Lou MC Yelps a Lot

Here is a newfound strip mall that resembles a strip mall in Chinatown. It's called North Golden Sun Plaza ( Google  |  Yelp ) in North Houston. The zip code should be 77014, but many still using 77068 because it's separated by a street. The street address is 3645 Cypress Creek Parkway, aka FM 1960 W, between TC Jester and Walter Road. According to an article on  Chron.com , North Golden Sun Plaza was established when Sun's Club moved in 2015 after Wal-mart moved across street (zip code 77068). Then, the lot owner expanded from one building to this horseshoe-shaped 3 buildings. Thanks to the Facebook folks who live around this area for the history and the proper street name of Cypress Creek Parkway. FM 1960 was renamed within last few years ( article on ABC13.com ). Therefore, you'll see some newer businesses are using Cypress Creek Parkway on their business cards. Either way is correct. However, not many business owners attach their suite number on their marketi...

After I upgraded my Samsung Note 4 to Android version 6.0 - Marshmallow, I noticed significant change on Yelp app. Whenever I want to get direction on Yelp, the only choice is to get to Google Maps. It used to have more choices. (See the image on  Send to car with Yelp  from last year.) Once I get there, Google Maps took the opportunity to capture my interest. The app kept hinting me to upload a photo or answer a few questions, because it knows I was there before. Eventually, it lured me to become a Local Guide. It was nice to know half million views on 9 photos I posted years ago. Just to be fair, I don't post same photo on Google Maps and Yelp. Since I don't know who is reading the reviews on Google Map, I don't share much details like on Yelp. I never find reviews are useful on Google Maps. Besides, it should stay as a map app.

It's been in my wildest dream to host a Cross+Cities UYE with a road trip. I always want to try something exotic, exciting and unique to link Yelpers across the Lone Star state. From Houston to San Antonio takes about 3 hours. After reading a blog  Seattle & Portland Yelpers Swap Cities Road Trip , I posted my idea on a  Talk thread . I found Phillip B of Austin hosted a BBQ Crawl UYE in Lockhart on July 26, 2014. Yelpers from Houston, San Antonio and Austin (maybe Dallas) met at the center of these major cities. That was an epic. ( Reviews ) I am not able to pull something like his scale without Yelpers from other cities. In November 2015, I hosted a  Cross+Cities UYE - Austin Edition . Since I didn't have many Yelper friends in Austin, we had a small party. ( Reviews ) After my recent trip to San Antonio, I saw the city's beauty and tourism opportunity. I want to revisit the idea. I am hoping the Yelpers in San Antonio could help me put to...

In a preparation for another Chinatown Crawl, I want to sort the business names in a manageable fashion. The following businesses are currently the occupants at Jusgo Plaza 百佳廣場 in Chinatown. Businesses at Jusgo Plaza Jusgo Plaza and Metropole Center are separated by a thin strip of cement. The roof tiles are similar. There isn't an official sign for Jusgo Plaza. Oh well. # Business Name Formerly 9288 Mandalay Dental 9284 Thanh Noi Sandwich Shop 9280 Jusgo Supermarket  百佳超市 9264 Lucky Dragon  新龍圖飯店 龍圖飯店 9262 Lai Lai Dumpling House  來來餃子館 9260 Xin Jiang BBQ  新疆燒烤 9258 Eastern Foot Massage  東方足浴 9256 Olympic Chinese Bakery  世運餅家 9252C Szechuan House  老成都 9252 Yang Win Gift Shop  珠成 9252A Star Snow Ice  明星冰谷 Clinic Related:  http:...

In a preparation for another Chinatown Crawl, I want to sort the business names in a manageable fashion. The following businesses are currently the occupants at Metropole Center 新都城商場 in Chinatown. As of June 1, 2016, these are the occupants at Metropole Center. I personally hate to read reviews at wrong businesses. Chinese characters are added for reviewer's conveniences. Last column shows formally known name from previous owner. # Current Business Formerly 9398 Chef Liu Restaurant 重慶餐館   new Ding Ding HK Tea House   德輝茶餐廳 9390 Central China Restaurant   滋味湖南 中央飯店 Tailor  洋裁 9388  King's Salon   黃志仁喜倫美容院 9384  Six Ping Bakery   六品西點麵包店 9380   Yuan Ten Restaurant   雲天燒臘麵家 9358   ANL Express   新干线快递 9356  Healing Foot   9354...

I downloaded Waze app as recommended by many people. I liked it on the first day. But I gradually hated it. I will only use it when I have to. You can post a warning, check in, get gas info, be warned, and etc. One day I was driving on Beltway. There was a car won't leave me alone. He drove on the right at the same speed as I was. Then, I looked at my Waze app. Ooooh. That's another Wazer stalking me. I quickly turned it off and sped away. Adding a biz page takes forever. The app won't let me save photo I took locally. There are very few local biz on Waze. They depended on Wazers to help them add biz. This is worse then Foursquare. I tried to add biz like I do with Yelp. But it's very time consuming. There is no computer version. When I made a suggestion for biz update, it says "300 feet is good enough" or "it's probably your app." My biggest complaint is the distractions - ads and too many icons. Whenever there is something happe...

It's important to properly entering correct information for your UYE on Yelp Events page. It's best to have a Public Venue with an existing business page. So the location with GPS is more accurate. There is another important element "Who is it for". I discovered it from my guests at my last UYE. It's important to provide accurate information about your event. Originally, my Asian Heritage Month UYE was listed as "Yelp Community." For awhile, I didn't see any activities on the guests count. Then, I changed it to "Everybody" because I want more people to attend this UYE. I never thought this could make a major impact on a Google Search. At the end of my UYE, I asked my guests if they were interested to stay in touch on Yelp. Paul, who was not a Yelper, told me that he just arrived from Singapore, "I wanted to find something to do in town. So I searched 'Asian Heritage Month' on Google. Your event was on top." --...

July 2014, San Antonio I drove from Houston to attend a reunion near Ft Sam Houston. Once I arrived at the city limit of San Antonio, I started to plot my route to the hotel. The location and address contradicted each other. I had no choice because I wanted to arrive during daylight to meet people I haven't seen for decades. I'm anal retentive when it comes to location accuracy. This could help Yelpers only depend on map apps.  As soon as I arrived at the address, the Apple Map app quickly changed the target to a 12-mile away location. So, I couldn't use Yelp app to check in. After the event, I decided to explore that mysterious location. Finally, I reported this error to HQ. I'm very fortunate to have GPS built into Yelp app. I use the GPS marker religiously. It's paramount to have accurate location on the map, hours and a storefront photo. Not just for the out-of-towners to find the business, but the locals need to identify the correct business in order ...