Lust for Another Bubble Leads to IPO Porn

The hottest fantasy in Silicon Valley involves a big, hot... tech bubble. Facebook and Yelp supposedly want one, so they can IPO in 2010; even Penthouse publisher FriendFinder Networks wants to go public, despite a sex harassment scandal. More »

Did Yelp's Star Banker George Boutros Just Screw Up The Google Deal?

There's some amusing finger-pointing going on in the aftermath of the Google-Yelp affair (which, like any affair, may just be in remission). More »

Google Attempting to Swallow Trashy-Tasting Yelp

Google is more likely than not to buy Yelp, say news reports. Which raises one glaringly obvious question: Will Google exacerbate or correct the local review site's worst tendencies, which have brought extortion allegations, porny bacchanals and physical violence? More »

At Yelp, every review is a chance for free drinks, every email a chance for distasteful punning — and every company party a chance to leer, spank and orgy out. Judging from the pictures, 2009's holiday bash was no exception. More »

Yelp's Lost Chance to Prevent a Brawl

Yelp couldn't have guessed one of its reviewers might end up in a vicious wrestling match with a store owner, right? Wrong: the owner had visited Yelp HQ the day before the fight, been ignored, then turned away. More »

Yelp-Fight Participant: I Was Trying To Apologize

The Yelp reviewer supposedly attacked by a store owner just got a zero-star rating for honesty. The store owner says it was the reviewer who attacked, even though the owner came in peace to apologize. More »

Yelp Fights Make Leap To Real-World Violence, Says Reviewer

To hear Yelp reviewer "Sean C." tell it, San Francisco's Ocean Avenue Books really didn't appreciate his pan of the "TOTAL MESS" of a store: The owner somehow found his home, he said, and tried to force her way in. More »

On Yelp, Every Restaurant is Very Special

Reviewers on Yelp aren't very discerning: They award four or five stars 69 percent of the time (see chart). The local ratings website could combat this by grading on the curve, but would rather force you to click around. More »

The New Restaurant Bribery

The Web was supposed to disintermediate business, replacing corruptible middlemen with accurate information fed directly to consumers. But judging from the restaurant industry's experience, it may have just made corruption more widespread and louche. Just look at this receipt: More »

The Nob Hill Gazette, a San Francisco "society" publication, has come up with a list of area eligibles, including a wife beater and more than one gay man. Hard to be a straight woman here! More »