Notable article in the New York Times' Technology section, called Why Yelp Works. Writer Saul Hansell does an about-face on his opinion of Yelp when it launched in early 2005. Quoting Hansell: "Who needs another another site where people review restaurants and other local businesses? It’s one of the oldest ideas on the Internet."
Well, apparently quite a few people need and use Yelp, 3.3 million users in March notes Hansell, up 87 percent year over year. The Yelper community, it appears, is strong, and growing stronger.
Hansell correctly identifies much of what constitutes Yelp's 'secret sauce', it's recipe for success:
- It concentrated on attracting a small but fanatical base
- it structures in motivation - the praise and attention Yelpers' reviews receive from other Yelpers
- the site has a social network/community feel
It all adds up to baking in a version of what's known as a 'viral expansion loop'. A recent Fast Company article (Ning's Infinite Ambition) is great at explaining this little known "engineering alchemy" that enables "borg-like growth". Yelp is able to tap into Passionate Consumers willing to share their thoughts - good and bad - about businesses they visit. And when those consumers sign up and become part of the Yelp community, they're encouraged and empowered to share their newfound passion outlet with their network of friends. Who doesn't want to tell their friends and family about a great new restaurant you found? Or a dive that they simply must avoid at all costs. And new Yelpers begin to connect with established Yelpers, and pretty soon you have groups of Yelpers holding get-togethers in cities to do 'mass reviews' (bringing fear to many businesses). Yelp is enjoying exponential growth, without having to add a zillion employees to manage it. What began with a concentrated effort in a handful of cities (San Fransisco the first) is now expanding across the country, and is starting to bite at industry leaders YellowPages.com and CitySearch. Tapping passionate consumers, the real secret sauce, has its advantages.
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