A little yelp doesn't hurt nobody

Well, hello hello. Welcome back. Have you ever heard of 'yelp'? No? Apparently, this website is spreading around the globe and is about to become one of the "important" ones. As if a website could ever be more important than real life, but let's not get into that right now.

Do you read restaurant reviews on the Internet? I certainly don't. When I'm hungry I look for the nearest place to eat and go for it. However, when I book a hotel or a trip, I do feel the need to read online feedback from previous guests. So, how come I'm not doing it for a restaurant before I go there? Anyway, this website called 'yelp' strongly recommends to do so. The feedback on this site even includes pictures and is available in many different languages. Local businesses from all over the world are registered on this site, and if one is not, you can add it. I was really amazed by the amount of restaurant, bars and other places it covers. I typed in the smallest restaurant I know, which is located in the middle of nowhere, and it popped up. I guess, you should try it yourself. If you can find one, that is not yet on there, please let me know. The businesses on this site are organized into various categories such as food, shopping, nightlife, education, pets, and many more. No matter what you are looking for, yelp can recommend you a local business for it. Every business can be rated by anybody as well as every review. As a result, these reviews and ratings of businesses strongly influence the choice of readers. As anybody can write a review, you cannot be sure about its quality. Critics say that many businesses can overrate themselves or post an untrue review. To say it in a nutshell, it is all about the image; the corporate identity. Businesses want to look better than they actually are. Of course, who wouldn't want to be thought of better. On the otherhand, since anybody can write anything - as long as it is not too offensive - some reviews turn out to be quite harsh, boring or negativ. Others are quite helpful, honest and useful.

Take a look at these funny review:

all taken from www.yelp.com

Even Ellen found some 'interesting' ones:

Why not try it out? Next time, before you visit a local business, look it up on yelp. See if it matches your experience. Please, let me know. And until then - be happy.
Julia