Foursquare takes on Yelp

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Is anybody going to take on Yelp in a big way? Foursquare says there can only be one Highlander:
Foursquare gunning for Yelp | SXSW - CNET News

"AUSTIN, Texas--Make no mistake, Foursquare, the New York-based social network centered around places, is chucking the check-in to take over local search, a move that pits the four-year-old company directly against Yelp.

When asked whether Foursquare was now gunning for Yelp, Co-founder and CEO Dennis Crowley said, during an interview with CNET at South by Southwest Interactive, that "if we keep doing what we're doing, we make the previous generation of local search products irrelevant."

The shorter answer would have been, "yes.""
#foursquare #takes #yelp
  • Profile picture of the author digichik
    Perhaps we as offline internet marketers can help build Foursquare in the process. It's not good when all of the perceived power is in one place(Google, Yelp, etc.) We have the power to spread "the power"-- if we're willing to. Google and Yelp only have the power we allow them to have.

    Maybe we should start exercising our influence.
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    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      Originally Posted by digichik View Post

      Perhaps we as offline internet marketers can help build Foursquare in the process. It's not good when all of the perceived power is in one place(Google, Yelp, etc.) We have the power to spread "the power"-- if we're willing to. Google and Yelp only have the power we allow them to have.

      Maybe we should start exercising our influence.
      Yelp worked really hard, almost went broke, doubted itself, etc to get to where it is. They worked hard, solved problems and innovated and deserve where they are. Crowley (Fsquare) is in search of an exit. I think they are on their Series C and realized 18 months ago that "check ins" was not a sustainable business model, neither are deals, etc. The clock is ticking.

      Let's not forget that all these great companies started off as tiny ideas that were seemingly impossible to execute. All were doubted. They innovated themselves out of messes. The problem with Foursquare was that since its inception - it was a vanity product. It didn't exist to solve a real problem. Yelp, Google and those guys are addressing and solving real problems.
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      FILL IN THE BLANKS!
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  • Profile picture of the author digichik
    Perhaps because I work with businesses who have truly suffered because of the unfair policies of Yelp I have a bit of difficulty seeing it as a great company. Yelp asked for people to review business and paid people to make reviews; now they want to penalize companies who do the same thing. Yelp was unscrupulous in the way they used to make businesses pay them, in order to have the bad review moved to the bottom of the pile. Now the want to penalize businesses who ask their patrons for reviews.

    They filter honest good reviews, while having no filter in place for not so honest bad reviews. I am dealing with a few companies who have been in business decades and now have had their reputations damaged by false reviews on Yelp and they have very little recourse.

    While Yelp and Google are addressing real problems, they are also the cause of many more problems. All businesses started off as ideas. No few companies should have all of the power. It's better when there is more competition in the market, not when it's consolidated into no or few choices.
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