Yelp, as many of you know, is a user-generated website that allows people to write both negative or positive reviews for local restaurants, hotels, stores, nightlife scenes, and more. Users rate and leave comments about establishments for other consumers to review.

However, recent websites, like Yelp-Sucks and IHateYelp, have popped up in response to Yelp policies and reviews. These sites are used by angry business owners who have received negative feedback and complaints on Yelp, which has resulted in a loss of business. Many business owners have turned to Yelp for competitive reasons and are now frustrated with the site’s lax comment policies.

One major complaint is over the issue of negative reviews and how businesses can’t get rid of them. Another is that good reviews are often deleted from business pages by Yelp due to infrequent logging in by the owner. The site also allows users to review a business, even if they never used the service. Many business owners feel that they are not getting what they paid for, and that the site ultimately hurts their business.

Boris Levitt, owner of Renaissance Furniture Restoration, has actually sued Yelp for its “unfair and unethical conduct in promoting, marketing and advertising its website as maintaining unbiased reviews.” Levitt argues that the site is unlawful, and believes that Yelp has hurt his business. Yelp has had previous claims for similar issues in the past.

Do you think Yelp maintains its mission to promote companies in an unbiased fashion? How could Yelp change its policies to best serve business owners while providing consumers with truthful and relevant information?

Apple Lovers Unite! Get ready as Apple is holding an invitation only event for reporters, bloggers, and analysts here in SF on September 1st at the Yerba Buena Center. If you were not among the elite chosen ones, you can tune in with the rest of us to hear about some of their exciting new products. This event is expected to be geared around Apple’s devices such as the iPod/Pad, Apple TV, and iPhone. There is also a small chance that we finally see the Verizon iPhone get announced. The rumor mill is running like crazy on this one, but it could be a bit too close to the Apple iPhone 4 launch to really see this product.

This is what we’re hoping to hear about:

• New iPod touch: With a back-facing camera for still images and videos and a front facing video camera for FaceTime video calls.
• Lower-cost iOS-based Apple TV – possibly at $99
• 99-cent TV show rentals
• 7 inch Ipad
  
• Cloud-based iTunes service

Which of these products will you be purchasing? And, more importantly can someone get us on the list?!

Two stellar companies, Girls in Tech and Ubergizmo are teaming up tonight to present: Digital Summer! This event will bring together the most international, professional, and glamourous crowd in San Francisco to celebrate photography, fashion, art, and technology. Among the unique features of this one-of-a kind event is a live runway fashion show. Invitees will also have a chance to enjoy a professional photo-shoot and lots of time to socialize.

Ubergizmo has become one of the top consumer electronic websites, and is distributed in six languages and read in 212 countries. They have been recognized as a leading high-tech website and is ranked as a Top 100 Blog by PC Magazine. Girls in Tech is one of our favorite female run social network enterprises that is focused on the engagement, education, and empowerment of like-minded, professional, intelligent, and influential women in technology. They have made it their personal desire and passion to create and sustain an organization that focuses on the collaboration, promotion, growth and success of women in the tech sector.

Media partners include Yanko Design,Cult of Mac, Techie Diva, Tech Mamas, Mashable, Burdastyle, FashionablyMarketing.me, Thread, and We Blog the World! Sponsors for the eve include Intel and Vorizon. That said, there are some great people behind this and it should be a fun one!  Will you be joining us?!

Get your tickets here on eventbrite, or get your $10 ticket at the door!

Follow the event on Twitter @ #DS2010

When planning an event, last-minute purchases come up all the time. Well, Paypal and iPhone have teamed up the create a bump app that allows users to make purchases quickly and easily.  Over the past few years Paypal has made financial transactions via the internet a simple process. The recent bump iPhone app is just another way the company is creating a worry free shopping environment. The new bump app lets users literally bump their phones together and send money to each other.

Another cool feature of this app is that you can donate money to great causes and charitable organizations. Currently, PayPal has partnered with various organizations, including Save the Children and Autism Speaks, to make donating to charities an  easy process. The iPhone app will also allow users to deposit checks straight from their phone. Instead of going to an ATM or bank, just take a picture of both sides of the check and PayPal will deposit the money into your online account.

How do you think you will use this app? Can you see any potential problems with the technology?

