http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/24/yelp-class-action-lawsuit/
I try not to badmouth any company or institution that doesn't truly deserve it, but I am really glad that Yelp is getting some heat over its unethical behavior. We ourselves at Archer Web Solutions have had several positive reviews removed right after we refused to pay Yelp's "Sales Team" for advanced placement. They claim that this was due to an "algorithm" that removes positive reviews they deem to be inserted by people we know, but in these cases, the reviews were all from unsolicited sources. The reviews were up for a very long time but vanished when we refused to pay.
This is a huge shame, because Yelp is a tremendously awesome idea, but it's becoming evident that it is a source that cannot be fully trusted. I guess the pressure to provide profit to this heavily funded company has driven them to extortion. There's a major opportunity in the marketplace to produce an alternative service to Yelp that respects its audience and plays fair.
Hello everyone,
As part of my own personal education in the world of internet marketing, I read and watch a lot of material, and much of it is good, much is not so good, and once in a while I run across something that is just plain useful. This following ten-minute video by Perry Belcher is great because it puts the concepts of social media marketing very plainly and clearly. In specific - you cannot look at social media marketing as a way to make direct sales, because you will turn people off and have no effect. Instead, you have to look at social media marketing as making friends and gaining network - it's just like real life, only online.
Give the video a view, and please tell me what you think in the comments of the blog. I think it's pretty clear, but I'd love to see what everyone else thinks.
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