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Social Media: More than Twitter and Facebook? Uh, yeah.

The following post is based on a discussion at the Cincinnati Social Media LinkedIn Group. In what seems to be a race to oversimplify EVERYTHING, we’re creating misdefinitions. In many cases there’s simply (a lot) more to the story. Social media provides the latest example. Do you know anyone with "T&F Tunnel Vision?" This unfortunate […]

Five Ways to Build Your Own Groupon

Group coupon buying has overrun the Internet. A $6 billion buyout offer of Groupon.com from Google should be enough evidence of that. Now, Groupon is getting hit from all sides. LivingSocial has turned up the heat, Yelp.com has introduced group coupon buying, Google is working on their own solution, Facebook won't be far behind and […]

The Yelp Factor

Have you been doubting Yelp? It's certainly got its fair share of competition in the check in and review spaces, but despite some hiccups related to its review practices, Yelp is growing at a rapid clip. Yelp released some growth statistics yesterday on Twitter (http://twitter.com/Yelp/statuses/22788797037019137) and while the 41 million… [[ This is a content […]

Should Google Be Able To Prioritize Its Own Content In Search Results?

Does Google have the right to place its own content over others’ content in its search results? If the company deems it better for the user that way, Google certainly thinks so.  Do you agree with Google? Let us know. There has been a great deal of discussion around this in the media recently, and […]

Yelp gets an Unofficial Theme Song [VIDEO]

Alex, Aaron and Rachel are the three geniuses who created this unofficial theme song for Yelp. The song communicates how Yelp has helped in different situations in life in a humorous fashion. It sure took a lot of effort to create the video. But I guess when you really love a product, it is worth going […]

Yelp Gets Check-In Rewards

Local review site Yelp has joined the location-aware craze and unveiled Check-in Offers.  The new feature, available within the business owner dashboard, allows business owners to rewawrd customers with a coupon when they check in to their business. Yelp users have been able to check in to businesses for over a year but this is […]

Check-In Apps Add Key Relevancy Factor to Your Marketing

Are check-in apps just a fad or are they the future of local business marketing? It may still be too early to tell, but I’m starting to lean toward the latter, because this space is only picking up more and more steam, and businesses and marketers are getting excited about it as more apps continue […]

7 Captivating Works of Crowdsourced Art

If enough people complete them, tiny tasks can accomplish great things. Companies like Yelp, for instance, have used the input of millions to create review databases. iStockPhoto pools images from a huge group of photographers to make a cohesive collection.…

Plan Your Social Calendar with The Hotlist

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. Name: The Hotlist Quick Pitch: The Hotlist is the first geo-social aggregator that shows […]

Facebook Open Graph: What it Means for Privacy

At Facebook’s F8 Developer Conference today, the company fleshed out its plans to become the social center of the web. With the new Open Graph API and protocol and the ability to integrate websites and web apps within your existing social network, the platform will become more robust than ever before. The potential for this […]

Google Places: Google’s Local Business Center Gets an Upgrade

Google’s Local Business Center has been renamed “Google Places.” The re-branding effort is accompanied by a handful of new features designed to help local business owners gain an edge in search engine marketing. The name change was made to better tie the business owner dashboard with Place Pages, the Yelp-like local business landing pages that […]

Yelp Makes Big Changes in Effort to End Extortion Claims

Local review powerhouse Yelp is rolling out a number of product changes on Tuesday in an effort to put to rest allegations that it hides negative reviews in exchange for money. Such allegations aren’t a new problem for Yelp, but came to a head in February when a class action lawsuit was filed against the […]

See Yahoo’s Sketch-a-Search in Action [VIDEO]

Earlier this week, Yahoo launched a new iPhone app called Sketch-a-Search that allows you to trace an area with your finger to get restaurant results in a specifically defined region. We had a chance to sit down with Director of Product Management Ariel Seidman for a demo of Sketch-a-Search, and got a window into future […]

Yelp for Business: 4 Steps for Success

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. For local small businesses, Yelp isn’t just an option — it’s a necessity. People in urban centers use it to choose where to go to dinner, where to buy clothes, and […]