Qype to add events listings and support for the little guy
Web 2.0 user reviews network Qype is adding a couple of new features for its growing community as of September this year.
To the under-educated, the idea behind Qype is that it’s essentially Facebook with a purpose with a good dose of Fancyapint and Beerintheevening thrown in.
The idea is that people – those like you and me and those unlike you and me too – add little written reviews along with a quick star rating to basically anything from restaurants, pubs and cafes to football stadiums, hairdressers, your local park and probably even the bus stop at the end of your road if you can get a picture of it on a geo-tagged Googlemap.
It’s supposed to be a comprehensive review site with all the non-bias and integrity of a blog. Ok? Right, consider yourself educated. So, from September they’re adding an events listings feature whereby you and your mates can plan nights out, or day trips or what have you, online by sending round ideas and voting on which places you want to go to and what you want to do when you get there.
The events listings are provided by Global Data Point who seem to know everything that’s going on in the UK. Don’t be surprised if you get a knock on your door one night from a few sheepish strangers who heard you’re having a poker night.
Next up are the Hidden Gem Awards and this is where Qype are working with the local community. Each year there’ll be a panel of judges who give out awards to shops, cafes, cinemas & theatres, pubs & bars and hotels as suggested by the Qype community. Not only will the winners receive a nice sticker to put on their shop front to fade in the sun over the next five years but the idea is that Qype will go to them and actually ask what it is they need to help them grow in terms of advertising and marketing.
Lastly is Qype actually encouraging all local businesses to respond to any issues or complaints made in the reviews on the site itself. The written responses will be stamped loud and clear on the forum, so as not to confuse, and with any luck the shopkeepers and hairdressers will be big enough to cope with any constructive criticism they receive, fingers crossed, and dish out a few refunds while they’re at it.
Naturally, all this help for the little guy is a tremendously useful marketing tool for Qype themselves, bringing them traffic and making them look good at the same time, but if it can keep the likes of Coffee, Cakes & Kink open as well as my local kebab shop (ignore the first moody pants), I’m all for it.
If you’ve never checked out Qype, then take a look at your leisure. If you have, then take another peak sometime next month.
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