Nathan Bonilla-Warford: Yelp is Official in Tampa!

Oh my gosh it is a great time to be involved in social media in Tampa! Not only is the roll out of fun but we now are an official Yelp community! That is right -  after years of people writing reviews about restaurants gyms and doctors offices, Yelp has now made Tampa legit.

If you are not familiar with Yelp it is an online review site that has some social networking components. It has something to offer everyone. If you are looking for a new place to take your significant other for a nice dinner you can go to Yelp and look for restaurants in your neighborhood that have received stellar reviews from other people who have eaten there. You don't even need to have an account to check it out... just search for anything that interests you and see what other people have said. If you are the type of person who wants to put your two cents in about your experience at any local business, then create an account and get writing. If you want to see what other people are going to be doing this weekend then head on over to the Tampa talk threads and ask them.

The new Yelp community manager is named Collin and he is a great guy. I hung out with him and a bunch of their Yelpers last night at Tampa's very first official Yelp event. It was a rather intimate crowd with some fascinating conversation. It was a great start to what will surely prove to be an even more useful resource for the bay area.

So now that Yelp has decided to invest in the Tampa scene, we need to prove that we are up for it! So head on over to Yelp, create an account, and start writing some reviews about your favorite businesses. You'll have a good time, people will benefit from your wisdom, and the Westchase busineses will appreciate it.
 
I know that Tampa can do it. I was so proud when the awesome people of Tampa rallied around Foursquare Day last year and we made our mark around the world! Tampa is ready for Yelp! Let's do this thing!