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The more I explore it the more it surprises me and I notice odd little quirks. For one when I typed in my own city into the search it did have several hundred listings even though it is not a featured or listed city.
Also seems that assorted users are not only developing a large fan base but there seems to be a lot of private parties being held to attract certain reviewers in more competitive markets. Yes businesses are actually trying to get reviewers and certain ones at that.
It also apparently sniffs out any other people using the service that are your friends already by accessing your "free email service" one time and looking for others email addresses. Yahoo, MSN, Google and the like all represented.
Then there are ego boosts when other users can compliment your reviews, though I can not see a public snubbing list. Just the ability to flag a review. Also the site takes no personal liability with the reviews. That part does scare me as a business owner though. I could only imagine how a competitor could enlist a few people and "anti yelp" you with negative reviews and you as the business owner would have no real recourse unless the reviewers themselves wanted to take down their negative reviews.
This site though does seem to be taking a good run at going after that all so elusive "yellow pages" advertising core, who spend shit loads in advertising costs with every issue.
Lastly I think if this really takes off it could be the "anti brand". Typically many nationwide chains or brands often rest securely on their brands. You know you will get the same thing at every location in every city. Now small local establishments can go after those people again. With PDA's, net able phones and all that and they appear to be growing in usage. It would be easy to turn to such a site, find what your in the mood for, get good local reviews, and bypass the "safe" chains.
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