Comments on: Why are users so dumb? Yelp.com Case Study

By: Charlie

Charlie — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 02:19:02 +0000

I feel that your views on this are a little misguided, considering that you taking the time to blog about this opinion is a contradiction to your whole point. There are numerous sites that give people the opportunity to create and contribute. In fact, I would wager that one of the more socially valuable aspects of the internet’s development is that it has enticed the public to contribute by simply giving them the chance. I celebrate sites that encourage something other than mindless consumption, if that makes me “dumb” than so be it. But I think you should examine your reasoning behind writing this article. Was it to serve only this site? If it was than I apologize, but I truly think you also enjoy writing and the feeling of contribution.

By: lpn training

lpn training — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:02:22 +0000

This is very self explanatory… “Karma”. You do something good to someone and you probably get something good out of your good deed. Say you wanted to find fair and unbiased review of a product, especially something related to information product, you probably go to a related forum and read a number of different opinions from different angle and you make your decision without someone telling you how it is. Trust me if you save some money or time because you get some tip from a bunch of strangers without any specific vested interest on the subject matter, you will also feel obliged to contribute to the discussion and help someone on the go.

By: adamvonwillis

adamvonwillis — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:09:22 +0000

Jacob Kerlerec was spot on. Your comments about Yelp seems pessimistic and very negative. Reviewing companies on Yelp is fun and actually does help people out. It’s a really great service and I am proud to say that I am contributing to it’s success.

By: kadavy

kadavy — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:40:20 +0000

Silly Noah, users get Ego Capital for reviewing on Yelp: http://snipr.com/4qx5t

By: Why Google should buy Yelp? And how wrong I was;( | Noah Kagan's Okdork.com

Why Google should buy Yelp? And how wrong I was;( | Noah Kagan's Okdork.com — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:22:56 +0000

[...] (and potentially any business) generated by a passionate userbase. I was VERY wrong when I talked crapped on Yelp a year ago. My bad. Right now Yelp has grown mostly through Google Search results and map results [...]

By: Noah Kagan

Noah Kagan — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:23:34 +0000

damon,

i think i will eat my words on this post. i have found Yelp useful for myself just for book-marking. it could be looked at as a game where people get rewards, points, social capital, etc… for using Yelp. Also, it feels good to tell people about things and get noticed for that.

By: Damon Billian

Damon Billian — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:37:32 +0000

“For Yelp to be really successful they have to answer the question of Why users will want to keep helping them grow their business.”

A couple of reasons it works for Yelp:
1. Unlike Epinions, Yelp is focused on only services of some sort (restaurants, bars, etc.)
2. While sites like Yahoo local may have huge traffic, the customers aren’t engaged in any manner. People are just searching for what they want & then leave.
3. Yelp does a good job with organizing events to meet people in person.
4. It engages people that enjoy doing those types of activities on a regular basis (going out, eating, etc.)
5. Yelp has a coolness factor going for it. I am pretty sure that their demographics probably sit very highly w/in the 18-35 range.

Some of the sites you listed can’t really be compared to Yelp, IMHO. How many times have you bookmarked a restaurant on del.icio.us?

By: Opus

Opus — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:31:35 +0000

What ever happened to the joys of expressing opinion, or the appreciation for a set of finely crafted words?

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:34:05 +0000

Do you know what fun is? Or do you only consider what you can monetarily get out of a situation.

Are you getting paid to do this blog? What’s your incentive?
What’s my incentive to read it? I can’t find one…

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:38:21 +0000

First off, I have a good amount of downtime at work sometimes, and trolling the news and myspace can only take up so much time. Yelp is enjoyable to add to because it gives a lot back…. and knowing that I’m feeding the helpful fire is nice. How does yelp reward me? I get to go to places I know stand a good chance of being good… like when I had my car smogged, the guy was nice, fast, and a yelper even pointed me to a $10 off coupon.