Rumor has it that Apple has hired an expert to develop credit card payment technology as an app for the iPhone. This app would use near-field comms (NFC) implementations, like used in subway/bus ticket systems to process data transmitted from transportation cards. The simple technology recognizes the amount you’ve paid according to each journey you’ve taken, but the process for a  smartphone is far more complicated and has endless possibilities! This technology could add a whole new dimension to online shopping. All you have to do is set your iPhone onto a small pad and it will process your request the same way a machine in a grocery store works- simply confirm your PIN number or provide a signature.

Some might be skeptical of the new application, wondering if it’s necessary when one could simply shop online the old fashioned way, but the new iPhone app would allow users to input information faster, give access to stores where one can shop and receive free apps, discounts, loyalty card points, or games. For event planning, this is great news because you could buy all of your supplies quickly and easily from home, or on the go.

Do you think more people will prefer this method to regular in-store shopping? How do you think it will change the shopping experience in general?

The video from the Apple Developers Conference (WWDC) that took place a few months ago is finally here! ABCey Events was hired to produce and manage the event on June 9th at Mezzanine here in SF. The BoxTone event showcased a history of Apple Tech including the original working Apple 1 & 2 computers from 1976. We created a mod style museum filled with first generation computers and Apple’s current technology, such as the ipad and new Apple “fan-based” iPhone/iPad application. Over 300 people were at the event and a few lucky attendees won gift certificates for the iphone 4G and the iPad!

Below is the video taken during the event.

What do you think about the video?

Want to see where you’ve tweeted from in the past? Or maybe get a global view of a specific hastag? Twitter has some cool mapping tools that show real-time streams of relevant tweets and topics.

TrendsMap
This service displays hashtags, @mentions or keywords in a real-time mapping of Twitter trends across the world. Follow trends from various cities or focus on a trending topic and watch it worldwide.

Tweography
With a geo-location-enabled Twitter account, Tweography maps all the places you have tweeted from. This app is perfect for jet-setters to keep track of where you’ve been in the world.

TwitterMap.tv
TwitterMap.tv lets you hit “play,” sit back and watch the tweets roll by. Search a keyword or name and see all related tweets play across a regional or city map. This service also provides a profile picture and some basic user info about each tweeter.

MMMeeja’s Twitter Google Maps
This service will show you the locations of the people you follow on Twitter. That is as long as they have given their locations. If you follow more than one person in a geographical area, you can zoom in and hover over a particular person to see where they are tweeting from.

Do you use any of these mapping tools? Where was your most recent tweets sent from?

Depending on your answer, Fiverr may be the site for you! This new service provides a place for people to share things they’re willing to do for $5. The “gigs,” available to buy and sell, range from silly cards, a variety of lessons and instructions, medical advice, and songs and videos.

When the site first launched many people were skeptical it would succeed, but entrepreneurs Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger realized that the mix of internet boredom and frugal consumers would create an ideal environment for their site to blossom. In essence, Fiverr is similar to sites like Etsy that connect buyers and sellers in a facilitated economy. For now Fiverr continues to grow and offer new gigs, because quite frankly, a lot of people out there know how to do some pretty cool stuff.

What would you do for $5? On that note, what would you buy for $5?

We’ve seen the success of its practical applications and digital reader abilities, but the Apple iPad has also been used in some pretty crazy ways. There are some owners out there who believe in making the most of their iPad experience, using the device for dolphin communication, for cats and dogs, as a skateboard, and in zero gravity. Just for fun we thought we’d share some of the extraordinary, albeit unconventional, uses of the Apple iPad for you to enjoy.

What is the craziest thing you’ve used your iPad for?

Take a look as Pianist Lang Lang plays the iPad for a concert encore.

Well the writers at Social Media Dudes think so. These days the majority of cell phone owners are smartphone users, and for good reason. A recent post described how one of these wonderful little devices can change your life, both personally and professionally.

Using a smartphone can increase your productivity while using applications and settings that keep you on top of important events and details in your life. Your schedule, documents, contacts and social networks are available at your fingertips to keep you connected and engaged with friends and clients.

You are also more prepared and informed with smartphone apps, receiving real-time notifications so you’re always up to date. GPS, the Internet, even traffic updates means you are one step ahead of the next person, every time.

As with most technology, there is also the potential for fun. While waiting for an appointment or sitting on the train you can access hundreds of games, surf the web or browse your Facebook and Twitter to unwind and relax.

So for those of you who haven’t invested in a smartphone yet, I think it’s time you should be asking yourself why.

Which smartphone applications do you use most often?