Comments on: Yelp: (No) Thanks for Sharing

By: VICKI

VICKI — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:43:07 +0000

YOU JUST GAVE MY DAUGHTER A VERY GOOD REVIEW HER NAME IS KERRY K. SHE IS VERY BEAUTIFUL AND SMART.
SHE GRADUATED WITH AN ENGLISH DEGREE AND WRITES
BEAUTIFULLY. I HAVE KEPT HER POETRY AND WRITING FROM
WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL.
I AGREE WITH YOU SHE IS THE ONLY STAR ON YELP.

By: Uncle Fishbits

Uncle Fishbits — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:30:57 +0000

I like Yelp. I don't really read the reviews much anymore and simply use it as a blog for ME, and what I ate. However, I note one thing… the more successful it gets, the more reviews will happen, which means the bell curve will go into effect, I assume? I mean… in the end won't every restaurant.. whether a diner or Danko, average out?

More reviews from more reviewers (whether pro or not), makes them wash out into nothingness… which is why a lot of pro's hate yelp… it threatens them (not that it should).

I think we step back, remind ourselves not to overvalue a review (good or bad), and let the social networking site that Yelp is flourish.

People will finally start to realize it is simply a facebook for local psuedo-foodies.

By: Ginger Grant

Ginger Grant — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:27:09 +0000

So you have your Yelp groupies who cry foul with any criticism of their beloved site and you have people who expect far too much from the site.

It allows the general public to blog about their exeriences. what do you expect? most people simply aren't THAT intelligent or good communicators/writers.

So I'll say what I always do about the opinions on Yelp: you read them carefully. And you figure out whose opinion you're reading.

oh and all this BS that Yelp is business practice: such as allowing advertisers to have their negative reviews sink to the bottom of their listing -is not helping their credibility at all.

By: Steven G

Steven G — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:46:35 +0000

Thanks for your opinion but I pride myself on my REAL reviews. It's a breath of fresh air when you can read something that sounds like it didn't come from someone who sniffs, swills, and spits out wine. Silver spoon in mouth much?

By: sara no h.

sara no h. — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:27:56 +0000

I tend to like Yelp just as a way to find new places to try - it's convenient to be able to type in "thai food" near my zip code, and have a handful (or armload, as the case may be) of places pop up. I agree that some of the reviews are … lacking … but if nothing else, it's a good way to gauge where the eateries are and how much I should expect to spend on them.

I also write reviews from time to time on Yelp, but I like to think that my posts contain substance. Hubris, I know ;)

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:26:09 +0000

I agree with Romero.

Why did you only single out women to belittle individually?

Hate/fear women much? Please. Grow up. Give me an expert blogger please. This below average blogger is a waste of cyberspace. I want smart people.

By: Romero

Romero — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:23:09 +0000

You have some good points, but lost all credibility with weird attacks like this:

"If you're interested in reading about her bikini waxing at the Pink Cheeks Skin Salon in Sherman Oaks, I will happily email you her yelp profile."

and this:

"Maybe her two lip rings at the right-hand corner of her mouth catch enough food so that she might savor it more thoughtfully upon her return home from dining"

Reminds me of a douchebag yakking at me regarding some girls that rejected his advances for a date.

Weak sauce, and lacking of any real substance. "I want smart people." Yes, please.

By: CKS

CKS — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:29:13 +0000

I howled aloud at your review of Yelp! Keep writing! While certain Yelpers are circling their wagon, others may be actually trying to improve their writing skills!
Thanks for the perspective!

By: OakeySmokey

OakeySmokey — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:03:20 +0000

The problem with Yelp is, you would think a food review site would actually have FOODIES as their Elite members…the kind of people who try different cuisines, are well-versed on ingrediants and menus etc.

But No………..To be a Yelp Elite Member, you basically just have to party with the top Yelpers and be part of their clique. It has NOTHING to do with how good their reviews really are, it's just a social thing…..kinda like High School. Yup High School - Yelp Elites resemble the movie "Mean Girls" for the most part.

Alot of their reviews start with "I really hate [blank] cuisine, but…."

Yelp is lame.

By: Joe Lunch Bucket

Joe Lunch Bucket — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:57:38 +0000

So all of your reviews are more detailed, thoughtful and reflect the dinning experience of wide variety of diners more so than the sum of the reviews posted on Yelp? If you can accomplish that, then I agree, Yelp is a flash in the pan and we should continue to seek out the opinion of certified snobs. But if you can’t say that each of your reviews provides more perspective than the multitude of Yelp posts for any given restaurant, then people will continue to pull away from more traditional media and rely on many reviews of varying quality rather than one or a few professional reviews from the elite. If you’ve read through Yelp reviews as your article indicates, I’m sure you noticed that there are many, many food snobs who I’m sure are as verbose, detailed and as pompous as you. But don’t take my tone too seriously—my reply, as well as your blog, as well as everything on Yelp should be taken with a grain of salt. I don’t really thing this Internet thing’s going to last much longer anyway…