Paying People to Yelp

Hi Heather,

As was explained to Burt, there are only 20 "marketing assistants" in our employ and they are hired to get the ball rolling in a new markets only. Because these are untouched markets there is little/no community and thus very little user to user interaction relative to our major markets. Their job is to update business information (phone numbers, business names, photos), write some reviews in that city, and market the site (primarily offline) to friends and family. The program is phased out as soon as a community starts to form (this resembles a buzz marketing program, which is common practice for many companies these days).

With a nascent community going we then put in a high profile Community Manager in market who is well known to participants (this employee is responsible for organizing offline events, helping users, etc). Burt has misrepresented our marketing programs by insinuating that users often interact with paid shills and that's simply not the case.

Jeremy,

Sorry for the tardy response. I understand that this falls under buzz marketing, but one of the tenants that buzz marketing needs to follow is transparency. The Word of Mouth Marketing Assn. (WOMMA), for instance, mandates full disclosure.

Not following that tenant can have real consequenes, as Wal-Mart found with backlash to its fake blog. Or PG&E which was approached by the FTC last January over disclosure issues in its Vocalpoint word of mouth marketing venture.

I appreciate Jeremy’s feedback on my story, and I’d like to respond too. We wanted to look at how Yelp moves into new markets, and in the process we highlighted the most noteworthy components, like the recruitment of marketing assistants. We don't insinuate that users "often" interact with these assistants, just that they exist, and then let readers decide for themselves whether it’s a policy they support. From the activity on Yelp's own talk boards, it looks like there are strong opinions for both sides.

As for the job description, my reporting bore out a somewhat different understanding of the priorities of the position than what Jeremy describes here. My understanding is based on interviews with two marketing assistants (one past, one present) who both told me about the job, and two Craigslist postings for the position in Atlanta and Austin. I also included Yelp management's position in the story. The Craigslist postings have since been taken down, but for anyone who’s interested, here’s the relevant excerpt:

“Yelp.com Hiring Witty Writers with Flair for Social Networking”:

"This critical role includes:

· Writing witty and insightful reviews of all the places you frequent.

· Getting your well-written friends (and their friends to join Yelp and start writing

· Moderating the Talk Boards, creating Lists, sending Compliments, and generally being a model Yelp community member

· Spreading the word about Yelp to the broader community.

The right candidate:

a. Knows Atlanta’s hot spots and influencers

b. Is extremely well-written

c. Is one of those “connectors” that makes other people want to follow them.”

Rave About It is an Australian website that aims to provide an enjoyable way in which users can search, rate and discuss what they think of services in their local area and beyond. Check it out!
www.raveaboutit.com.au

Heather, if you're a writer, you should know the difference between "tenet" and "tenant." The word you intended to use is "tenet" which means dogma, doctrine, or principle. "Tenant" means an occupant of a rented property. Your critique of others loses its potency if you can't even use the correct term. I hope you didn't pay too much for your college education.

oh snap!

heather gets criticized for not being loose enough to be a real blogger. and now for being too loose to be a real writer and making a spelling mistake. you can't win for losing.

Instead of having a buzz marketing program, and as mentioned, only in unserved markets, which creates a different Yelp in different locals, A better way would be to keep something like conductor who can start or lead a converstation (Moderator concept), But in all the locales.

I can tell you the technique completely backfired. I am a native new yorker, and a business owner in New York. When Yelp came to the city, it sounded like a great idea, until I realized that their reviews were mostly being generated by very few people (some with thousands of reviews) and comments from San Francisco. After a little review myself I realized that the reviews that were written were often inaccurate, as they were the reflection of plagiarized comments from other sites, or total fabrications. I dropped my advertising in less than one billing cycle, and refuse to have anything to do with it. Jeremy Stoppleman is the one is is flat out misrepresenting the situation, I can attest to that. look up Sam Perwin and Nish N - they generated 50% of the new york content a few months ago.

