Billion Dollar Bully

Filmmaker Kaylie Milliken attacks the influential, reader-rating, consumer-advisory Internet site Yelp with guns blazing (all from one side; Yelp did not respond to interview requests or on-the-street executive ambushes). Interviewees including freelance journalist Amy Lane charge that the company—which profits substantially off ad revenue—is practically mafia-like in its approach: enterprises that are being reviewed can either pay up and magically see any bad Yelp reviews disappear from their listings via a "filter"…or not buy, and suddenly receive a large number of negative notices. A disillusioned ex-Yelp staffer says that a big change came about with Yelp’s first IPO; afterwards, ad sales were subject to high-pressure boiler-room tactics. Anecdotes abound about vindictive and ignorant "Yelpers" hurting small businesses, although a lot of the complaints come across as basic yowls against social-media culture (what qualifies these strangers to publish opinions, how dare someone review Auschwitz as a travel destination, where is government oversight, etc.). One might suspect—especially in the case of restaurants, a notoriously high-failure-rate business—that Yelp, even with its billions in valuations, is getting somewhat scapegoated by casualties of the tough free market. Still, there are some possible lessons to be learned here about unexpected consequences in the online realm—including that the filmmakers had no trouble raising their budget via crowdsourcing, although many donors wished to remain anonymous, no doubt for fear of (Yelp) retaliation. A timely, albeit one-sided, documentary, this is a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)