1. I use Yelp and so far I've found it useful and accurate. Of course I tend to look for substance in the good comments as well as the bad. (hyperaware of how easy it is for a business to succumb to selling itself through 'fake' comments; aware of the fact that everyone has bad nights and competitors) More than ever these days (I have IB back in high school to thank for starting me down this road): understand that every source has bias.
2. Yelp, to me at least, has shifted power into the hands of the consumer. It is now possible to hear, theoretically, what the users of a business (refer to 1.) think of it - good or bad. This, I would think, would make a few people unhappy - changes in power usually do. And complaining about being unhappy at 'power to the consumer' isn't really a story that is going to get much sympathy.
3. Yelp's business involves a trusting user. To undermine that by allowing businesses to remove negative reviews for a sum of money strikes me as being very short sited. Everything gets out eventually, especially in this day and age. In conjunction with 2., the best attack against Yelp (or the most effective) would be an attack on whether or not you can trust Yelp. Again, I can't see Yelp 'offing' itself like this - unless the team behind it really is that short sighted.
I like yelp, I find it useful and if/when it stops being useful, and if this story is true it won't be long till that happens, I'll stop using it.
1. I use Yelp and so far I've found it useful and accurate. Of course I tend to look for substance in the good comments as well as the bad. (hyperaware of how easy it is for a business to succumb to selling itself through 'fake' comments; aware of the fact that everyone has bad nights and competitors) More than ever these days (I have IB back in high school to thank for starting me down this road): understand that every source has bias.
2. Yelp, to me at least, has shifted power into the hands of the consumer. It is now possible to hear, theoretically, what the users of a business (refer to 1.) think of it - good or bad. This, I would think, would make a few people unhappy - changes in power usually do. And complaining about being unhappy at 'power to the consumer' isn't really a story that is going to get much sympathy.
3. Yelp's business involves a trusting user. To undermine that by allowing businesses to remove negative reviews for a sum of money strikes me as being very short sited. Everything gets out eventually, especially in this day and age. In conjunction with 2., the best attack against Yelp (or the most effective) would be an attack on whether or not you can trust Yelp. Again, I can't see Yelp 'offing' itself like this - unless the team behind it really is that short sighted.
I like yelp, I find it useful and if/when it stops being useful, and if this story is true it won't be long till that happens, I'll stop using it.