I was a member of Yelp.com, when I thought it was a good idea and indeed found many useful and helpful reviews based on other "Yelpers" with my similar tastes.

It is represented as a VOLUNTEER effort; "real reviews by real people" ...

... except

I began to experience my own authentic words (“real reviews from real people”) were suddenly and quite simply not acceptable; one either agrees with the youthful besets of the “committee”, or one is eliminated. Look closely at their members and see which ones have earned "badge(s) of honor" and which have not. There is censorship going on within Yelp, and it is not driven by morals or social etiquette; but rather by the unwritten rules generated by the childish influences that is the "committee" and what its members deem as "in" within the vacuous “executive chambers” of Yelp.

It's a true shame because the concept is unique and useful. They will surely dot.bomb ... as is the demise of all ego-centrist, limited scope individuals.

Someone with business sense will come onto the scene with such a venue and it will work, based on "real reviews from real people". But not from this group.

Sorry, Jeremy. It appears Burt has not misrepresented your marketing programs as by insinuating that users often interact with paid shills - because the only people allowed to remain "valued" are those that agree with some hidden "committee standard", rather than acceptable to others via the rating and compliment system that other "equal" yelpers are given to use.

So in actuality, it is a form of payment that your staff extends to those deemed "acceptable".

Sad. You HAD a good thing going for a minute.

I'm so glad that a company like Yelp is being exposed for what it is - a company built with the idea of cashing out. The true theme of the web 2.0 companies is the creation of a product out of genuine interest or to fill a genuine need - i.e. Facebook, YouTube, Delicious, etc. Their products then became valuable as community interest grew organically. Yelp is trying to artificially cultivate themselves, to the detriment of their entire community and the fake ideal for which they allegedly stand. Good to know that they are shills and we're left to utilize the trustworthy websites that cover their verticals.

I am a yelper and i dont get paid. I dont know where people got the info that we were getting paid.

I am a food writer at Campusfork (http://www.campusfork.com ) , a site dedicating to finding cheap eats.

I believe that sites can grow by word of mouth but it takes "Otaku", a Japanese word meaning obsession. We are content providers that must be passionate about something we love in order to write about it.

Btw, I am looking for food volunteers. No. I don't pay. Maybe I will buy you a burrito.

Yelp doesn't need to pay reviewers, since the ability to use internet anonymity & free, automatic authority to take cheap shots at businesses or individuals is attractive enough to many. Yelp also has a social networking system to give it a chummy MySpace feel with about the same level of maturity.

Here is some more information regarding the Yelp / Razzberry Lips story: * Yelp's sales reps use negative postings as a "lead source" to call the owner and attempt to sell Business Owner Accounts. * I received a phone call from a sales rep named Summer who stated that negative reviews could be moved to the bottom of the page and possibly removed in the future if I purchased a Business Owner Account. * The hypocrisy of the Yelp founders Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons is legendary , and is further amplified by their removal of my negative "review" of Yelp on their own website. So much for , "The voice of the people" or "Real People. Real Reviews" * Yelp hires paid "Yelpers" $15 / dollars an hour to write reviews because their business model is not succeeding. The ads for paid Yelpers can be found on Craigslist in every metro area in the U.S. You could call this, " Paid People . Fake Reviews". * On Friday July 4th , 2008 , the SF Chronicle ran an article about how Yelp removes establishments from Yelp if they complain or expose the Yelp hypocrisy publicly. * It is a known fact that Yelp is losing money at a burn rate that could put them out of business by next year. There is another popular website which has a "dead pool" in which the overwhelming number of readers select Yelp to go out of business within a year. They are desperate and are not performing a level public service as they represent. * They allow any unfounded accusation to remain on their site , no matter how inaccurate , without any regard for validation. * I attempted several times to contact the founders Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons regarding the situation described in the Mike Cassidy article. As cowards will do , they hid behind their desks. * My wife's business will continue to thrive for many more successful years and will outlast Yelp as they circle the drain throwing money at paid Yelpers and salespeople.

