> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nearmedia.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Yelp As SaaS Co., Fake Reviews on 5 and 1, News-Subsidy Drama Cont'd - URL: https://www.nearmedia.co/yelp-as-saas-co/ - Published: 2021-02-24T18:23:58.000Z - Updated: 2021-02-24T18:28:45.000Z - Author: Greg Sterling - Tags: News ### Yelp: SaaS Tool Provider for Restaurants Google is badly beating Yelp. It's the top reviews destination by far and has much more review volume across categories. Yelp is in a very tough spot. One way forward is suggested by the company's [deeper move into restaurant services](https://blog.yelp.com/2021/02/yelp-releases-new-restaurant-products-to-address-industry-shifts-and-new-consumer-behaviors?ref=nearmedia.co). Yelp recently modified its [Waitlist](https://restaurants.yelp.com/products/waitlist-table-management-software/?utm%5Fsource=PR&utm%5Fmedium=Blog-Link&utm%5Fcampaign=Takout-Announcement) tool to include takeout (rather than just dine-in) capabilities. Additional tool enhancements include better analytics, customer profiles and upgraded POS integration. Another category where Yelp can help businesses manage customer relationships is home services. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2021/02/Takeout-Feature-2.gif) **Our take:** - Yelp tries to create tools and services that benefit both business owners and its consumer-users simultaneously. Waitlist is one example. - The company faces an existential threat from Google and must evolve or die a slow death (or be acquired and die a slow death). - SaaS tools are a way for the company to serve SMBs and generate revenue, but it doesn't address the larger traffic/usage problem. ### TrustPilot: Most Fake Reviews 5 Star, 1 Star Review spam and fake reviews are a major problem across the industry. Google recently [said](https://www.blog.google/products/maps/google-maps-101-how-contributed-content-makes-maps-helpful/?ref=nearmedia.co) it removed 75 million questionable reviews in 2019\. Now TrustPilot has come out with a [transparency report](https://www.trustpilot.com/trust/transparency?ref=nearmedia.co) detailing it's own fraud detection and prevention. The company removed more than 2.2 million fake reviews in 2020\. Roughly two-thirds fell into either the 5-star or 1-star categories. Review flagging is one of the main tools used. Consumers tend to flag 1-star and 5-star reviews, while businesses focus overwhelmingly on 1-star reviews – presumably in the hope of purging them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-24-at-8.36.59-AM.png) Source: Trust Pilot Transparency Report **Our take:** - The fact that 71% of reviews on TrustPilot have 5-stars suggests a significant fraud problem on the site. - It thus makes sense the 5-star category saw the most review removals. - Forthcoming research argues that review fraud exceeds 20% and may be much higher in some categories on popular sites. ### The News-Publisher Subsidy Drama Continues The drama surrounding Google and Facebook news-publisher subsidies or link taxes, whatever you want to call them, continues. After Facebook pulled news from its Australian site last week, the government blinked. Australia is now going to [amend](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-23/facebook-reverses-news-ban-on-australian-sites-media-code/13173984?ref=nearmedia.co) the News Media Bargaining Code (NMBC) to make it [relatively toothless](https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/02/facebook-got-everything-it-wanted-out-of-australia-by-being-willing-to-do-what-the-other-guy-wouldnt/?ref=nearmedia.co). Separately, French antitrust authorities [say](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-google-antitrust-exclusive-idUSKBN2AN268?ref=nearmedia.co) that the way Google negotiated payments to French news publishers violated competition rules. And the EU [added](https://seekingalpha.com/news/3665089-ec-chief-says-google-could-face-antitrust-consequence-on-pullout-threats??ref=nearmedia.co) that threats to pull search from Australia likely violate antitrust laws. **Our take:** - The EU's Google France critique seemingly would apply to Facebook in Australia as well. - Notwithstanding the Australian government backing down, numerous countries still see the NMBC as a potential model. - Everyone agrees that journalism should be supported; few can agree on how to do this in ways that are effective but not ham-handed. ## Short Takes - **Square [generates](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/square-buys-170-million-more-in-bitcoin-sees-revenue-more-than-double-11614116089??ref=nearmedia.co) more from Cash App** (and Bitcoin) than core business. - **Block Party [filters out Twitter trolls](https://www.blockpartyapp.com/how-it-works/?ref=nearmedia.co)** to shield users from harassment. - **Facebook to [disable](https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/22/22294919/whatsapp-privacy-policy-may-15th-messaging-calls-limited-functionality?ref=nearmedia.co) WhatsApp features** for those not accepting privacy policy. - **Facebook knew "potential reach" audience tool broken,** but didn't fix because of [feared revenue impact](https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/18/facebook-knew-for-years-ad-reach-estimates-were-based-on-wrong-data-but-blocked-fixes-over-revenue-impact-per-court-filing/?ref=nearmedia.co). - **CA Net Neutrality law** can now [go into effect](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/02/23/net-neutrality-law-take-effect-california-after-judge-deals-blow-telecom-industry/?ref=nearmedia.co); more will follow. - **E-commerce shipping costs [going up](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/18/online-shipping-costs-expected-to-increase-further-into-the-pandemic.html?ref=nearmedia.co)**; retailers may need to absorb them. - Virginia [following](https://roanoke.com/news/bill-would-make-app-based-delivery-companies-work-with-restaurants/article%5Fcf9c6af2-74b6-11eb-abc8-671133dacc59.html?ref=nearmedia.co) CA's "**Fair Food Delivery Act**," forces apps to deal with restaurants. - **FCC to [subsidize](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/technology/fcc-broadband-subsidy.html?ref=nearmedia.co) broadband coverage** for those that still don't have it. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2021/02/near_memo_banner.png)](https://nearmedia.co/memo?ref=nearmedia.co) Please let us know what you think. Email [gsterling@nearmedia.co](mailto: gsterling@nearmedia.co) with suggestions and recommendations.