Yelp Still Freaking Users Out
Here's yet another story on how Yelp are bullies, via Eater. Robert, a coffee blogger in Vancouver had signed up for a Yelp account a few weeks ago, but didn't do anything with it until he heard from Crystal H, who told him she was looking for good coffee places to check out. Crystal convinced Robert to start putting his cafe reviews on Yelp, telling him she had received a lot of traffic to her own website through Yelp ("much more than Twitter").
Bluepulse CEO Ben Keighran Brings Us Out Of The Stone Age
We know there's no shortage of young, successful, smart people in this town, but we still turn a little green with envy when we hear about guys like Ben Keighran. The Australia native is only 25 years old. After successfully launching bluepulse in his native land in 2002, he took the show on the road and ended up here in the Bay Area. Like another young tech-maestro we recently spoke to, Keighran houses his company in Silicon Valley (in fact, in YouTube's former quarters), but lives here in the city by the bay.
Menuism: Like Yelp With No Content, More Bugs, And Superfluous Features
It's really nice that folks with a new product or service like to bring stuff to our attention. In the spirit of being forthright, we'd advise you that you should have a fairly complete/polished product before doing so. Luddites like us (well, specifically this writer) aren't in much of a position to speculate on how cool something will be.Case in point, a representative of Menuism, a newish Web site that aims to let you "rate what you ate and find great food with personal recommendations," alerted us to the venture's existence. Unfortunately, we came away unimpressed.
MySpace 1, Parents 0
You know the old saying, give a man a fish and you’ll feed him for a day, teach a kid how to use a credit card and suddenly the entire neighborhood is on MySpace.
What? That’s not the saying?
It’s no secret that MySpace has its fair share of holes. They say that they only accept users over the age of 14 and even then users don’t get full access until after 16. But let’s not undermine the intelligence of America’s youth - - they know how to get what they want. It’s not just fake ids anymore as it is an army of teens waging a guerilla war on their parents’ wallets and winning!! But let’s be honest here - -it’s not MySpace that’s waging the war on teens, it’s teens out-smarting their parents – and sometimes, let’s be honest, there isn’t much to out-smart.
24 Hour Nerdy People
We were busy geeking out in the Sierra this weekend. Luckily, you won't find yourself covered with hundreds of tiny leeches after diving into any of these events.
The Out Professionals Are In
First NYC exported Eight Guys Out, and now we're getting Out Professionals; at this point, there's no excuse for well-heeled homos not to have an awesome job and fabulous friends. Headed up by Michael Volpatt, OP's brand-spanking-new local chapter is an opportunity for anyone -- small-business people, big-biz types, jobseekers and business solution providers -- to come together at social networking events or B2B rountables. And eat free appetizers! Michael informs us that next Wednesday, the 9th, OP is holding a social networking event at the Hotel Monaco, including an auction of Nicolas Smith photography with proceeds going to benefit Under One Roof. They're expecting a couple hundred folks to show up from every imaginable industry, and there'll be free appetizers and a cash bar; so bring a business card, practice your dashing smile, don't wear anything too complicated. RSVP to Michael if you'd like to attend; he's michael - at - larkinvolpatt - dot - com.
Searching For Kevin Bacon
Image is everything. It's not a matter of looking like the most intelligent, cultured, and radical person who ever walked the face of the Earth, it's just a matter of looking like you are and you're already in. That's our theory. It's only more heightened on the internet, especially on social networking sites such as the new Yahoo 360, where users fill out questionnaires, stick pictures of themselves up, and type up a witty biography of themselves to get people to notice them in the hopes of finding a soul mate. Or Kevin Bacon.
FunCheapSF
How many times have you faced Friday wondering what you're going to do with your weekend that's fun and cheap, or better yet, free? If you were to consult the funcheapSF list, you might decide to hang with an all-female skateboard collective on Saturday or go on a free sailboat ride on Sunday, and you'd even learn what it means to go on a dicewalk in the Mission.

