Age of the iPhone
I’ve joined the smart phone revolution out of pique at Verizon and the hefty discount I could get on AT&T due to grandparents and parents on their family plan. Thus far I am most impressed by the Yelp application. Earlier this morning, I found myself in Hollywood, needful of a good spot for lunch, and afterward desiring a coffee shop with outdoor seating, free WiFi, sparse crowds and electrical outlets. A month ago I would’ve driven around semi-aimlessly and wound up someplace less than optimal. Today I allowed Yelp to determine my location, scrolled through its restaurant and coffee shop options, and enjoyed the following: three exceptional fish tacos for $4.50, and what may be the perfect coffee shop for writing work, The Lyric Hyperion Theater and Cafe.
What I am hoping — I’m stealing this insight from a conversation, but I don’t remember who I had it with — is that Yelp plus smart phones, and other similar applications, will tip the competitive balance away from chain restaurants and toward exceptional independent eateries, bars and coffee shops. The uncertainty that is a cost of trying these establishments is growing ever lower with crowd-sourced ratings and reviews that are readily accessible even in neighborhoods far from where one lives. There is some lost fun finding hidden gems oneself, but I nevertheless welcome my new Yelp overlords.
i met a friend at a restaurant recently and we wondered what we did without cell phones. in any case, here’s another case i heard: a creepy guy at a party using intelius & social networking to look up information on people he’d just met, especially women. after looking up this information he’d try and chat them with a better awareness of their background and values (i think he had some dumb point about how he liked to know last names because he was into genealogy and could tell them the national provenance).
— razib · Aug 24, 03:21 AM · #
you drove all the way to silver lake for a coffee and free wifi?
— bend · Aug 24, 04:28 AM · #
I can’t comment on the computer possibilities, but King’s Road Cafe is great food, coffee and outdoor seating.
Oh, and up with Silver Lake.
— c.t.h. · Aug 24, 06:09 AM · #
There’s something really fascinating about listening to people from LA talking about the geography of the city.
— Freddie · Aug 24, 12:19 PM · #
I find something touchingly, heartwarmingly naive in the belief that the existence of broad, for-profit services with remarkable customization and targeting abilities will in the end favor small independent establishments over large faceless corporations with their own electronic communications/social media staff. You go, Conor: stick it to the Man.
— Sanjay · Aug 24, 12:59 PM · #
I agree with your point on bringing tiny cafes that aren’t part of major chains out of the obscurity. There are a lot of great places that people only hear about through word-of-mouth. Whoot for Yelp!
— Jodi Miller · Aug 24, 11:48 PM · #
Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada?
— Guy Misterioso · Aug 25, 12:14 AM · #
Cool website, like what I have read. Will definitely be back to read again.
— cheap jordan shoes · Aug 25, 01:52 PM · #
I find something touchingly, heartwarmingly naive in the belief that the existence of broad, for-profit services with remarkable customization and targeting abilities will in the end favor small independent establishments over large faceless corporations with their own electronic communications/social media staff.
What’s “the end?” Sure, the model will almost certainly fail eventually, but what will it accomplish in the meantime? Whether or not you consider its success to be long-term depends on how you define “long-term.” If it lasts 5 or 10 more years in a similar state to now, and then it devolves into corporate fluff, it doesn’t seem naive to believe it will have had a significant impact on the market, given what it has done in its short 5-year existence thus far.
— Brad · Aug 25, 02:23 PM · #