … “Man I wish there was a website that reviewed local businesses like this, so I would know if the place I just booked an appointment with is any good.”
Of course, only AFTER I scheduled the appointment did I discover Yelp.com, a website designed to “find, review, and talk about” businesses in local areas. Funny enough, the day after I found Yelp, Jeff Hilimire emailed me about it, and later shared a recent Fortune article. The article tells success stories from businesses who have been positively reviewed on the website, including a hairdresser who has so much business now that he has to “ice his hands on weekends.”
It’s fair to say that not everyone will experience the kind of sucess the hair salon did, but it is interesting to see this concept working. Certainly online reviews are nothing new, but Yelp does a great job of creating community around the reviews. The Fortune article says “Yelp doesn’t require users to reveal themselves, but it coaxes a lot of them into the open as a way to keep everyone honest and civil.”
I kinda think that Yelp has a bit of a Facebook feel. Users can write reviews and post images for any business. And, Yelpers can even develop an “elite” status by uploading a profile picture, using their real name, and remaining active on the website. Fortune called these Yelper-Elite the “squeaky wheels” - who, with their ability to get invited to exclusive events, can determine the fate of a new restaurant.
Well, I’m about to test Yelp. I actually did find my orthopedic doctor in Yelp, who was favorably reviewed. We’ll see after my appointment today if the review stands up!
Ummmm… Kudzu.com
It’s local and been around for a while now.
Hi Tavis. Excellent point. They actually came to mind for me as well. Kudzu.com has been around a good while and is a great local resource. They offer a lot of information, including local business reviews. However, Yelp apears to have taken off because of their focus on the user reviews - and only the user reviews. As I mentioned, it really strikes me as a social site - like a facebook, more so than Kudzu. So, its the community of people who rate and review services that shape the site.
Interesting Yelp article:
http://blogs.mediapost.com/spin/?p=1094
Yes, Yelp and Kudzu are taking different approaches — although both have a good stash of reviews. Yelp is very entertainment focused. Feels like a site for young folks with a lot of time and fewer responsibilities — kids, house etc. Kudzu is more focused on home services, health services — the stuff I do now (I long for the days when I could go out more). Also, while they’ve both spread beyond their first cities. Yalp is still very much a San Francisco site, while Kudzu is clearly deepest in Atlanta.