Master Dilettante

I must have too much free time on my hands (don’t tell my boss), because lately I’ve been doing a bit more business reading and checking out Web sites I’ve wanted to explore. Yelp isn’t new news, but two of my former eBay colleagues are leading operations and marketing there, so it’s long past time I demonstrate my support.

Here are a few reasons why I love it, particularly for restaurant reviews:

• Breadth. While Zagat’s is now expanding beyond restaurants to hotels, nightclubs and attractions, Yelp already features reviews in 22 categories, and I would expect further expansion. I use Yelp predominantly for restaurant reviews, but I’m starting to look at the shopping reviews and won’t stop there.
• Depth. Instead of the brief squib that sites like Zagat’s or Citysearch might feature, Yelp’s user-generated content is unlimited. This means plenty of reviews for general accuracy but also sufficient detail.
• Community. Add friends, send compliments. Yelpers band together to celebrate places and even arrange to meet to check out new restaurants. The social networking element is real.
• Cost. Yelp is free for users.
• Personalization. I can add photos. I can write reviews and make lists. I can email my reviews to friends. And I get my own URL. I’m a fledgling reviewer, but you can check out my reviews and add me as a friend on my Yelp page.

Yelp’s tag line says it all: “Real People. Real Reviews.”