Wining and dining

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The newly opened wine bar in downtown Austi was hosting a private party for a group of 160 residentxs who could have a dramatic effecton business. The partygoers were frequengt writers for the Web site which lists customer reviews of businesses such as clubssand restaurants. The writers, which Yelp callas elite Yelpers, were being wooed with free wine and appetizers becaused the ownersof Max’s recognize the power of viral marketing in the Internet age. making a good impression on a Yelpedr who subsequently posts flattering comments on the Web site reached thousands ofpotential customers.
Max’s had alreadyu hosted a pre-opening party for prominent Austin-area foodies who operate their own Web site s that featurerestaurant reviews. The popularity of Web-baseds tools such as blogs and customer-review Web sitesx has increased dramatically during the last 18 saidJonathan Horowitz, vice president of marketing and communicationxs for Max’s parent company, Houston-based Lasco Enterprises LLC. “It’sx a significant segment of the markert now that needs to be addressecdbecause they’re so influential,” he How influential?
Max’s has a full-time employed whose sole duty is to monitor what is postedd on the Internet about the company’ s five restaurants in Texas. Yelp was started in San Francisco in 2004 by two formetrPayPal employees. Its chiefc competition is California-based IAC/InterActiveCorp’s which launched in 1995. Austin-based Bazaarvoice Inc., founded in enables businesses to operat e their own online communities that include customer reviews of Although online reviews are an efficienft method of giving voice to the they also present the proble mof accountability. Web site operators are faced with determining the motivea and credibility ofreview posters.
For example, competitors can surreptitiouslh write unflattering reviews to boost the standing of theifrown businesses. In Yelp officials revealed that, for the firs time, they were allowing business ownerx to directly reply to user reviews with theitrown posts. Matthew Lees, vice president of the Boston-base d Patricia Seybold Group, praised the decisiojn — as long as the onlined dialogue doesn’t turn combative. “I think it’ s a rather exciting move,” Lees said.
“ I think it’s better to have inclusive Austin residentJodi Bart, who launched her Tasty Touring restaurant blog in July 2008, said the city has a core groupp of 20 to 30 food bloggerw who are invited to a couple business-sponsorecd events each week. Austin-baserd software industry executive Jack Newton was one of the elitse Yelpersat Max’s Wine Dive last He said he joined Yelp more than three year s ago and has posted more than 100 During that time, Yelp’s influence has grownb in proportion to the size of its community, Newton “There’s an undeniable force that Yelp possesseds now compared with three years ago,” he “It’s a channel that businesses can use to help them