Yelp: Finding Local Businesses

Having been familiar with the name Yelp, I had to visit their site to see what all the buzz was about. After following through the very easy registration process and confirming my email address, I was in the site. The search feature defaulted to the zip code I entered upon registration, which is very helpful for finding places close to me. I have been frequenting a local pizzeria and thought I would check to see if they were listed on the site and what others were saying about the place. I was thoroughly happy to see that the pizzeria was not only listed, but also had three reviews already. All of the reviews were of a positive nature. I had to leave a review of my own, since I enjoy everything the pizzeria has to offer.

As an Ubuntu Linux user, I was delighted to know the site worked perfectly with my operating system and Firefox Web Browser. No additional plug-ins or configuration was required on my end to use the site. Yelp offers the ability to share your reviews through both Facebook and Twitter, which are nice and useful for sharing your review with friends. I was very hard pressed to locate any item on the site which could be considered a con and the only suggestion I would make is to offer the ability to sign in with OpenID instead of having to create n account. However, with the site being entirely free to use, having to remember yet another user name and password would have to be the only drawback. Thankfully the user name is your email address, so no all you need to do is remember which email account you signed up with. Also, if you forget your password and no longer have access to the email address you signed up with, as with most sites you're out of luck. I could not located any means of a security question, which if answered correctly would allow you to change your password. This would at least allow you access to your account so you could change your email address.

One of the biggest pros would have to be the ability to add or edit locations. This is useful if you frequent areas other than your own. Overall, Yelp is very useful for just about anyone looking for information about local businesses or reviews which can help choose where to get your next meal out.