Yelp Official Blog

Public Comments for Business Owners

Last night we rolled out a highly anticipated feature that allows business owners to publicly comment on their reviews. Already we've seen a number of sharp-eyed businesses make good use of this new functionality to provide additional context around specific reviews for the benefit of consumers and yelpers alike.

"Public Commenting" is free for all local businesses. To get started an owner simply needs to go to biz.yelp.com to instantly claim their page. Owners can get more information on best practices in our Business Owner's Guide.

Eye on the Bay (CBS) meets Yelpers

 

Liam Mayclem from CBS Eye on the Bay got a chance to sit down with Yelpers in their most natural environment, eating great food at their favorite restaurants. Stephanie W.,  Walter P., and Kathleen M. you were great!

Michael Bauer (SF Chronicle) - "Writing reviews ... not for the faint of heart"

Famed SF restaurant critic Michael Bauer today opines about online reviews and how they fit in with his professional work. I found these two thoughts particularly interesting...

"Writing reviews isn't for the faint of heart if you're going to seriously critique restaurants. You can upset readers who like the place, not to mention staff members who work there, along with their friends and families."

As any hardcore Yelper will tell you, having an opinion means others will disagree with you, sometimes loudly.

"I often look at Yelp to get a general idea about a place, especially if it's a restaurant I haven't been to in a while and want to see if I need to update it."

Great to hear that professional critics are finding Yelp a valuable resource too!

Quick Tip: There is a new Yelp App for iPhone

The latest and greatest Yelp App is now in the App Store and it comes with some big time upgrades...

+ You wanted it, you got it: write short, witty Quick Tips for a business while you're on go.  Best time to go, favorite dishes, where the back door is if you need a hasty exit, etc.

+ Is it Drafty in here?  Draft Yelp.com reviews from your phone and they'll be waiting for your to polish your prose when you're back at your home base.

+ Feed Me: We've added a feed of reviews, tips, photos, and events nearby.  And if you're logged in, check in on what your friends are up to with a feed of their recent Yelping.  Then vote on tips you like, and see who is digging the tips you've written.

+ Join Yelp: Sign up to be a member of Yelp (so you can write reviews and tips, add photos, and sync bookmarks) from your iPhone

+ Hello, Britain!  You could use Yelp across the pond before, but now it's better.  We spell things the way you like them now, and addresses, phone numbers, distances, etc., should look nicer.

+ Biggie Photos: tap the top box on business pages to get more info, then tap photos to browse full-screen pics of dishes, businesses, etc.

Yelp on TV - NBC's Press:Here Interview

Yesterday I spent some time at NBC's Bay Area studio with Scott McGrew of Press:Here along with print journalists Jessica Vascellaro (WSJ) and Jon Fortt (Fortune). We had an interesting conversation covering the gamut of Yelp topics from controversies to mobile that will air on Sunday (in the Bay Area) after Meet the Press, but you can catch the full segment below...

To see part 2 of the interview click here.

While in the studio I happened to meet fellow guest Kai Huang co-founder of Red Octane the game publisher behind the gaming mega hit Guitar Hero you can check out his interesting story here.

Yelp the Commercial

Our Weekly Yelp Editor-In-Chief, Nish N. provides the full story behind this hilarious new Yelp-o-mercial over on the Yelp Community Blog!