Yelp Weekly in Print
Apr 18th, 2008 by Shields Bialasik
What a concept!!!
There are enough restaurant reviews in here to topple any high and mighty bay area restaurant critic: Power to citizen journalism and reality reviews!
Imagine if Yelp decided to create a weekly PRINT restaurant / business review guide.
They would start in the Bay Area; the mecca of diversity and personality for the US of A.
It would simply be the best read in town!
Why?
1. It’s Real
2. It’s Funny
3. It’s Engaging
Oh, and did I mention the $Money$ to be made in Ad Sales?
Also how do you compensate those hungry restaurant critics?
1. Free Meals
2. VIP Treatment
3. Reality Review (Film Them)
Here Is How It Goes:
One day, designer-looking newspaper stands begin popping up all around the highest traffic areas of the Bay Area. Suddenly, restaurants and businesses want to get into the weekly review. If your restaurant makes the Top 100 list, your solid gold. If you don’t you try.
You never know how or when it might happen!
Everyday locals become self proclaimed connoisseurs & critics.
The most popular rise to local celebrity status. Establishing them self with alias such as:
TeamPuffy, GSquad (Short for Granny Squad), Chew_MAN_Chew, MeSoHungry88….
In their day to day routine they hit business all around town leaving their fatefully, business calling cards.
Yelp starts accepting gift certificates from restaurants wanting reviews, and then send daring review squads in anonymously for reality review. Some restaurants up the ante and go for a higher level of promotion with reality reviews being filmed and podcast.
Don’t get hit by the GSquad of Oaktown. If you serve a bad cup of coffee there will be hell to pay!!!
Citizen Journalism can be empowering. It can work to build a culture which is more articulate and capable of creating real change in the world.
If you do great work you get attention.
If you suck…well then never mind!
Oh…and don’t just do restaurants, but business reviews in general.
Don’t you wish!