Here we go again, revisiting Yelp!
No, my beef is not with the posts, nor with unruly clients, competitors or former employees trying to
get even.
This time, is the policy Yelp has of allowing posts to go public without publishing the name of the writer.
In one short sentence, it Stinks!
Last year I bought a one page ad in the local paper, I was fighting the place next door from opening up, and I needed to expose the true intentions of the nature of their business.
As you may imagine, a one page ad is not cheap. At the bottom of the ad, I wanted to close with the caption "Concerned citizens of Ventura." as I did not want to use my own name (for security reasons).
I spent 8 hours negotiating with the newspaper publisher about that closing. They would not do it unless the ad was posted with the name of the writer, or those who paid for it. They would not accept some made up name, such as the one I had come up with.
As a result, I have come to respect that position a great deal. If an accusation is to be made, it should have the full name of the accuser.
Yelp just won a fight in court about the content of their posts. The allegation was that Yelp was creating fictitious accounts in order to post bad reviews to increase their popularity or ranking.
Because they post user content on the internet, they are not liable for it.
We need to change the laws and force all internet companies to have truth in posting. I don't know if people realize how much a bad review will hurt a business. I have a feeling people may be a lot more careful with their words if the world knew their name.
For the record, I'm a huge fan of the first amendment. I also feel we should live by the consequences of our words.
Sincerely,
ITIP "internet truth in posting"
No, my beef is not with the posts, nor with unruly clients, competitors or former employees trying to
get even.
This time, is the policy Yelp has of allowing posts to go public without publishing the name of the writer.
In one short sentence, it Stinks!
Last year I bought a one page ad in the local paper, I was fighting the place next door from opening up, and I needed to expose the true intentions of the nature of their business.
As you may imagine, a one page ad is not cheap. At the bottom of the ad, I wanted to close with the caption "Concerned citizens of Ventura." as I did not want to use my own name (for security reasons).
I spent 8 hours negotiating with the newspaper publisher about that closing. They would not do it unless the ad was posted with the name of the writer, or those who paid for it. They would not accept some made up name, such as the one I had come up with.As a result, I have come to respect that position a great deal. If an accusation is to be made, it should have the full name of the accuser.
Yelp just won a fight in court about the content of their posts. The allegation was that Yelp was creating fictitious accounts in order to post bad reviews to increase their popularity or ranking.
Because they post user content on the internet, they are not liable for it.
We need to change the laws and force all internet companies to have truth in posting. I don't know if people realize how much a bad review will hurt a business. I have a feeling people may be a lot more careful with their words if the world knew their name.
For the record, I'm a huge fan of the first amendment. I also feel we should live by the consequences of our words.
Sincerely,
ITIP "internet truth in posting"
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