Revision as of 15:11, 29 March 2018 (view source) Tpickren (Talk | contribs) ← Older edit		Revision as of 23:19, 29 March 2018 (view source) Sartorir (Talk | contribs) (→‎Ethical Implications) Newer edit →
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	===Deception===		===Deception===
−	There have been several complaints regarding "Yelp bullying businesses to pay for better reviews" <ref name = "Yelp bullying businesses to pay for better reviews">http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/yelp-accused-of-bullying-businesses-into-paying-for-better-reviews-1.2899308</ref> Users in society are deceived when they look up a particular business and see all positive reviews (of a poorly rated business) until they click on "See more reviews". Many have accused Yelp of allowing businesses to hide their "bad reviews" and deceiving all of the people use the application. People have also accused yelp of pressuring or allowing companies to pay for only good reviews to ever be shown. "The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission U.S. Federal Trade Commission] received more than 2,000 consumer complaints about Yelp from 2008 to March 4, 2014."<ref name = "Yelp bullying businesses to pay for better reviews">http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/yelp-accused-of-bullying-businesses-into-paying-for-better-reviews-1.2899308</ref>	+	There have been several complaints regarding "Yelp bullying businesses to pay for better reviews" <ref name = "Yelp bullying businesses to pay for better reviews">http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/yelp-accused-of-bullying-businesses-into-paying-for-better-reviews-1.2899308</ref> Users in society are deceived when they look up a particular business and see all positive reviews (of a poorly rated business) until they click on "See more reviews." Many have accused Yelp of allowing businesses to hide their "bad reviews" and deceiving all of the people use the application. People have also accused yelp of pressuring or allowing companies to pay for advertisement in exchange for only good reviews to ever be shown or lowering the number of bad reviews. Companies, such as Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital are suing Yelp for extortion, claiming Yelp is threatening their businesses profitability by negatively manipulating reviews unless companies buy ad space.<ref name = "workplace ethics">Workplace Ethics Advice. “Is It Ethical to Allow Yelp to Manipulate Ratings Based on Ad Purchase?” Workplace Ethics Advice, 23 Oct. 2014, www.workplaceethicsadvice.com/2014/10/is-it-ethical-to-allow-yelp-to-manipulate-ratings-based-on-ad-purchase.html.</ref> "The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission U.S. Federal Trade Commission] received more than 2,000 consumer complaints about Yelp from 2008 to March 4, 2014."<ref name = "Yelp bullying businesses to pay for better reviews">http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/yelp-accused-of-bullying-businesses-into-paying-for-better-reviews-1.2899308</ref> The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Yelp's manipulation of ratings was legal.  Judge Marsha Berzon stated that Yelp can legally "post and arrange actual user reviews on its website as it sees fit" and it is not considered extortion at this level.<ref name = "workplace ethics">Workplace Ethics Advice. “Is It Ethical to Allow Yelp to Manipulate Ratings Based on Ad Purchase?” Workplace Ethics Advice, 23 Oct. 2014, www.workplaceethicsadvice.com/2014/10/is-it-ethical-to-allow-yelp-to-manipulate-ratings-based-on-ad-purchase.html.</ref> Many Yelp users have voiced their concerns that users expect and rely on honest ratings when looking for goods and services. Although Yelp's manipulation of reviews may be legal, users argue that Yelp holds an obligation to show truthful ratings of businesses <ref name = "workplace ethics">Workplace Ethics Advice. “Is It Ethical to Allow Yelp to Manipulate Ratings Based on Ad Purchase?” Workplace Ethics Advice, 23 Oct. 2014, www.workplaceethicsadvice.com/2014/10/is-it-ethical-to-allow-yelp-to-manipulate-ratings-based-on-ad-purchase.html.</ref>
	===Response Bias===		===Response Bias===
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	===Privacy===		===Privacy===
−	Yelp has created a privacy setting that allows businesses to access information regarding your demographics. <ref name = "A little-known Yelp privacy setting tells businesses your gender, age and hometown">https://splinternews.com/a-little-known-yelp-privacy-setting-tells-businesses-yo-1793848010</ref>	+	Yelp has created a privacy setting that allows businesses to access information regarding your demographics. <ref name = "A little-known Yelp privacy setting tells businesses your gender, age and hometown">https://splinternews.com/a-little-known-yelp-privacy-setting-tells-businesses-yo-1793848010</ref>
	=References=		=References=
	<references/>		<references/>

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Revision as of 23:19, 29 March 2018

Yelp

[[Image:|frameless|300px|]] "Yelp Reviewing App" text Type type Launch Date 2004 Status Active Product Line Yelp Reviewing Application Platform Yelp Website Yelp

elp is an application and website that connects users with local businesses such as restaurants, hair salons, bars, coffee shops, gas stations, drugstores, nightlife, and shopping locations. ^[1] Yelp accesses a users location with their permission and based on their selection from the options above, will provide a list of nearby locations to satisfy the request. The user also has the ability to narrow down the results based on the amount of money they would like to spend, whether the business is currently open, whether the business offers delivery, or if the business accepts online reservations.

