If online customer reviews become integral for brands and retailers, a future model may resemble Yelp.com. It appeals because it works more as a social network for foodies than purely a restaurant review website. Joncarl Lachman, a Chicago chef and restaurateur, called Yelp "word of mouth on steroids."
With four million reviews written and 15 million visitors a month, Yelp is growing much faster than its rival, Citysearch, and has either surpassed it in page views or is on the verge of doing so, according to a review in The New York Times. Approximately 81 percent of "Yelpers" are under age 40.
Like other social networking sites, Yelpers can e-mail each other and each has a count of "friends" he or she has made on the site. Personality profiles (The Last Great Book I Read, My Favorite Movie, My Last Meal On Earth, etc.) are also included, and most Yelpers include at least one photo. Each reviewer has a count of restaurant reviews they've written, as well as the number of "fans" awarded by other yelpers who like their reviews. Yelpers can also rack up a number of "firsts," or being the first to review a restaurant. The biggest honor is earning the "Review of the Day," voted on by fellow yelpers.
Then there are a group of reviewers designated as the "Yelp Elite," who, according to Times, "write often enough and cleverly enough to tickle the algorithms at headquarters into singling them out for promotion." Yelp sponsors monthly Elite-only events at which restaurants, distillers and vintners offer free samples to build a reputation.
Many yelpers join the site to make friends and find dates. But there's also a chance to become famous. The most credited get invited to food events to meet chefs, or they earn the vilification of chefs through exchanges on the site.
More than one Elite member described the game of racking up restaurant reviews, friends, fans and firsts as well as sharing feedback as addictive.
"You get so much positive reinforcement," Rebecca Shansky, a doctorate in neurobiology whose online persona, Becca S. hangs out in cocktail lounges. "People tell you you're cool, you're funny, you're a good writer."
Critics like Paul Kahan, the owner of Blackbird, Avec and the Publican in Chicago, complain that websites like Yelp were "a forum for people who don't necessarily know what they're talking about." But he admitted to the Times that any reader who struggled through 20 to 30 Yelp reviews of one of his restaurants "would get a fair impression of it."
Although restaurant reviews dominate the listings, Yelp also now includes reviews on department stores, bars, beauty salons, Broadway shows and other businesses.
Discussion Question: What do you think of the melding of social networking and customer review sites? Do you see similar social networking sites around retailers/brands emerging to drive online customer reviews? What do you think the future model of online customer review sites will look like?