OK, I admit that I like Yelp. Whenever I’m going to try a new restaurant I always check out what the Yelpers have to say. I’ve even found a new physician based on her Yelp profile. (Still trying to get over the fact that she folded up her practice 5 months later, but that’s a story for a different post.)

There is no question though, that where yelp is concerned, you have to take some of the most complimentary, and most heinous, reviews with a grain of salt. Interestingly, it appears as if Yelp wants to help restaurateurs do something about those negative reviews…for a price. Buy a whole bunch-o-advertising, and those negative reviews will magically disappear.

Extortion as a commerce model? Makes one wonder how those negative reviews floated to the top in the first place, or even if they’re legit…at all.