Over the weekend I walked into a restaurant and noticed something really interesting on their wall. Where many individually owned eateries usually hang framed reviews or features from local newspapers, this restaurant had a framed review from Yelp. Specifically, it had the Yelp logo and one of the online reviews, which raved about the restaurant. This immediately made me wonder – what’s more influential these days, a good review on Yelp, or a review in the paper?
I had just returned from my 10-day honeymoon in Hawaii, where my wife and I used three factors to determine where to have our meals:
Two guidebooks from Frommer’s (which were sent to me complementary thanks to a Twitter contest)
Suggestions from locals
Yelp
While Frommer’s was usually reliable, we ended up primarily using Yelp to make these decisions. This is because it provided us with a good idea of how many people went to the restaurant (based on how many reviews it had), how people liked the place (the number of stars) and specific suggestions (in the reviews and quick tips). It also had the website and map right there – basically everything we needed in one place. We read through reviews of each place, which offered great recommendations, and we found most of them to be spot-on.
For us, Yelp reviews were much more influential then a newspaper review. It contained feedback from many different people rather then one reporter, and allowed us to get a a wide range of unbiased feelings about the restaurant. I’m not saying a reporter would lie – but it’s a newspaper article is only based on one person’s perspective (as was Frommer’s) and didn’t always align with our experiences. More and more, as Yelp provided us with more accurate information that Frommer’s), we only used one factor in determining where to dine: Yelp.
So is Yelp more influential then a newspaper review? For me, the answer is yes. If I were to read a great newspaper review of a restaurant, I would still check it out on Yelp before going. Also – with restaurants and businesses now aware of Yelp’s power, they are beginning to focus more and more on their online reputations, often contacting unhappy customers (who write negative review) to fix problems (which they often note in their reviews).
Yesterday Google announced that the company would end development for Google Wave, basically putting an end to the product that we were told would change communication as we know it. It was positioned as email 2.0, a combination of Gmail, Twitter, Facebook and everything else that we love about the world of communication. Only – it would be magical. We could move conversations, bring people in and out – and if you ever had a chocolate craving, it would send you a Snickers bar right through your computer screen.
When Google Wave was launched, it lacked some very important details. Most importantly, it didn’t offer anything useful. There was not a specific use people could latch onto, and the the way it was rolled out did not allow people to have large groups of users they could easily communicate with. It also appeared so different that it came across as complex and unnatural to use.
Hopefully Google will learn from this mistake, especially as it continues to develop social products such as Google Buzz and GoogleMe, in their attempts to overtake Facebook.
A new trailer is out for the upcoming Facebook movie, “The Social Network” is out. This trailer gives much more information then the first preview, which was only audio. Scenes from the newest make it appear very similar to Ben Mezrich’s book, which the movie is based on.
The film will be released October 1, and based on Facebook’s widespread popularity, it would be no surprise to see the movie become a box office hit. It’s star-studded cast of Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg (“Zombieland” & “Adventureland” should also help with ticket sales.
Ironically, “The Social Network” can’t be advertised on Facebook itself, because that would violate the company’s API. However, people can still post the movie trailer to their personal pages.
This week ESPN pulled an article from its website about LeBron James, which has caused quite a commotion. The story, written by Arash Markazi, is about James’ recent adventure in Las Vegas, which includes the line, “The more you hang around James, the more you realize he’s still a child wrapped in a 6-foot-8, 250 pound frame.”
The article was published by ESPN.com then quickly pulled down, but not before search engines and others were able to capture the content. At first, many speculated the James’ business team was behind the spiked article, as a similar situation happened last summer, when someone from James’ camp confiscated a video tape of James’ getting dunked on by a college basketball player. Video of the play was eventually shown when someone else had the move recorded on their personal camera.
ESPN has also received criticism for airing James’ hour-long special, “The Decision,” which blurred the boundary lines between the news organization and James (and was simply done in poor taste). This has also lead many to believe ESPN has a vested interest in James’ reputation, which could be another reason for the spiked article.
