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Twitter: Where People Go to Complain About Other Social Networks

Devon Glenn — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:51:20 +0000

It’s no wonder that people turn to Twitter for tech support. In the heat of a frustrating moment, it is much easier to fire off a quick question on Twitter than to wait on hold for an operator. But how effective is the microblogging site as a customer service tool? Here’s how Spotify, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Yelp handled some tough customers.

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IPO Market Roundup: 10 Social Media Sector Companies to Watch

Tom Johansmeyer — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:12:31 +0000

Groupon, Angie’s List, Pandora, Zillow, LinkedIn … it’s been an interesting year for social media IPOs so far. And, there are more on the way. Zynga is set to go public in the next two weeks, and there are plenty of other interesting companies with hefty bank accounts thanks to venture capital investment. Hey, there are lots of social media and internet companies that have already filed their IPO paperwork. It can be hard to keep track sometimes! So, let’s take a look at 10 of the most interesting objects of IPO speculation:

1. Zynga: the social gaming leader is the next social media IPO in the pipeline. The company is doing its IPO roadshow this week and is rumored to have an IPO date of December 15, 2011. But, the numbers keep looking uglier. The latest is that the capital raise, of around $1 billion, will come at a valuation of only $9 billion.

2. Kayak: Kayak is a tool you can use to search for cheap travel options across a wide range of online travel agencies and other travel websites. The company filed for its IPO a year ago but still hasn’t pulled the trigger, largely due to market conditions. It’s most recent S-1 update shows positive results, but the CEO says the company doesn’t have to go public (i.e., for the capital it needs to operate). This follows mixed messages from the CEO and the CMO.

3. Yelp: letting people vent about awful consumer experiences is a great business, it seems. The user-generated review site is looking to raise $100 million by going public, but there are few other details so far. Rumor has it the IPO valuation could be as high as $2 billion.

4. LivingSocial: once thought to be on the road to an IPO, right behind competitor Groupon, LivingSocial has effectively pulled out of the process, opting instead to raise another $200 million in venture capital money. The deal comes with an implied valuation of $5 billion.

5. Gilt Groupe: this year has been a good one for online consumer business companies (even Groupon and Angie’s List managed to go public – and let’s not forget about Zillow, HomeAway and Pandora). According to Kevin Ryan, Gilt’s CEO, the company is looking to go public in 2013.

6. Twitter: market-wide speculation has the microblogging site nailing its IPO in 2013, as well. With only $140 million in revenue forecasted for this year – despite an implied valuation of $8 billion in its last venture capital round – this makes sense. Twitter would benefit from time to keep picking up new advertisers and launch its self-service model.

7. ExactTarget: the email and social media marketing platform filed last week to for an IPO that would raise $100 million. Details are still thin, but it’s worth keeping in mind that ExactTarget, though not profitable, has a strong growth plan in place. Capital used to fuel expansion could be what it needs to go the distance.

8. Glam Media: CEO Samir Arora wouldn’t say at Business Insider IGNITION 2011 last week when he plans to take Glam Media public. The recent hire of an IPO-ready CFO, however, indicates that discussions must be in the works.

9. Jive Software: briefly rumored to be an SAP takeover target, the B2B social media software company has filed to raise $117 million in its IPO. It isn’t profitable yet, but Jive Software is optimistic enough to pursue a valuation of above $500 million (half the level of earlier speculation about the company). Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital and the cofounders stand to get richest.

10. Facebook: no social media IPO list would be complete without Facebook, right? The latest rumor is that the company is going to file in April and go public in September. The goal, it seems, is to raise $10 billion in capital on a $100 billion valuation. But, there’s been no shortage of rumors about the Facebook IPO for a long time now …

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This Week on the mediabistro.com Job Board: Dailymotion, Yelp, Total Beauty

Nadine Cheung — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:30:53 +0000

This week, Dailymotion is hiring a new senior editor, and Yelp is looking for a part-time community manager for New Jersey. As we told you on Wednesday, RDA International is looking for a social media strategist, and Total Beauty is on the hunt for a social interactive marketing manager. Get all the details on these jobs and more below, and find additional social media gigs on mediabistro.com.

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Would You Be a Good Community Manager at Yelp?

Nadine Cheung — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:50:18 +0000

If you want to find out the inside scoop on that new restaurant that opened up down the street or are wondering if your that neighborhood is worth moving to, Yelp is the ultimate resource. However, it’s also a great place for which to work.

Here’s the thing: with so many users, reviews and comments, Yelp is almost always looking for a community manager in one city or another. This is good news for all of you job seekers out there. continued…

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4 Pre-IPO Companies with White-Hot Valuations According to SharesPost Activity

Tom Johansmeyer — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:30:08 +0000

Once upon a time, a moistened finger was raised into the air … and the result was private company valuation. Much has changed since then, of course, and the advent of private company trading environments –such as SecondMarket and SharesPost – makes it feel easier to pin a real number on companies that have yet to complete the IPO process.

