Eat and Tell
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. The New York Times November 5, 2008 YOU too can be a restaurant critic. And not just an anonymous Zagateer, dutifully filling in forms. You can have fans. You can get the glory of personal thanks from chefs you've deified, or the smug satisfaction of hate mail from those you've savaged. You can hobnob with sous-chefs at food events. If your soul is for sale, you can cadge free drinks or meals. As a bonus, you might even get a sex life - and if so inclined, you can discuss it in detail, online, with fellow foodies. Where, oh where, you ask, is this magic matchbook cover? How do I apply for this once-in-a-lifetime offer? It's simple. Just sign up at Yelp.com and review away. O.K., so maybe you're not in the most erudite company - a lot of the reviews are of the "OMG, it was total choco-gasm!" variety. Not every chef appreciates diners who yank out pocket cameras when the amuse-bouches arrive and leave "You've been yelped" cards with the check. And Thomas Keller, maestro of Per Se in New York and the French Laundry in California, swears he has never heard of Yelpers. But with 4 million reviews written and 15 million visitors a month, Yelp is a growing force in the food-obsessed corners of the Web, where life is all profiteroles and beer. According to Web traffic counters like Alexa, Nielsen Online and Google Analytics, Yelp is growing much faster than its closest rival, Citysearch, and has either surpassed it in page views or is on the verge of doing so. Both have many times more visitors than Insider Pages, Zagat, OpenTable, Chowhound or other restaurant sites. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/dining/05yelp.html *********************************** * POST TO MEDIANEWS@ETSKYWARN.NET * *********************************** Medianews mailing list Medianews@etskywarn.net http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
