Yelp... I need somebody... Yelp... not just anybody...

After perusing the list of Web 2.0 Award winners and nominees for Thing 19, I saw a number of sites that I use on a day-to-day basis. Pandora, for example, is a favorite of mine. It took me less than 5 minutes to set up, and it accurately guessed my musical tastes and fed me multiple streams of both favorite songs and new discoveries. I also found a couple of new sites that I wasn't aware of; I found Galaxiki to be fun, simply because I have done online roleplaying and fiction-writing in the past, and have found wikis to be perfect for that sort of thing.

As far as in-library use (not to mention at-home use) goes, though, Yelp has a well-deserved spot on the list. I personally find review sites to be extraordinarily helpful for purchase and service decisions, and Yelp is a very comprehensive one, which gathers user reviews on a whole variety of subjects and makes them very easy to find. I typically just use the search bar at the top, but the Browse by Category links are very helpful, as well. Besides the obvious use of making life as a consumer a little easier, I think something like this could help librarians who are faced with questions about services in their library's community, arming them not only with contact information but also with popular opinion. Of course, as with any Web 2.0 content vehicle, critical reading and analysis is required, as while user reviews may be more authentic they tend to be pretty subjective and/or anecdotal. But our ability to analyze information is what gives us an advantage in adopting Web 2.0 technology, right?

P.S.: our branches have Yelp entries, too!