What’s yelp? “Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review, and talk about what’s great – and not so great –in your area.” Go ahead, log on to yelp and search Chinatown in Seattle, WA. Chances are the first couple pages are all restaurant reviews and to make matters worse, Dim Sum is in its own section outside of food. For many people, the International District seems to generate an exclusivist ego for those searching for “secret Asian goodies.” And Yelp, well it’s the ultimate outlet for those Lewis and Clarks who brag to friends and families about their newly found treasure, to allow them to brag to an entire community. Although Yelp uses the term “review”, I find it increasingly difficult to understand it if each reviewer is awarded badges of honor such as “elite member” displayed on their profile page and avatar. What exactly dubs thy an “elite member” of a community review website? I had previous notions that those who are “elite” demonstrate a particular knowledge or skill of a particular craft. And to make matters worst, users have developed slang terminology for popular locations such as Uwajimaya, now sadly known as “The Waj.” No offense Yelp, I usually enjoy reading what people have to say, but I am never fully convinced of what any one person has to say on Yelp.
here are some statements ive copied and pasted from yelp:
“It’s “The Waj”.
It’s Ranch 99’s trendy, but sweet sibling. The sister you strive to become. “
sounds like this person has some unsolved family issues
“There are so many unusual items at the Waj as it is affectionately called by locals. I love that you can get more than just asian food here.”
as i read it, unusual items = asian food
“Can’t read the asian writing, or, don’t know how to cook a specific product that looks interesting to you? Ask someone who works there. Most of the time I have had no problem at all asking how to use a specific sauce, or how find things that I needed for recipes.”
asian writing? wtf?
“What kind of dork reviews a grocery store? This kind, apparently.
When I was a kid I hated Asian food. I refused to eat it under any circumstances. Eventually I became old enough to drink and one very intoxicated evening I decided to cave in and try yakisoba. Ever since then Japanese food and I have been best pals.“
you’re not alone, there are thousands of dorks reviewing on that website, if you didnt notice.
“This is the best thing in the International District. Amtrak is located nearby and there are plenty of buses running in and out of this neighborhood“
you would want to get out of the neighborhood immediately after your trip to “the best thing in the I.D.”
“Not much to do in Chinatown/International District; Uwajimaya is probably the biggest highlight.“
i have to respect your decision, i dont agree with it at all though
im not dissing yelp on this, just the people who post on yelp (the louis and clarks, the exclusivists egos, mostly white people)
ps,
yelp offers to remove bad ratings for a fee (for businesses)
talk about extortion:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/yelp_and_the_business_of_extortion_2_0/Content?oid=927491
another great post about why yelp sucks:
http://feedmedrinkme.blogspot.com/2009/02/problem-with-yelp.html
