Yelp is a direct competitor of mine and I have a lot of respect for them. I use their service for researching restaurants in the city and when I travel.
One of Yelp’s policies that I have always admired is their steadfast position about not removing bad reviews. The only reason that social media (ratings and reviews) are valuable to consumers is that they present a more accurate picture of the business being considered, which enables better decision making. So I am a little disappointed to read the story Online Media Daily “Yelp Sued For Offering To Bury Bad Reviews In Exchange For Ads”. Hopefully this represents just a few over zealous sales representatives and isn’t indicative of pressure to sacrifice credibility for short term profit gains.
When high profile companies like Yelp lose the respect of their customers and their users it has a negative impact on the entire industry which holds great potential.
Andrew Ward
Chief Trust Officer
Tags: natural online reputation, ratings and reviews, Reputation Marketing, trust based marketing