Yelp - a great idea, or yet another ... ?

I'm going to have to disagree with my co-editor Jay on the last post regarding Yelp.com. While it's a somewhat new twist, combining the review system of citysearch with the Web 2.0 social networking features of MySpace, my prediction is that Yelp will never be the juggernaut MySpace has become. Why?

1. One needs to register to belong, and this adds yet another thing to check to most surfer's portfolios
2. It's purpose is too specific
3. There are just too many alternative websites, both for entertainment reviews and social networking, that have already achieved critical mass.

The best-case scenario for Yelp, in my opinion, is that a bigger general-purpose social networking site will buy the company, and roll the reviews into its own database. Yelp will not achieve critical mass on its own. Even if early adopters flock to it, it will eventually languish when no new content is being added, and will plateau.

Here are my stream-of-consciousness notes on the subject, before I wrote the coherent summary above:

• Yelp is an online database of user-published reviews - and they can avoid having to pay for well-researched content.
  
• It has some web 2.0 features, such as auto-mapping, and nearest business map, as well as messaging, but it's really a re-hash of functions other sites provide as well.
  
• From MySpace, they stole profiles and messaging - which was stolen from Friendster, SixDegrees, etc. in the first place.
  
• From CitySearch, Zagat, and DigitalCity they stole the idea of entertainment service reviews. At least those services have critics publish a review, with user reviews underneath. With Yelp, you lose the "expert's" opinion (and I use the term "expert" VERY loosely).
  
• Yelp vs. dodgeball - dodgeball has profiles, reviews - pretty generic stuff. However, dodgeball's strength - mobile presence awareness - is missing from Yelp. This is what got me started writing the rebuttal to Jay's post. I would toss out the dodgeball comparison altogether.
  
• Yelp's not really a blog (a misused word if I ever saw one). In their own words, it's "a perfect place to collect and archive all your reviews -— sort of like your own personal yellow pages."