ESPN has published a statement in regards to why the article was pulled:
ESPN.com will not be posting the story in any form. We looked into the situation thoroughly and found that Arash did not properly identify himself as a reporter or clearly state his intentions to write a story. As a result, we are not comfortable with the content, even in an edited version, because of the manner in which the story was reported. We’ve been discussing the situation with Arash and he completely understands. To be clear, the decisions to pull the prematurely published story and then not to run it were made completely by ESPN editorial staff without influence from any outside party.
Markazi also released a statement of his own, about his reporting:
I have been in conversations with ESPN.com’s editors and, upon their complete review, understand their decision not to run the story. It is important to note that I stand by the accuracy of the story in its entirety, but should have been clearer in representing my intent to write about the events I observed.
Questions have also been raised about a possible suspension for Markazi.
Over the past 1-2 years group buying has absolutely taken off. While Groupon started the mainstream trend, many other companies such as LivingSocial and BuyWithMe, have sprung up across the country and in specific regions and/or cities.
While a decade ago group buying was often limited to farm stands and fresh produce, these sites have the potential to change consumer behavior and is a major win for individually owned businesses – which now have an easy avenue to attract hundreds or thousands of new customers. Depending on what restaurants offer deals, people going out for dinner will modify their plans to obtain a 50 percent discount on their meals – especially considering some very nice restaurants are participating in group buying. The same goes with other types of businesses.
For consumers, group buying is an avenue to try some place new for half the price (most of the time). Or, if it’s a personal favorite, they can get a discount next time they are at the store.
Just recently the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston offered $6 for admission (down from $12) on Groupon. Over 9,000 people purchased this deal, which brought in nearly $55,000 dollars within a couple days. Then there are activities people wouldn’t usually try, but major savings pushed them over the edge. Example number one: a recent Groupon deal for skydiving ($149 down from $235) netted $357,000.
These sites have also been very careful to add in social elements so that buyers can broadcast their purchases on Facebook and Twitter, to share the deal with friends and colleagues. Furthermore, sites offer referral bonuses, so that people are enticed to bring in new group members.
These group buying often consist of meals, spa treatments, hotel packages, golf outings, museum tickets, and more, and as group buying continues to make its way mainstream, Groupon and other group buying companies will be forces to provide more specific regional offers. For example, Boston offers will soon need to be divided between downtown Boston, the north shore, south shore, Metro West, and Worcester area. This is because the audience for these offers is growing, and demands (both from consumers and businesses) will become even more specified and group buying evolves.
Today Facebook announced that it has reached 500 million users in just about six years of existence (it’s hard to imagine how we kept tract of friend’s birthdays before Facebook).
Facebook also launched Facebook Stores, which shares personal user stories from around the world.
Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, posted a video announcing today’s news (watch it below).
Over the past few months the “cool” thing to do has been to complain about Facebook. There was an uproar over privacy settings, ongoing criticism about advertising, and now the American Customer Satisfaction Index reports that Facebook ranks terribly low in customer satisfaction.
First, privacy. I’ve used Facebook since the fall of 2004 and consider myself a typical user. I have never had any privacy issues with Facebook, as I actually took the time to carefully go through Facebook’s privacy settings and set them. No, it’s not one click of a button, but it allowed me to customize privacy settings for groups of people, and even specific users – which is exactly what I wanted. This whole process took about 5 minutes, and I went pretty in-depth. Complaining that it will take 5-10 minutes to manage privacy settings is like complaining that your seat belt doesn’t automatically buckle when you go into your car. Take the time, and make sure everything is done right.
Second, advertising. Almost every single site has advertising – or sponsors. It’s their way of making money. If you don’t like the advertising, overlook it. Besides, the video clips played during shows on Hulu is so much more annoying then Facebook ads.