History

elp was originally founded in October of 2004. However, it wasn’t always an iOS application. Instead, founders Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons created a glorified “email circle” that allowed their friends and colleagues to directly swap business reviews.^[2] It was more difficult to become a part of this “email circle” than it is to download the app on the apple store today. The difference between then and now is that everyone who has the Yelp app in today’s day and age has access to the reviews for all of the businesses that are listed on it. With more users in more locations around the world, Yelp’s network has expanded and become a more efficient system.

Features

s the company has progressed, it has added many features that contribute to the experiences that users have on the App. It allows users to rate local businesses on a scale ranging from 1 star to 5 stars: 1 star meaning that the user had a terrible experience, and 5 stars meaning that the user had a fantastic experience. It also has a Question and Answer feature^[3], where users can ask on a businesses page about specific details regarding their services. Yelp also allows users to post photos, filter their searches, respond to reviews using comments.

Ratings

Yelp’s platform was established based on the users: the number of users that utilize the app and their contributions to the app. In other words, Yelp was created with lists of businesses around the world and information associated with their payments and amenities, but their ratings and reviews were initialized as a blank interface. It allows anyone who has an account to rank their experience on a scale from one to five. These ratings may or may not influence people in the future from using a business’s services.

Comments

Comments are construed underneath the ratings, so that people have other ways of responding to experiences that people have had with a business. They are important for others to develop an idea as to if there is a general consensus on whether the business was successful with their services or not.

Photos

While reviews are a good indicator as to whether the local business is a good one, a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes, it is important, for example in a restaurant, to see whether the food looks appetizing to the user, or if the restaurant is clean. As much as aesthetics don’t determine whether the food is good quality, some people value the atmosphere of the restaurant when determining if they should go there. Photos are the only ways that users can access that information without being physically present in the restaurant, in this case.

Categories/Filters

Yelp allows a user to specify their preferences. For example, if a user were to look for a restaurant, they would be able to specify whether they would like Japanese food, pizza, Mexican, Chinese, thai, etc. They also have the options of filtering based on price ranges, whether the restaurant delivers, whether the restaurant has a bar, and even whether a restaurant is good for big groups of people. Hair salons would have similar filters, such as “Accepts Online Appointments”, “Open Now”, etc. These filters allow a user to find a local business that matches their preferences as quickly as possible. Filtering has created a better interface for Yelp.

Yelp Growth

elp is estimated to be worth five billion dollars. ^[4] The founders of the company were in an unfamiliar city where they needed a doctor and they believed the best way to find one was by word of mouth. Yelp has evolved to be used with all different types of businesses. As more businesses have been incorporated, more users submit and retrieve reviews. As the amount of reviews submitted increases, the accuracy of the ratings increases and a general consensus is formed.

Ethical Implications

Deception

There have been several complaints regarding "Yelp bullying businesses to pay for better reviews" ^[5] Users in society are deceived when they look up a particular business and see all positive reviews (of a poorly rated business) until they click on "See more reviews." Many have accused Yelp of allowing businesses to hide their "bad reviews" and deceiving all of the people use the application. People have also accused yelp of pressuring or allowing companies to pay for advertisement in exchange for only good reviews to ever be shown or lowering the number of bad reviews. Companies, such as Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital are suing Yelp for extortion, claiming Yelp is threatening their businesses profitability by negatively manipulating reviews unless companies buy ad space.^[6] "The U.S. Federal Trade Commission received more than 2,000 consumer complaints about Yelp from 2008 to March 4, 2014."^[5] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Yelp's manipulation of ratings was legal. Judge Marsha Berzon stated that Yelp can legally "post and arrange actual user reviews on its website as it sees fit" and it is not considered extortion at this level.^[6] Many Yelp users have voiced their concerns that users expect and rely on honest ratings when looking for goods and services. Although Yelp's manipulation of reviews may be legal, users argue that Yelp holds an obligation to show truthful ratings of businesses ^[6]

Response Bias

There is also the ethical issue of Response Bias present. Most of the people that review places online feel extreme about their experiences with the business. 47% of the ratings are 5 stars ^[7]

Privacy

Yelp has created a privacy setting that allows businesses to access information regarding your demographics. ^[8]

References

1. ↑ https://www.yelp.com/about Retrieved 14 March 2018.
2. ↑ https://www.eater.com/2014/8/5/6177213/yelp-turns-10-from-startup-to-online-review-dominance
3. ↑ https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/14/yelp-q-and-a/ Retrieved 13 March 2018.
4. ↑ https://www.eater.com/2014/8/5/6177213/yelp-turns-10-from-startup-to-online-review-dominance Retrieved 13 March 2018.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/yelp-accused-of-bullying-businesses-into-paying-for-better-reviews-1.2899308
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Workplace Ethics Advice. “Is It Ethical to Allow Yelp to Manipulate Ratings Based on Ad Purchase?” Workplace Ethics Advice, 23 Oct. 2014, www.workplaceethicsadvice.com/2014/10/is-it-ethical-to-allow-yelp-to-manipulate-ratings-based-on-ad-purchase.html.
7. ↑ https://www.yelp.com/factsheet
8. ↑ https://splinternews.com/a-little-known-yelp-privacy-setting-tells-businesses-yo-1793848010