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A comment on Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars.

Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by dzlobin on Monday December 21, 2009 @03:44AM (#1007441)
While I agree with the other comments, I'm going to call this a dick move of the week. I understand that google wasn't buying yelp just for the sake of owning yelp, but Jesus Christ, yelp is a terrible terrible website for reviews of anything(I can only vouch for the NYC yelp). It's a pretty widely regarded fact here that yelp reviews do not count for shit, thus making the website a joke. They should have taken the money and ran.

Edit: If you don't agree, feel free to browse the reviews of NYC restaurants for some great advice by hundreds of thousands of self-proclaimed culinary experts and trendy hipsters who's idea of a good bar is one with big game hunter in the back and a 95% mustache rate.

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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by dcurtis on Monday December 21, 2009 @04:18AM (#1007467)
Did you really have to be that angry and extremist in your comment? Seriously, that was painful to read.

I've used Yelp in NYC countless times. It's not that bad; you just have to filter through the reviews. It's like any social site.

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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by dzlobin on Monday December 21, 2009 @12:44PM (#1008215)
Fair enough, you're right. I was just blown away that yelp would pass up half a billion dollars.
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by yardie on Monday December 21, 2009 @12:04PM (#1008137)
Sounds way too meta to me. You have to review the reviews to actually find a useful review? If the site is being abused and the reviews need to be filtered than it's effective usefulness goes way down.
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by zackattack on Monday December 21, 2009 @04:11AM (#1007461)
What would you recommend in NYC instead of Yelp?
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by dzlobin on Monday December 21, 2009 @12:47PM (#1008219)
I second nymag. Also, while not a replacement for yelp, Per Se, keeping up with ny.eater.com will ensure you know of all the interesting/amazing places to eat/go out.
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by defen on Monday December 21, 2009 @05:02AM (#1007509)
nymag.com is pretty good.
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by joubert on Monday December 21, 2009 @08:01AM (#1007669)
Seconded. NY Mag is far more in the know, and current.
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by axod on Monday December 21, 2009 @05:12AM (#1007518)
Call me carazzzy, but word of mouth??
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by dagw on Monday December 21, 2009 @06:32AM (#1007583)
Word of mouth really only works if you live there, not so much if you're just passing through. And the time you really need a site like yelp is for all those times you're just passing through place and want to know who will do you a good pizza.
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by axod on Monday December 21, 2009 @07:12AM (#1007622)
OK, I guess I misunderstood the use case. Seems like a niche to me.
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by dagw on Monday December 21, 2009 @09:36AM (#1007808)
That's my use case for yelp like sites anyway. When I'm at home I go out for dinner on avg. once or twice a week or so and go to a new restaurant probably less than 1 time in 10, so my need for restaurant reviews is quite low. I also have plenty of other local sources for good reviews when I need them

When I'm traveling I eat out basically every night and visit a new restaurant pretty close 100% of the time. On the whole I have much greater need for a site with reviews of restaurants in not my home town than in my home town, and that hardly seems niche to me.

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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by joubert on Monday December 21, 2009 @08:01AM (#1007670)
Then try TimeOut?
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Re:Yelp Walks Away From Google Deal, And Half A Billion Dollars by caffogene on Monday December 21, 2009 @06:08AM (#1007568)
You're thinking like a movie critic more than a business owner. The quality of the reviews counts for squat if the cash flows are positive. In the end, Google thinks it's a financially sound acquisition aligned with the company's vision. That is what matters.
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