Google just announced an update of the reviews section of Google Places, which essentially separates reviews from sites like Yelp, Zagat, Citygrid and others into separate category, called “Reviews From Around The Web.” Places used to just list outside reviews under a “Reviews” section. Now you can click on the Yelp review and be taken to the review on the Yelp page for the establishment. On… → Read More
A fascinating footnote to the failed Google acquisition of Yelp last December: a Yahoo counteroffer killed the deal, say two source with knowledge of the situation.
As of December 17 Yelp was in the final stages of negotiations to sell to Google for $550 million. But just three days later the deal was off.
So what happened during those three days? Yahoo came in with an offer to buy Yelp for $750… → Read More
Geomium, a new location-based social network, gets its official launch today, in London first but with other UK cites and then Europe and the U.S. to follow.
As with other such services, it lets users connect with friends, but it also emphasises meeting new people and throws in venue data such as bars, restaurants, etc., as well as local deals and events — all with a focus on real time. If… → Read More
Vienna-based social yellow pages startup Tupalo (a European competitor to Qype) has launched in the U.S. in partnership with CityGrid Media, a local media company “connecting the millions of businesses and customers on the web.”
As a result, Tupalo now offers over 1 million business listings across the U.S., adding tens of thousands more on a daily basis. This, of course, also pits the startup… → Read More
The hits just keep on coming for Elevation Partners, the one-time digital media, private equity dream team that has reconfigured itself as an investor in late stage Web 2.0 treasures. Earlier this summer, Elevation requested an extension on investing its $1.9 billion fund, and TechCrunch has learned that that request was denied—a move that came as surprise to us and to Elevation, we hear.
So… → Read More
Last month we reported on a new experiment Yelp was running that put it in competition with the likes of Groupon and LivingSocial: time-sensitive daily deals, offering steep discounts at local businesses that users can pre-purchase. Reached for comment at the time, the company said that it was “always testing new things” and also pointed out some of the previous marketing programs it’s run over… → Read More
Well, this is curious.
From our checks, it seems like Google has completely omitted Yelp reviews from Google Places. As you may recall, Yelp has been frustrated by Google’s recent decision to pump up its Places service with Yelp’s content— without Yelp’s consent.
During a recent interview with TechCrunch TV, Yelp’s CEO Jeremy Stoppelman said he was surprised by Google’s move but was confident… → Read More
Today at an event in Palo Alto, CA, Facebook unveiled its new Places product — essentially their check-in utility. Obviously, there has been a lot of talk about what this means for the current players like Foursquare and Gowalla. Well, Facebook is partnering with both of those guys. We hinted at this possibility a couple days ago.
Representatives from both Gowalla and Foursquare were invited to… → Read More
“We’re planning to ramp up the advertising platform,” Twitter writes in an email today. That shouldn’t be too surprising, but they’re also announcing some key hires in order to make that happen.
Dan Coughlin is joining Twitter from Facebook, where he spent the past four years. He will be the new director of sales for the Eastern (U.S.) region. Meanwhile, Amanda Levy is joining Twitter from Yelp… → Read More
One publicly traded Web business that seems to be humming (unlike AOL) is OpenTable. The company announced second quarter earnings last night. Revenues were up 37 percent to $22.5 million, and net profits rose a whopping 273 percent to $2.6 million.
To make those diners even more loyal, OpenTable is getting into group buying and flash sales by launching a weekly deal program called Spotlight… → Read More
Yelp’s CEO Jeremy Stoppelman deserves credit for trying to play nice with Google, even appearing onstage at the Social Currency CrunchUp with John Hanke, a Google VP of Product Management. As expected the tension was palpable, as Hanke and Stoppelman discussed Google Places and the goliath’s heavy reliance on Yelp’s content.
Beyond the professional veneer, there’s no question that Stoppelman… → Read More
Today during our Social Currency CrunchUp, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman and John Hanke, a Google VP of Product Management, took the stage. Given that the two companies seem to be at odds with one another recently (following a failed acquisition), it was a little tense.
Specifically, Google’s strong moves into local with their new Places push seem to be going right at Yelp’s core. Sure’s it’s… → Read More
It looks like Yelp is looking to cash in on the local deal craze. As the folks over at deal aggregator YipIt first noticed, Yelp has recently been testing time-limited local deals in a select number of pilot cities.
The proof lies in a comment thread that began June 23, when a Yelp user noticed a deal running for $20 for $45 of services at Papillon salon. The user wrote that you can purchase the… → Read More
Earlier today, we noted that an update to Google Maps for Mobile was the clearest sign yet of Google going directly after Yelp. But it’s actually even more interesting than we thought.
Key to the new Google Maps for Mobile is Places, the new establishment-centric area which Google has been building up for about the past year or so. Places is basically an evolution of Google Local, which had been… → Read More
Perhaps you recall that late last year, Google was in discussions to buy Yelp. Despite a supposed offer of $550 million plus earn-outs, Yelp walked away from the deal. But that isn’t stopping Google for entering Yelp’s business. Today, Google continues their fast-moving assault on local and location with a revamped Google Maps for mobile.
