Yelp Will Let You Take Video Reviews Starting This Sumer

Yelp is about to take restaurant reviews to a new level. Starting in June, some Yelp users will get the ability to upload video to their reviews. The short-take clips are meant to give potential customers a better concept of the area and restaurant interior, but could be used to strike a chord on negative feedback.

The 12 second clips will be embedded in the option to upload pics and video in a review. Once you take a video, you can select a frame to use for the cover photo, and leave a caption if you like. Business Insider was given a first look at the new feature, showing a fairly crude video interface — but for 12 seconds, you don't need many bells and whistles.

It also appears that Yelp will feature videos that are well received by users, much as they do with pictures already. Though the service is meant for that "hey, look how great the area is!" synopsis, it's probably going to be used for much, much worse.

In 12 seconds, users can fork their way through a stodgy plate of food, or show just how disgusting that bathroom really is. Yelp says they have a feature in place to prevent inappropriate video from being on the site, but they don't say just what their parameters are.

It's another way Yelp is attempting to win users over, and stem the rising tide of Google's own restaurant review program. Though Yelp's "elite" users will get the feature in June, they aren't saying just when the rest of us will get the chance to upload videos.

Source: Business Insider