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B2B Gets Yelp’d

Neil Glassman — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:15:33 +0000

As its VP of Content Marketing, guest blogger Joe Chernov is responsible for identifying, sourcing and distributing Eloqua’s market-facing content over relevant social channels. He co-chairs the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s member ethics panel and presents at conferences and universities about social media and marketing ethics.

If you’re a restaurant or retailer, you ignore Yelp at your peril. The online forum put businesses’ reputations in the hands of everyday consumers – consumers who mete out reviews based on their individual accounts of quality and helpfulness. The success of the site ushered in a return to customer service becoming a vital part of B2C marketing success.

Well, now it’s the B2B industry’s turn to get Yelp’d.

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China’s Answer To Yelp, Foursquare & Groupon Raises $100Mil

Kenna McHugh — Tue, 03 May 2011 15:30:43 +0000

Dianping made an announcement that the social networking company from China is raising a new $100 million (US) round of funding across four funds that values the company at $1 billion (US). The funds include Trust Bridge Partners, Sequoia Capital, QiMing Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
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Social Shopping App TreatFeed Raises $4.5 Million

Kenna McHugh — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:50:26 +0000

Another social shopping application received some major funding this week. TreatFeed, a startup that is the cross between Groupon and Yelp, raised $5.4 million in funding led by Norwest Venture Partners.

TreatFeed, a word of mouth rewards system, is the creation of Brett Markinson and Konstantin Glasmacher. You might recognize those names because they are the same people who founded and ultimately sold the flash sales platform HauteLook to Nordstrom for $270 million.
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Startup of the Week: Tello, a Yelp-Style Customer Service Rating Site

Devon Glenn — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:52:31 +0000

mbStartups is pleased to announce the Startup of the Week: a weekly post dedicated to the newest faces in new media.

In honor of President’s Day weekend sales, this week’s featured startup is Tello, a forum for thanking businesses for providing excellent customer service. The company’s logo evokes the aesthetics of the 1950′s, said CEO and founder Joe Beninato, “when service used to be good.” We recently met up with Benitato to talk about this latest spin on the rate-it site and the new business model that goes with it.

How it Works

Customers can already voice their opinions on Yelp, but with Tello, instead of skimming through the comments to find out which bridal consultant or massage therapist to book by name, they can check out a local business and instantly see who has gotten the best feedback. “Yelp is about the place – we’re more about the people in the place,” Beninato said. The content is crowd-sourced, with options to add both the name of the business and the employees who work there.

The mobile app, launched February 9th for iPhone, iPad and Android, connects to Facebook and Twitter, and will eventually have a check-in function as well. We tried it out on Baked, the Brooklyn bakery where we conducted the interview. The address popped up, along with a map.Â Rather than giving a star rating, customers are asked to decide if the experience was positive or negative, and leave a comment if they’d like to elaborate. “People tend to be polarized,” Beninato said of the star-rating system. A simpler question to ask is, “would you recommend it or not?” We didn’t catch the cashier’s name at Baked, but whoever he was, we clicked the icon to give him a thumbs up. A public complaint board runs the risk of subjecting poorly paid cashiers and new hires with too much negative publicity, but Beninato says that so far, 80% of the users have used the service to leave compliments rather than complaints.

Beyond local eateries and shops, Tello is good for any company that relies on customer service to stay competitive, like car dealerships, hotels and airlines. For example, Beninato credits good customer service for moving Virgin America ahead of the competition in an industry that’s suffered from heightened security. “They’re thriving when others are having trouble,” he said, and the pink mood lighting doesn’t hurt, either.

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Did Google Just Steal Yelp's Business?

nickoneill — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:13:08 +0000

This morning Google officially announced their Google Places application for iPhone and after playing with it for a bit, it appears as though the company just stole Yelp’s business, something that’s much cheaper than acquiring them.
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Yelp Beefs Up Business Profile Pages With Video

Megan O'Neill — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:24:57 +0000

Yesterday Yelp rolled out a new feature for advertisers – the option to include video on business pages. The addition of video is great for businesses, as it gives them a new vehicle for attracting customers, apart from the traditional pictures and text. This new feature is also fantastic for Yelp, as it sets them apart from competing review sites that have not yet implemented video features.
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Yelp Changes Review Filtering, Tries to be More Transparent

rajdash — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:55:32 +0000

Yelp, a web-based service that lets consumers review or browse reviews of local businesses, is making feature changes to fight claims of manipulated reviews. These changes fall on the heels of a class-action lawsuit based on claims that some Yelp representatives coerced business owners to advertise by manipulating the ordering and thus visibility of negative reviews. Some business owners have even claimed that Yelp even hired people to write negative reviews in the first place.
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Yelp To Follow Facebook's Footsteps – Seeks Private Investment

Bilal Hameed — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:06:02 +0000

Yelp, the local business search and review site, is said to be in talks to raise additional financing instead of getting acquired or having a go at the IPO. According to reports Yelp is in talks with Elevation Partners – a major investor in Palm Inc., for the new round of funding. What’s significant about the round is the fact that it may include an option for employees and investors to sell their shares to the investors.
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