If you’re thinking, “That sounds a lot like Yelp”, you’re not alone.
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However, the San Francisco company has managed to maintain its role as a leading source for user reviews of local businesses, thanks to an early-mover advantage and rabid users, which gives the company a wealth of varied reviews.
Facebook is testing out a challenge to old-timers Angie’s List, Yelp and others with a new searchable service-referral directory called Facebook Services.
The feature was first reported on tech blogs Search Engine Land and acodez.
The new interface-which you can locate at www.facebook.com/services-allows the site’s users to find and review local businesses, which have the ability to create their own pages in the system. Facebook uses its big data analytics capabilities to come up with scores for the performance of each of the local businesses, based on user reviews.
“We’re in the early stages of testing a way for people to easily find more Pages for the services they’re interested in”, Facebook spokesman Mike Manning said in an emailed statement.
On Facebook, first-listed Oscar’s had a lower rating (and fewer amount of comments) than second-place Joe’s, but when we tried to test the list based on proximity to our actual location at 1111 W. Bonanza Rd., it was still inaccurate. If it decides to green-light this feature, the social network will also face competition from household-name mainstays such as Yelp and Angie’s List. “We’ve been in this business for more than 20 years so we have more depth than most but we’re also much more than a review site”. Since the Facebook platform is known more for sharing than critique, users could be more likely to only rate an establishment that they prefer.
After you hit the search button, a list of results will pop up complete with ratings, reviews and a map.
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Facebook’s shares closed little changed at US$104.55 (RM450.60) yesterday. Shares of Yelp fell 8% on the news.
