NUMBER 19

So many things to look at - or should I say too many things? The thing about these blogs is they suck you in. You look at one, and then you look at the next and so on and so on. I went to the awards and looked at the short list. Naturally, I looked at City Guides and Reviews. Youngstown didn't have much of a representation, but I expected that. I thought it interesting in YELP that Columbus, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh had no mentions on the first page of cities, and thought it even more interesting that when you looked further, Pittsburgh had no mention at all. Guess it's not as big of a city as I thought it was. I was able to access Pittsburgh info by typing in the name. One of the things I like about the blogs is that they seem to be by "real" people, not just professional reviewers, so you get more realistic, shorter, and to the point reviews. For example: "good, but overpriced for Pittsburgh" or just the simple, "stay away". I really didn't care for Judy's Book, maybe it's because I looked in the 44512 zip. Hundreds of hits, but nothing really local - all online, or maybe from a national ad. I randomly clicked on one that's a local store from a national chain and the info on the product was there, but no price - what's the point of that?

Actually, the award page itself is the good thing. It gives us a place to start for different subjects so we should be able to help people find things in sites that have gotten good reviews.

Bottom line - If I want to find somewhere to dine or find something to do in a city, I'd go back to YELP.