Central to Maps for mobile 4.4 is Google Places, the… → Read More
Yelp, the predominant force in the social yellow pages space, has just announced their move into Germany. As Yelp’s CEO Jeremy Stoppelman tweeted last night, they are now “speaking German”.
After already launching in France and the UK, Germany and Spain were the other first tier countries that were missing in Yelp’s initial European roll out phase. It’s likely, therefore, that Spain will be next. → Read More
Yelp has one of the most popular apps on the iPhone, but its Android app is catching on too. Launched last December, the app is approaching one million downloads and activity on the app is picking up like crazy due to a recent upgrade that adds the ability to check into Yelp locations and Tweet them out or share them on Facebook. The number of active users is growing 50 percent week over week… → Read More
UPDATE: Batch if tickets is sold out. Check back again next week.
We’re releasing another 100 tickets now to our July 30 summer party at August Capital. Act fast if you want one, these things sell out in less than an hour.
If you don’t get a ticket, don’t email me begging for one. Come to our Social Currency Crunchup earlier that day instead. A ticket to the CrunchUp gives you entry to the… → Read More
Yelp co-founder and CTO Russel Simmons, pictured here (left) with fellow co-founder and chief exec Jeremy Stoppelman, is leaving the company. Simmons will be transitioning to an advisor role and take some time off to travel, we’ve confirmed with the company.
Stoppelman and Simmons were both early software engineering employees at PayPal and went on to brainstorm new Internet startup ideas at a… → Read More
Yesterday, Robert Scoble wrote a post about “Foursquare’s Yelp problem.” It’s an interesting read, with some good thoughts about how Foursquare can withstand feature-copying from a much larger rival. He asked for my thoughts, so I figured I’d jot some down here. Most importantly, his post got me thinking about the next phase of location, which I think we’re just about to enter.
First, Scoble’s… → Read More
Obviously, companies copy one another’s ideas all the time. If something is working, sometimes it just makes a lot of sense. But sometimes it’s just a little pathetic. Tonight, we’re seeing a bit of that from Yelp.
The latest update to their iPhone app (4.2.1) includes a feature called Yelp Royalty. It rewards users with the most check-ins at a venue the title of “Duke” or “Duchess.” Those with… → Read More
Online video production startup TurnHere is now the exclusive provider of video creation services for Yelp, the popular local search and business review site.
TurnHere, through its network of over 8,000 professional filmmakers, will be providing local video production for businesses that advertise on Yelp, as well as a slate of video-related services, including expanded distribution of their… → Read More
Yelp, hot off the news of their Open Table integration, also has some interesting user information that they say they’ll officially announce tomorrow. We’ve got the details.
Yelp says their website had over 32 million unique visitors in May from all sources (Comscore says 11.2 million in April, the most recent month they track, but they do tend to undercount).
Yelp’s iPhone app has had 1.4… → Read More
Yelp is adding a nifty feature today which will make scoring a table at restaurant a breeze. The reviews and listings site is integrating OpenTable’s reservation system into Yelp.
This essentially allows any logged-in Yelp user to make a reservation without having to leave the site. There is now an OpenTable section on the Yelp listing page for all restaurants who are listed with the reservations… → Read More
Over the past several months I’ve moderated or been on a number of panels with many of the top players in the location space. A common theme keeps recurring. When someone brings up rivalries between any of the companies, it is always downplayed in favor of an “everyone wins” message. I’ve been skeptical of that since day one, but as the space has exploded, there have been signs that a lot of… → Read More
We’ve been wondering what direction Qype would take recently after rumours that it was in potential acquisition talks with various parties, one of which may have been Nokia, although nothing was ever confirmed. What we do know is that there has been an internal “debate” about whether to enter into a strategic partnership (usually code for acquisition) or whether to double down on becoming the… → Read More
So since TrustedPlaces announced its acquisition by Yell we’ve been digging around to try and find out the purchase price. Understandably, we respect the fact that co-founder Sokratis Papafloratos doesn’t want to say, and Yell certainly won’t. But this information would be very useful to startups out there wondering what the purchase price is these days for a company like this. And the fact it… → Read More
As if Facebook’s Instant Personalization needed another knock against it, tonight comes news of a security issue that makes the feature even more unnerving. Web security consultant George Deglin discovered an exploit that would allow a malicious site to immediately harvest a Facebook user’s name, email, and data shared with ‘everyone’ on Facebook, with no action required on the user’s part. This… → Read More
Local reviews site Yelp has launched a site for France. Yelp France is the startup’s first non-English speaking country. The site can be toggled through French or English.
This will be of interest to European player Qype which is bigger than Yelp across Europe.
Yelp has claimed one million unique visitors consulted for Yelp UK and Yelp Ireland last month 16 months after launch. → Read More
Local reviews site Yelp has launched a site for France. Yelp France is the startup’s first non-English speaking country. The site can be toggled through French or English.
This will be of interest to European player Qype which is bigger than Yelp across Europe.
Yelp has claimed one million unique visitors consulted for Yelp UK and Yelp Ireland last month 16 months after launch. → Read More
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