Here is an example of how Yelp operates. Paid Yelpers communicate on a Yelp Topic Site ( www.yelp.com/topic/san-jose-yelp-being-bashed-on-cbs-5).
Two Yelpers who have never been in the establishment plot revenge because of the bad press brought to Yelp by establishment :

Linda "JuRae" L. says:

Oh yeah, I totally want ROTD now! aargh!

4 hours ago Jack "." W. says:

wtf thats some fuct up shit yo fuck rasberry lips imma give them a 1 star

I looked up ROTD and it means :

ROTD Rage of the Dragons (game)
ROTD Requiem of the Dead (game)
ROTD Return of the Dragons (gaming, Warcraft III Campaign)
ROTD Review of the Day

Get Information on the Yelp Class Action Lawsuit Here...
http://www.yelplawsuit.com/index.html

Here is a site with pictures from a recent Yelp Elite party . This is an event where Yelp wastes $100,000 of their investors money by rewarding their “Elite” reviewers.
Elite reviewers are basically unemployed and uneducated jobless people who have time enough to write the 500 reviews it takes to qualify for this worthless title.
Check out the last picture in the lower right…yes , these are the “Elite” !

http://valleywag.com/photogallery/yelpeliteatmighty/

I can tell you the technique completely backfired. I am a native new yorker, and a business owner in New York. When Yelp came to the city, it sounded like a great idea, until I realized that their reviews were mostly being generated by very few people (some with thousands of reviews) and comments from San Francisco. After a little review myself I realized that the reviews that were written were often inaccurate, as they were the reflection of plagiarized comments from other sites, or total fabrications. I dropped my advertising in less than one billing cycle, and refuse to have anything to do with it. Jeremy Stoppleman and Geoff Donaker are the ones who are flat out misrepresenting the situation, I can attest to that. And not in secondary markets. I made writeen and verbal complaints to staffers in New York and San Francisco. For fun, look up Sam Perwin and Nish N - they generated 50% of the new york content a few months ago.

Below's a thread about someone giving a company a bad review, and then a Yelp employee going out of their way to contact and eventually harass the reviewer. When the reviewer blocks the employee's communications to avoid further harassment, the employee then opens a public thread, and divulges private emails.

The employee at first vehemently denies being paid by Yelp, but later gets caught confessing to the whole thing:
"yelps pays me a lot of money to protect its sponsors. its a good racket. dont blow it for me."
The fact that this same employee who began the harassment has also given the other company a glowing review, is completely unethical to say the least.

See for yourself, and quickly, before Yelp pulls the thread down to cover up their tracks:
http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-calling-you-out-atlas-plumbing-review

Jim from NY ....if you're out there can you contact me ?
b_kellinger@hotmail.com

Yelp takes another drubbing on TV and the web for extortion tactics:

http://cbs5.com/consumer/yelp.business.complaints.2.820867.html

I used to write numerous reviews for Yelp in order to help people avoid bad doctors and stores I had visited, and Yelp yanked only the "negative" but very well written reviews, and left the positives untouched. Also, they nver notified me of the deletions or ask me to modify it. Beware that most positive reviews are written by the subject of the review. 'Yelp' is without a doubt bias.

I have had so many friends and businesses tell me how they have been harrassed by yelp its crazy. The owners commonly have their flunkies send harrassing emails to those who criticize yelp. Its amateur hour over there. We all know they are going under.....

What’s the point of a consumer-rated review site that for absolutely no legitimate reason, and without warning to prospective reviewers, simply withholds reviews? I took the time to write an honestly negative review of a notoriously rude local store that violated no rules of etiquette or propriety, only to have Yelp refuse to print it, with the explanation that it is a completely arbitrary and strictly electronic decision. Huh? Then why even have the site? If reviews are going to be censored and the entire rating system is going to be compromised, then Yelp is, at worst, a total fraud and, at best, utterly useless.