The funniest part of advertising and sponsor complains is that for years and years, Facebook was attacked for not having a solid revenue strategy in place. Now that they are making money from advertising, their advertising model is attacked. It’s a no-win situation.
Third – the customer satisfaction survey. MSNBC’s headline yesterday was, “Facebook hated as much as airlines, cable companies.” Seriously? Airplanes are so bad these days that airlines are adding Wi-Fi so passengers are able to go on Facebook during their flight in hopes of making it through hours of stale air in a cramped seat. And cable companies are trying to enhance their offerings by integrating Facebook! To me, it sounds like Facebook is wanted…
Old Spice has launched a new social media campaign using Old Spice Man, who is actually former NFL player Isaiah Mustafa.
Following a successful television commercial campaign which began during the Super Bowl, Old Spice took Mustafa to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and is now making personalized videos.
Hustafa has already made videos for social media personalities such as Kevin Rose and AdventureGirl, and is also replying to specific tweets from various Twitter users. One person even asked Old Spice Man to propose to his girlfriend.
While this social media campaign has already attracted a lot of buzz, it’s still a very new initiative that is quickly building momentum. There is no doubt that Mustafa will be in high demand for personalized videos going forward, and Mustafa recently told ABC News that he can product 100 videos a day, with help from Old Spice’s advertising agency.
This campaign should be a launching pad for other businesses looking to capitalize on social media, and it would be a surprise to see other companies follow suit (such as the Miller High Life guy).
Even though the NBA hasn’t had a basketball game since June 17th, the league is attracting more attention then any other sport right now, thanks to the 2010 free agent class, which is lead by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
While Bosh and Wade have been publicizing their free agent experience over Twitter and YouTube, no one has taken advantage of the media quite like James, who often refers to himself as King James.
Yesterday James launched a Twitter account which has quickly attracted approximately 250,000 followers, despite only have three tweets (none of which reveal anything interesting). James also launched his own website, which appears to be strictly for announcing his free agent decision.
However, in the most ego-stroking move of all, James’ camp has contacted ESPN to arrange for an hour-long special from 9:00pm – 10:00pm ET tomorrow during which he will make his announcement (which is being called “The Decision”). While ESPN will strike ratings gold with this special, it’s also an example of why the network is unable to cover James’ and his buddies without bias. Simply put, ESPN uses this young group of attention-seeking players as much as they use ESPN. This results in large staged events like tomorrow’s news conference, and constant attention to non-stories like James’ elbow “injury” during the playoffs which miraculously disappeared following the Cavs’ loss to the Celtics.
When people across the country sit down at 9:00pm tomorrow to learn where James will sign his next contract, many will do so with a sick feeling in their stomach, knowing that James has been able to use mainstream and social media to manipulate them, and that ESPN is willing to do anything for “The King.” However, the viewers will be there, which is enough to make James happy (as he lives for the attention) and the NBA happy (as it has never received this much attention during the off-season). However following the announcement, there will be one city of people that love James, while the rest of the country criticizes him for his large ego and inability to win just one game in the NBA finals during his first 7 seasons in the league.
A YouTube video of Israeli soldiers dancing to Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” has quickly become widely viewed – but is not without controversy and criticism.
The soldiers appear to be patrolling the streets of Hebron (the largest city in the West Bank) when a song is suddenly blasted over speakers, and the soldiers break out into a choreographed dance. They are fully dressed in their uniforms and carrying weapons during the duration of the video.
While the video is entertaining, the soldiers are currently facing disciplinary charges. Additionally, the chosen location for the video (Hebron) won’t help the soldier’s cause, as the conflicted area is the centerpiece of many ongoing disputes. A location such as Tel Aviv would have been a better location for the video – but any video at all might have still been frowned upon by army officials.
This is not the first time social media has been a problem for the Israeli army. In April 2008 an Israeli soldier was jailed for posting a picture on Facebook that contained sensitive information.
